Joint report: 5th Meeting of the CETA Regulatory Cooperation Forum
27-28 April 2023, Brussels and by videoconference
1. Introduction
The Regulatory Cooperation Forum (RCF) Co-chairs welcomed the opportunity to hold the meeting in-person again, as meetings had been held virtually since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Co-chairs reiterated the importance of the CETA agreement, as evidenced by the significant increase in trade figures between the EU and Canada over the past years and acknowledged the need to develop the relationship further. The Co-chairs emphasised the important role of the RCF in EU-Canada cooperation.
2. Discussion and status updates with regulators on work plan items and items of interest
Regulators provided updates on their joint streams of work under the RCF. Progress was notable in all areas of cooperation. No new work plan items or items of interest have been added to the list of cooperation areas since the fourth Annual Meeting.
a) Consumer product safety
Health Canada and the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (DG JUST) continue to share best practices and learnings in areas such as online marketplaces and new technologies.
In February 2022, a training session was delivered by the EU to Canadian users on the European rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products (Safety Gate/RAPEX). In January 2023, Canada held an information session for EU users on the Canadian consumer product incident reporting system (RADAR) and its data in the context of the Consumer Product Safety Program’s operations and processes.
A coordinated awareness campaign focused on safe online shopping took place in the second half of 2022, which provided young people with tips on how to identify and buy safe products online. The campaign was showcased at the International Product Safety Week session on young people and product safety. Going forward, regulators in the EU and Canada agreed that at least one coordinated awareness campaign will be held per year, with varying product and audience focus. The next campaign is planned for autumn 2023.
In February 2023, Health Canada participated in the EU Coordinated Activities on the Safety of Products (CASP) workshop on online market surveillance. At this workshop, Health Canada gave a presentation on best practices and practical steps on how to temporarily take down the website of a company that is in non-compliance with Canada’s consumer product safety legislation or regulations. These measures may be used as a last resort, for example, when establishments are non-responsive to Health Canada’s multiple communication attempts. Likewise, EU national market surveillance authorities shared their experiences with website takedowns and mystery shopping, which are new powers granted by the . Finally, information on planned compliance verification projects is also shared annually to facilitate discussions on opportunities for collaboration, including surveillance of emerging hazards and to tackle common challenges.
b) Animal welfare
The Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) continued their exchanges in a range of areas, including adverse impacts on animal welfare, welfare of horses used for meat production in Canada, and the process to revise EU legislation on animal welfare. The regulators reported on three success stories since the beginning of their work under the RCF in 2019:
- Transport of animals – In February 2019, Canada amended the provisions of its Health of Animals Regulations dealing with the transport of animals to better reflect current animal welfare science and societal expectations. The initiative also aligned Canada’s regulations more closely to the World Organisation for Animal Health standards, as well as the standards of Canada’s international trading partners, including the EU. Through the Forum, Canada has shared information regarding its regulatory approach, which has shifted to a balance of prescriptive and outcome-based measures, encouraging innovation in the sector, and helping support the welfare of the animal under a variety of conditions. European regulators have benefited from learning about initiatives implemented in Canada, such as the electronic certification of livestock transport, training in multiple languages, certification in other languages to facilitate cross-border transport, and training regarding the handling of animals. Canadian regulators noted that they similarly have benefitted from learning about the EU’s approach to livestock transportation and consideration of EU standards.
- Canada’s animal welfare measures – During bilateral discussions, including at the most recent meeting in November 2022, Canada shared information with the EU regarding its approach to animal welfare assessment measures. Through Canada’s National Farm Animal Care Council’s Animal Care Assessment Framework, three types of assessment measures are outlined: animal- or outcome-based, input- or resource-based, and management-based measures. Canada indicated that outcome-based measures have been beneficial as they are less prescriptive and allow for more flexibility, as well as innovation within the sector. EU regulators found this information beneficial in its consideration of animal welfare indicators.
- European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) scientific opinions – The EFSA’s scientific opinions are shared with Canada through the RCF, and then passed on to scientists throughout the country to inform future research questions. For example, in November 2022, the EU shared an update with Canada on the main findings from EFSA’s scientific opinions on the protection of animals during transport. These findings were shared with provincial and territorial officials working on animal welfare issues in Canada, to ensure they are informed of the latest work in the sector.
c) Pediatric medicines
Regular meetings continue to take place between Health Canada and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Topics discussed included risk-based approaches to the assessment of regulatory submissions, the upcoming revision of the EU Paediatric Regulation, proposed changes to the approach to Paediatric Investigation Plan (PIP) development, and improvements to data collection and outcome reporting.
Regulators on both sides indicated that these conversations have been highly interactive and very impactful. Indeed, they have been instrumental in providing insight to Health Canada’s work as it develops its own pediatric provisions in the Food and Drug Regulations and prepares to launch a Pediatric Submission Policy Pilot, expected to begin before the end of 2023. Similarly, input received from Canada contributed positively to considerations with respect to the review of the EU’s Paediatric Regulation.
Going forward, discussions are expected on how Health Canada and the EMA can further collaborate on the pediatric front, such as discussions around the possibility of the EMA sharing PIP assessments with Health Canada and having Health Canada staff attend the EMA’s Paediatric Committee (PDCO) meetings and participate in parallel PIP reviews.
d) Cooperation Agreement between the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC)
The SCC and CEN-CENELEC initially identified two priority areas of interest: circular economy and hydrogen technology.
On circular economy, the SCC and CEN-CENELEC continue to share information and have begun developing a work programme for 2023-2024. Both parties will also reach out to their respective experts to identify potential areas for future cooperation under the circular economy umbrella.
Regarding hydrogen, the SCC is currently co-leading the Standards and Codes Working Group in partnership with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), created out of the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada. The Working Group met with CEN-CENELEC in August 2022 to discuss the progress on standardisation initiatives related to hydrogen technologies. CEN-CENELEC named a permanent European expert to this Working Group, who presented an overview of the European standardisation framework and CEN-CENELEC’s hydrogen activities in November 2022. The Standards and Code Working Group is also developing a Hydrogen Codes and Standards Roadmap, with a first draft of the roadmap expected to be completed by spring 2023. The EU’s permanent representative will participate in the review committee overseeing the development of this document.
Beyond circular economy and hydrogen, the SCC and CEN-CENELEC have agreed to focus on artificial intelligence (AI), including data. This priority was chosen as both the EU and Canada have proposed AI legislation that is expected to rely on standards during implementation. Initial exchanges on this new topic of cooperation took place at the start of 2023.
e) Wood pellet boilers
Canada continues to facilitate conversations between the EU and Canadian provinces and territories to determine potential paths forward with regards to the import and sale of European-made small solid biomass boilers in Canada. The Provincial-Territorial Advisory Committee (PTAC), a statutory committee of the SCC, created a project team to explore the issue and examine potential solutions.
The project team presented a White Paper on the Certification of Small Solid Biomass Combustors in Canada to PTAC at the committee’s meeting in November 2022. PTAC members agreed that before a recommendation is made, the White Paper should be shared with relevant stakeholders in each of their jurisdictions.
In November 2022, an amendment to European standard EN 303-5 was published and included a number of changes to ensure alignment with the essential requirements of the European Commission’s Machinery Directive and the EU Regulation pertaining to Eco-Design. The Canadian project team will need time to assess whether these changes will impact the recommendations laid out in the White Paper.
The SCC and PTAC will continue to work on this issue into 2023. It is important to note that any implementation of solutions recommended by the white paper will be dependent on resources, agreement by partners to undertake work, and uptake by provincial/territorial governments.
3. General updates and discussions
The latest version of the RCF work plan was published in January 2023, reflecting developments up to November 2022. The next update of the work plan is due to be published by the end of 2023.
At the RCF’s fourth annual meeting in May 2022, Canada noted that it had recently launched a consultation on breaking down inter-jurisdictional regulatory barriers. Through this consultation, stakeholders indicated that they strongly supported the pursuit of regulatory cooperation both within Canada and between Canada and its international trade partners. Although no issues raised through the consultation were identified as ready for further development under the RCF at this time, Canada will continue to work with its partners and stakeholders to monitor opportunities for future cooperation. The from the consultation is now available for those interested in learning more.
4. Discussion of potential new work plan items
During the meeting, the Co-chairs discussed several topics to determine their suitability for discussion under the RCF. While no decisions were taken at the meeting, discussions will continue on a number of the proposals.
The RCF Co-chairs also held an exchange on ways of improving the systematic identification of potential new areas of cooperation for the RCF. Both sides agreed to undertake further reflection and report back at the next meeting.
5. Stakeholder debrief
The Co-chairs shared updates regarding the RCF’s activities and results with civil society participants including representatives from businesses, trade associations, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions.
Following the debrief, the Co-chairs engaged in a Q&A session with the stakeholders. Questions and comments were received on several topics including questions on the wood pellet boiler issue, how to improve animal welfare standards, whether medical devices could be included as an area of cooperation, stakeholder engagement in AI discussions, inclusion of general climate issues, joint work on the green transition in light of the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) responses, issues with cultured meat labelling, and general cooperation on trade irritants.
The RCF Co-chairs thanked all participants for their questions and suggestions and will consider whether any of the issues raised would be suitable for cooperation under the RCF.
6. Wrap-up and next steps
The next annual meeting of the RCF should take place in Canada in spring 2024. In the meantime, both sides will take stock of progress made on work plan items in autumn 2023. The Co-chairs agreed to reflect further on the topic of early engagement on areas of mutual interest.
For those who are interested in providing input to Canada, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat has published and established a centralized mailbox at rcd-dcmr@tbs-sct.gc.ca.
For submissions to the EU, a dedicated functional mailbox will be set up as soon as possible and made available to stakeholders.
Regulators are encouraged to continue their exemplary work.
Participants:
- Co-chairs
- Director, Directorate A, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
- Head of Unit, Directorate D, Unit 1, Directorate General for Trade, European Commission (standing in for the Director, Directorate D, Directorate General for Trade, European Commission)
- Executive Director, Regulatory Policy and Cooperation Directorate, Regulatory Affairs Sector, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
- Director General, Market Access, Trade Policy and Negotiations, ¶¶ÒùÊÓƵ
- Officials from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and ¶¶ÒùÊÓƵ
- Officials from the European Commission’s Directorate General for Trade and the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
- Officials from the EU Delegation to Canada
- Officials from the Mission of Canada to the European Union
- Regulators and officials from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC)
- Regulators and officials from Health Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Standards Council of Canada
- Registered stakeholders attending the Stakeholder Debrief session
- Date modified: