Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-07-22-Speech-4-007"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.19990722.2.4-007"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Council.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, first, I would like to congratulate you all on the election results and wish the European Parliament every success in its legislative work. I eagerly look forward to working in co-operation with you in my role of chairman of the Agriculture Council during the Finnish presidential term. I have no doubt that co-operation between us during this time will be fruitful and will serve the interests of European producers, manufacturers and consumers well. Obviously, I might have wished that our first meeting under the Finnish Presidency had taken place in other circumstances which would have permitted me to present the actual priorities of our programme. These include, in particular, legislation projects which aim to guarantee food safety for the consumer and promote the health and welfare of animals. Unfortunately, owing to circumstances, we were obliged to give consideration to a chain of events we would never have wished for.
The Council considered the Commission"s proposal for an exhaustive programme of legislation to be welcome in principle, a programme of which you are aware and whose purpose is to accommodate legislation on animal nutrition and measures relating to animal waste. The Council made all the relevant decisions relating to procedure to ensure the speedy examination of the Commission"s proposals, bearing in mind the aim the Council has to finish the job, if at all possible, before the end of the year.
I will take this opportunity to remind everyone that the co-decision procedure applies to debates on future Commission proposals, and I would therefore ask the European Parliament for their co-operation in honouring this very ambitious timetable. I can assure you that Finland, as the country to hold the Presidency, will, for its part, do everything within its power to ensure that work in the Council is expedited in order for us to achieve a positive end result as speedily as possible during the Finnish presidential term.
Before I end, I would like to say that the dioxin crisis has clearly shown that the effects of this type of occurrence are not restricted to the regions, or even countries, in which it began. The effects spread to every region of the Community and extend also to our trading relations with third countries. This crisis has had an adverse effect on our exports, and the actions of some of our trading partners have in many respects exceeded justifiable limits as regards not only severity but also scope of application. We therefore have to rebuild consumer confidence both within the Community and the world over and, at the same time, develop appropriate action to restore viable commercial relations.
When it is a matter of people"s health, simply the best way to reassure the European people and the consumers who live outside Europe is to act with transparency, clarity and a sense of accountability. Aside from the programme of legislation, now available, as it is, to all, we are grateful to the Commission for the consistent way in which it kept third countries and the World Trade Organisation informed and for its reports on Community action to solve the dioxin crisis. It was an attempt to show that certified EU exports are safe. Some positive results have been achieved, but the situation remains unsatisfactory in some cases, which means that the Commission will have to continue with its efforts. In order to be successful these efforts need, and should receive, the support, not just of the Council, but the European Parliament also.
Recent events concerning the contamination by dioxins of certain foodstuffs in Belgium have resulted in a very serious situation, not only with regard to the risks to people"s health, but also because they have weakened confidence in the animal feed and food production chain and in the ability of the authorities to monitor the situation properly. Quite understandably, there has been a very strong reaction on the part of the public to this crisis, which erupted just as we were starting to think that the BSE crisis was an exceptional, isolated case which we were already getting over. I fully understand why consumers expect us to take speedy, comprehensive and effective action, appropriate in terms of the gravity of the matter, to give them the necessary guarantees that the crisis will be resolved in both the short and the long-term.
At the same time, we have to bear in mind that an undesirable occurrence such as this has very costly economic consequences. For that reason, we are under an obligation to do all we can to protect consumers" health and offer them guarantees regarding the safety of food that are as comprehensive as possible. It is in our own interest to take all necessary action to prevent incidents such as this from recurring. In connection with all this, I shall be working in co-operation with Ms Biaudet, who is chairman of the Council of Health Ministers, to restore consumer confidence.
We have to take into account the fact that legislation on issues of veterinary medicine and animal feed in the European Union is amongst the most stringent in the world. You are well aware of the criticisms made by certain third countries that measures meant for the protection of consumers within the Union are too restrictive. I can mention, by way of example, the recent decision by the World Trade Organisation to allow the USA and Canada to impose penalty tariffs on our exports, owing to the importation ban on hormone-treated meat.
The understandable financial and social worries of producers notwithstanding, the Council has always worked, and will continue to work, with two principles in mind. First, the most important objective is the protection of people"s health, and second, all action must be based on the best possible scientific evidence. The recent decisions of the Council are indications of this style of approach. I would refer to the decision forbidding the use of some antibiotics in feed as a boost to growth, and the decision approved by the Council last Monday to tighten up the rules on the treatment of animal waste as a way of protecting against infectious TSE diseases.
In speaking of dioxin contamination, we have to say that the investigations carried out by the Belgian authorities and the inspections made by the Commission show contamination was due to the introduction during the manufacturing process of a raw material that should never have been used for this purpose. We must also admit that the dioxin contamination of the feed shows that current legislation and protective measures are not fully sufficient to prevent the feed becoming contaminated by hazardous substances such as dioxin. For that reason, there is no doubt that Community legislation should be amended to ensure that the quality of animal produce is to be relied upon fully. We must act now to see that the ‘prevention rather than cure" principle is fully applied in the future.
Before I move on to the question of the approach agreed upon in the Council, I would like to remind everyone of the timely and effective work instigated by the Commission and given the support of the Member States" Standing Veterinary Committee to implement vital crisis measures imposed by the precautionary principle. This action led to the identification, withdrawal from the market and destruction of all produce that was contaminated or suspected of being so. In addition, the Commission imposed conditions on certified produce coming onto the market and on the continuance of trade in produce in national markets as well as the entire Community market. The Commission has already sent out all the details regarding the work it has begun, so I will not repeat them here. For my own part, and on behalf of the Council, I would like to say we appreciate the Commission"s work.
Turning to the action the Council has taken, I would like to remind everyone that the Ministers of Agriculture and Health have followed the dioxin crisis closely, and that they discussed the situation at the first available opportunity in meetings held in June. The aim was to provide a springboard and political direction for further vital action to be taken. The Council adopted a set of conclusions on how this issue should be approached. The Council particularly stressed that a swift, thorough and independently drafted report should be produced and, if required, that there should be changes to current legislation. The Council also made a point of asking Member States to ensure, through a comprehensive programme of checks, that EU legislation to guarantee health protection was being complied with. The Council reminded everyone that, with the threat of a risk looming, the Member States should use the early warning systems currently in place fully and in good time.
Furthermore, the Council asked the Commission to monitor the effective and uniform implementation of these EU early warning systems and, if it was appropriate, to make recommendations regarding how they might be improved, and give consideration to how much the existing monitoring systems should be extended to cover all situations. In addition, the Council asked the Commission to produce a report by the end of the year on the progress made in the establishment of a Food Veterinary Office and its overall viability. On the basis of this report, we should also look at the need for a general improvement in food monitoring, including the possibility of food monitoring bodies. The Council urged the Commission to speed up the work already begun by its Standing Committee on Feedingstuffs, which re-examines the legislation on animal feed and proposes, if deemed necessary, additions and amendments for tighter harmonisation. The Council also urged the Commission to take a critical look at EU legislation regarding the disposal of meat meal, animal waste and feed. Moreover, the Council emphasised that the manufacturers of animal feed were responsible for the safety of their products. Anxious about the situation, the Agriculture Council in their meeting on Monday this week returned to the issue to monitor developments. At the end of a new full debate on the issue, the Council reaffirmed the conclusions drawn in June, and drew attention to the importance of unanimous political will on the part of the Member States and the Commission to act on these conclusions fully and immediately."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples