The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has appointed Tuula Heinonen, the Director of FICAM, as a contact person in the PARERE-network established by the EU Commission.

PARERE (the Preliminary Analysis of REgulatory RElevance) has been introduced by the Commission to improve the process of method development from the beginning of the validation process to the adoption of the method for regulatory purposes.

The new directive revising Directive 86/609/EEC on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes was adopted in September 2010. In addition to formally establishing a Union Reference Laboratory for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM, European Centre for Validation of Alternative Methods), the Directive calls for Member States to nominate suitable specialised and qualified laboratories to carry out validation studies, and at national level to ensure the promotion of alternative approaches and the dissemination of information thereon. Furthermore, the Directive requires Member States to nominate a single point of contact to provide advice on the regulatory relevance and suitability of alternative approaches proposed for validation. This contact point will form an essential link between EU and national regulatory bodies.