Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-25-Speech-3-040"
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"en.20001025.2.3-040"2
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"Mr President, I would like to join with other colleagues in complimenting the rapporteur, Mr Bowis for his very constructive and very logical approach to this particular problem. May I say, by way of a light note, that when I listened to Mr Blokland introducing some biblical quotes I felt he had elevated the status of this debate to a new plane because there were times when we thought that nothing short of divine intervention would help us resolve the matter.
However, having said that, I believe it is to the credit of this Parliament and Commissioner Byrne that food safety now dominates the European agenda. Our citizens expect and are entitled to a vigilant and positive response. In my view, nothing less will restore consumer confidence in an important policy area both for producers and consumers. We have all learned our lessons from the food crisis of the 1990s. I am confident that by putting in place a systematic set of uniform rules we are laying the groundwork for filling the gaps in the existing legislation. This would clearly enhance food safety through the food chain. The reform of European Union food laws would be carried out at the level of the European Union.
We want to avoid a situation where there may be a renationalisation of food purchasing within the European Union. One of the central elements of the reform of the common agricultural policy is to avoid the renationalisation of the CAP in any shape or form. That is why it is so important that food safety laws are enforced at European Union level. For this reason also I welcome one of the core elements in the White Paper on food safety which would lead to the setting up of a new European Food Safety Agency. This authority would have responsibility for scientific evidence and the communication and management of all risks relating to food safety.
Another issue which will confront us over the coming months is that of GMOs in food production and we must be open to the potential of biotechnology. In this respect it could be a serious mistake to assume that biotechnology means poor quality or unsafe food. For example, GMO foods offer the opportunity to reduce the levels of pesticide residues and improve nutritional quality, it would be negligent to ignore these advantages. However, I fully support the introduction of clear, non-technical and standardised labelling in the context of GMO food products. Moreover, no food products which are genetically modified or contain genetically modified ingredients should be allowed into the food chain until they are fully tested, and only then with clear labelling specifications."@en1
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