4. The Chairperson, referring to the challenges facing the Codex Alimentarius Commission, stated that the Commission needed to maintain and strengthen its international credibility and relevance and that to do so it needed to develop and implement mechanisms that were effective in dealing with emerging food safety issues on a timely basis. Mechanisms were also needed to strengthen and improve the participation of developing countries and improve transparency of decision making. To do this, the Chairperson proposed an Action Plan[1], containing a set of actions related to organization of Commission meetings; a proposed replacement for the Executive Committee as an advisory body to the Commission; structural and meeting arrangements for horizontal, commodity committees and Regional Committees; the establishment of a trust fund to support developing country participation; increased use of the internet; and arrangements for the Commission’s expert advisory bodies.
5. The Executive Committee later decided to discuss the Chairperson’s Action Plan under Agenda Item 9 (see paras 62 - 71).
