Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-01-15-Speech-3-057"
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"en.20030115.4.3-057"2
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"Madam President, I would like to add my own congratulations to those addressed to our colleague Mrs Dagmar Roth-Behrendt for all the energy and good will she has expended to get her report adopted. I remember the lively debates we have had in our Assembly, debates often full of emotion, whenever the question of animal welfare and public health has arisen.
I would nevertheless like to point out that not all cosmetics are luxuries; a good many of them are household products used in daily hygiene, and their frequent use means that their safety must be assessed. While it is right to want to restrict experiments on animals, we must never forget that our prime objective is to guarantee the health of our fellow citizens. That is where we need the wisdom to be able to strike a balance between the need to find alternatives to tests on animals and the need to give priority to public health.
We do not want to put the cosmetics industry in difficulties either, however, since it is an important part of our economy. The industry has been in the picture for a long time and has been able to plan the necessary investments for developing alternative methods. Our rapporteur has clearly explained that we have been discussing all this for at least 10 years. We should also stress the many efforts that have already been made and the encouraging results that have been obtained. But we cannot exactly take for granted the advances that science will make. Scientific results do not come to order, neither can they be programmed for a precise date, but they can be encouraged.
It is in this spirit that I see the need to set cut-off dates with possible extensions for methods that today are still at the initial planning stage. We must have faith in our manufacturers, but sometimes our role is to encourage them to do more, to think about the future differently, to develop an awareness of our society’s expectations. Cosmetics have proved their safety. What is needed is for the information for the consumer to be made more accurate and relevant. Labelling must therefore be perfect and not have the opposite of the intended effect. For example, to take the example of various allergens, the information that has to be communicated must not frighten the consumer. It must be simple and enable them, if they are particularly sensitive to a product, to make the best choice.
Finally, I will end by saying that this third reading is a good example of the quality of the parliamentary work that has been done under the responsibility of our rapporteur."@en1
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