The changing nature of communication and regulation of risk in Europe

Abstract

The regulation and communication of risk have changed significantly over the past 20 years or so, partially as a result of a number of regulatory scandals in Europe and elsewhere, which have led to greater public distrust of regulators and policy‐makers. This increase in public distrust has resulted in a phasing‐out of consensual‐style regulation, and the emergence of a newer model of regulation based on variables including public participation, transparency and increasingly powerful non‐governmental organisations (NGOs). This paper discusses some of the consequences of adopting this new model of regulation through a series of case studies.

Keywords:

• risk communication
• regulation
• Europe
• aspartame
• azo dyes
• Gardasil

Acknowledgements

This paper was supported by a grant from the UK Risk and Regulation Advisory Council (within the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform‐now Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)), the Economic and Social Science Research Council [RES‐173‐27‐0103]) and by research grants from the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Rescue Services Agency, the Swedish Emergency Management Agency, the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems, the Swedish Road Administration and the Swedish Maritime Administration. This paper was first presented as a keynote speech by the first author at the conference ‘The risk approach and its limits: How to proceed?’ on 13 May 2009, at the Kurhaus in Scheveingen, the Netherlands, organised by the Dutch Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR). We would like to thank Asa Boholm, Marjolein van Asselt, Ellen Vos, a number of senior officials at the UK RRAC, as well as two anonymous referees, for comments on earlier drafts. Of course, all the remaining errors remain our own.

Notes

1. The Agency operates under the authority of the Ministry of Health.

2. Suspensión temporal de la administración de un lote de una de las vacunas frente al virus del papiloma humano [Temporary suspension of a batch of one of the human papillomavirus vaccines] Suspensión temporal. 9 de febrero de 2009.

3. See for example the online article files published by mainstream newspapers such as El Mundo, http://ariadna.elmundo.es/buscador/archivo.html?q=http%3a%2f%2fwww.elmundo.es%2felmundosalud%2f2007%2f11%2f12%2foncologia%2f1194890027.html&t=3&w=45&s=1 and El Pais: http://www.elpais.com/buscar/gardasil.