Nano-Authorities Dialogue

At the annual International Nano-Authorities Dialogue, first held in 2006, environmental, health and occupational safety authorities and representatives from industry, science and NGOs from Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Switzerland discuss current topics in the field of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies. 

The dialogue is part of close cooperation between the countries in the field of nanotechnologies. The aim is to monitor and examine trends and potentially foster stakeholder activities for the sustainable development of this technology. This also includes the joint identification of existing deficits and action needed to rectify them. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 14th International Nano-Authorities Dialogue on 12 and 13 November 2020, organised by Liechtenstein, was held as a video conference. The conference topic was "Life Cycle and Regulation of Advanced (Nano-)Materials". Nanomaterials are "advanced" materials that have one or more significant advantages over conventional materials. To date, however, there is no universally accepted definition of nanomaterials. The Nano-Authorities Dialogue aimed at reaching agreement on the types of materials and applications that fall under the term. The discussion also focussed on opportunities and potential uses of such materials in light of the Life Cycle Analysis and on the regulatory implications for different stakeholders.

At the 13th International Nano-Authorities Dialogue in Luxembourg, the representatives from the participating countries had the opportunity to hold an exchange on activities in the field of nanotechnologies, on recent findings from safety research and risk management and on food safety and consumer protection. In addition, the participants discussed and updated the Roadmap 2025 which was drawn up during the 12th Nano-Authorities Dialogue on the basis of previous dialogues.

The 12th International Nano-Authorities Dialogue took place on 7 and 8 June 2018 with Germany hosting. As in the previous years, the discussions centred on assessing the state of affairs with regard to the regulation of nanomaterials and on developing recommendations for improving (the implementation of) European and national provisions. The jointly agreed results and recommendations have provided the basis for further discussions on the need to take regulatory action and were documented in a Roadmap 2025. The first draft of this roadmap was drawn up in 2015. Over the years, it has been updated to support the participating countries in specifying and coordinating measures and activities. The issue of regulating advanced materials and their possible integration into the Roadmap 2025 was addressed at the 12th International Nano-Authorities Dialogue for the first time. 

After the 11th International Nano-Authorities Dialogue in Vienna, the authority representatives agreed on the conclusions and recommendations of the Vienna Declaration, presenting them to the European Council in 2017. In 2018, the participating authorities drafted the Berlin Declaration with the intention of presenting it to the Council.