Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-25-Speech-3-021"

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"Mr President, let me begin by warmly congratulating the rapporteur, Mr Bowis, and let me also inform the Commissioner, David Byrne, that we appreciate the proposals he has put before us in this White Paper and the relations he has established with Parliament with a view to preparing the best possible legislation in the field of food safety for the future. Today we are discussing a White Paper and it is useful to define a few first principles. I think we have to be very specific about the role of the future European Food Safety Agency, which is to assess and identify risks in coordination with the existing national agencies. We must make it clear, however, that the rapid alert system and the implementation of the measures must fall within the field of political responsibility. That is where the European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament come into play. The second principle is that it is important for this Agency to be highly independent and we must guarantee that independence. It is therefore vital to allow the EFSA to act on its own initiative. It must be independent with regard to the Member States, the European institutions and the agro-food industry. I have tabled an amendment on levels of risk. I have also had an opportunity to discuss this with Commissioner David Byrne. In some cases we find that the public perceives or imagines risks where these are simply rumours, and it is our duty and responsibility to communicate with the public in order to lay these rumours to rest and restore consumer confidence. When we are faced with a potential risk, it is important to apply the precautionary principle. Lastly, in the event of a real risk, we must take urgent preventative measures. To conclude, the brief of the European Food Safety Agency must be confined to food safety. There is no question of extending it to cover product quality or labelling. We must not confuse food risk assessment with questions of product quality. At all events, the European Parliament and the European Commission are firmly resolved to restore consumer confidence."@en1

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