Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-12-13-Speech-1-187"
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"en.19991213.11.1-187"2
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"Thank you for this important discussion even though the circumstances are not the best at the moment. This subject has already been discussed by the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy on 15 November. I stated then that it is not only an issue of whether we like or authorise GMOs or not or whether we label them or not. We are simply trying to implement the existing legislation and make it operational.
With the proposal amending Regulation No 1139/98, laying down
threshold for the adventitious presence of authorised GM material, we are responding to the Council's mandate on labelling of GM foodstuffs. The Commission was obliged to do so at the time of adopting the regulation.
The draft aims to solve the problem of labelling foods when operators have tried to avoid using GM material and can prove this but nevertheless small amounts of GM material are found in them. This adventitious contamination can occur during cultivation, harvest, transport, storage and processing. After our consultations with the Joint Research Centre and Member States in particular we concluded that a value of 1% is a compromise that best serves two things: firstly, the purpose of establishing a very low tolerance level which implies an effort for operators; secondly, that it takes into account the necessary feasibility along the production chain.
We will shortly have methods that do not pose competent authorities unjustified problems for implementation. I would also like to mention that this value is stricter than thresholds applied by other countries like Switzerland, Norway and Japan. As you know, unlike the EU, the United States of America and Canada have no compulsory labelling of GM foods.
The wish of the committee is that we should reassess this issue. I am ready, on behalf of the Commission, to make a commitment: "The Commission will review the draft regulation amending Regulation 1139/98 within one year of its entry into force. The Commission will propose any necessary amendments in the light of improvements in quantitative detection techniques and practical experience gained with implementation of the proposed 1% value. Moreover, the White Paper on food safety will also allow the opportunity of a wide debate on labelling if it is wished by the European Parliament."
The Commission has not exceeded its executive powers by proposing these regulations. The two draft measures are consistent with current legislation. We will use the codecision procedure when the European Parliament calls for the GMO-free scheme. So far as the novel food regulation is concerned, Mr Byrne's department is preparing a proposal."@en1
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"a de minimis"1
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