SERVICE PUBLIC FEDERAL SANTE PUBLIQUE, SECURITE DE LA CHAINE ALIMENTAIRE ET ENVIRONNEMENT

Their core work

This is Belgium's Federal Public Service (FPS) for Health, Food Chain Safety, and Environment — the national authority responsible for public health policy, food safety regulation, and environmental protection. In H2020, they contributed regulatory and enforcement expertise to EU-wide coordination actions, particularly in energy product market surveillance (testing compliance of appliances with eco-design standards) and cross-border coordination on infectious animal diseases. They also participated in establishing a common European framework for electronic health record exchange.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early H2020 involvement (2016-2018) focused on foundational market surveillance activities — tyre standards compliance and industrial product testing. From 2019 onward, their scope broadened significantly: energy enforcement expanded to specific product categories (air conditioners, water heaters, lamps) and anti-circumvention measures, while entirely new domains appeared in animal disease coordination and eHealth interoperability. This suggests a growing mandate to represent Belgium in cross-border regulatory coordination beyond their original energy enforcement niche.

Moving from narrow energy enforcement toward broader cross-border regulatory coordination in health and food safety — likely to join more interoperability and One Health initiatives.

How they like to work

Exclusively a participant — never a coordinator across all six projects, which is typical for a national government body contributing regulatory authority and enforcement capacity rather than driving research agendas. They operate in large consortia (122 unique partners across 32 countries from just 6 projects), meaning they join broad EU-wide coordination actions rather than small focused research teams. Working with them means accessing Belgium's national regulatory perspective and enforcement infrastructure.

Remarkably broad network for their project count: 122 unique partners across 32 countries from just 6 projects, reflecting their participation in large EU-wide coordination and support actions. Their reach spans well beyond Western Europe, covering most EU member states and associated countries.

What sets them apart

As a national federal authority, they bring something research institutes and companies cannot: direct regulatory power and enforcement mandate in Belgium. For consortia working on market surveillance, product compliance, or cross-border health regulation, they provide the essential link between EU-level policy and national-level implementation. Their triple mandate (health, food chain, environment) makes them a versatile government partner for projects spanning multiple regulatory domains.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EEPLIANT3
  Largest project by funding (EUR 148,399) and broadest scope — covering enforcement of eco-design rules across multiple product categories including air conditioners, water heaters, and lamps.
• ICRAD
  Significant funding (EUR 104,362) and a departure from their energy enforcement focus, addressing infectious animal diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and vaccinology through international research coordination.
• X-eHealth
  Represents their expansion into digital health — working on a common European framework for exchanging electronic health records including rare disease data.