For the first time in Germany: ZIG attends the meeting of the European Biosecurity Regulators Forum

The European Biosecurity Regulators Forum (EBRF) is a European working group that aims to strengthen biosecurity by providing a forum for the exchange of knowledge and experience on current biosecurity and dual-use regulatory issues. The members of the Forum meet once a year, alternating between the participating countries which was Germany for the first time ever in November 2023.

The specific objectives of the EBRF are:

• To establish a network of national focal points in European regulatory authorities responsible for biosecurity in the field of human, animal and plant pathogens,
• To support capacity building in European countries requesting biosecurity assistance,
• To share knowledge on biosecurity, including developments in dual-use regulation,
• Promote the development of effective and proportionate biosecurity regulations in Europe.

This year's meeting brought together representatives from France, Denmark, Netherlands and Germany to exchange views on national and international efforts to strengthen biosecurity. The German side was represented by the hosting Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Health, the Central Committee on Biological Safety, the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control and the Centre for International Health Protection (ZIG) of the Robert Koch Institute.

The EBRF group emphasised that the combination of artificial intelligence and life sciences will pose new challenges for biosecurity, including existing control mechanisms, and that further efforts are urgently needed to ensure adequate biosecurity at the international level. A next meeting is planned for early 2024 to discuss the new biosecurity guidelines currently being developed by the WHO.

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