Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-02-Speech-1-090"
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"en.20020902.8.1-090"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, first of all I would like to congratulate Mr Stevenson on the quality of his report. It is the result of a very long period of work, carried out intelligently, taking account of the opinion of his fellow Members and the experts we have heard within the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. I sincerely thank Mr Stevenson.
The issue of plant protein supply for the European Union obviously involves economic factors, but also, and more importantly, it involves strategic aspects relating to the nature of the European agricultural model and the role played by this model in external trade. We should be aware that we import almost 80% of the plant proteins required to fulfil our needs and that this heavy reliance cannot be approached solely from the point of view of the commercial interests at the time. Aside from the current matter of GMOs in imported soya proteins, we must ask ourselves what would happen in Europe if, for whatever reason, whether due to climate or other reasons, the supply from the United States, Brazil and Argentina were to be cut off. Commissioner, those affected by the American embargo in 1973, as I was, are aware of the price of this reliance and cannot tolerate the level of risks run today. Paradoxically, although demand is high in Europe, production here is stagnating, or even decreasing, and the worst thing is that the European Union does not seem determined to remedy this situation properly. Of course we can examine your proposals on the introduction of a ‘carbon credit’, which are a step in the right direction. The impact of this credit could, however, be limited by its small scale, and discontinuing the use of set-aside land for non-food crops might not be compensated for by the move towards some energy crops being produced by workers’ cooperatives. The various measures you are advocating on behalf of the Commission to adapt Agenda 2000 to current needs do not seem sufficient to address the current problems. This failure is both serious and regrettable. Without going so far as to set the unrealistic objective of total self-sufficiency, the European Union could still reduce its reliance on external suppliers.
That, Commissioner, is why I ask you to examine more carefully the recommendations of the Stevenson report, which I, indeed we, find relevant. They were unanimously approved by the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. I recommend in particular that you pay attention to those advocating greater investment in research into the protein sector under the 6th FRDP and those concerning the introduction of plant protein-producing crops in cereal crop rotation. I believe the same applies to the security of our long-term supply and the promotion of sustainable agriculture."@en1
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