Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-14-Speech-2-337"
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"en.20041214.18.2-337"2
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".
Mr President, honourable Members, I am pleased that it appears that the draft regulation on pesticide residues in food and feed can be adopted at second reading. The negotiations between Council presidency, the European Parliament rapporteurs and the Commission have recently gained momentum and last week the final obstacles were cleared.
Allow me to underline the significance of these regulations for food safety. It will enable us to set harmonised maximum residue levels in the EU for all pesticides and all agricultural products in one piece of legislation directly applicable to all EU citizens. All situations will be covered, including a list of pesticides for which no maximum residue levels are required and the low level that will apply systematically to all pesticides for which we have no information. There will be clarity about how and to whom an MRL application should be made, and on the procedure to be followed. The European Food Safety Authority will carry out the risk assessment for consumers with the best available methodology. Control and enforcement by the Member States will be reinforced and improved. Coordination of monitoring by the Commission will have a more obligatory nature.
This legislation will benefit all parties. Consumers will profit from better protection and more transparency about which pesticides could be present in food and their potential effects. Food producers will benefit because there will be more clarity as to what specifications the products have to comply with. Control and enforcement bodies will be able to refer to one single Community list of maximum residue levels. Member State legislators will no longer need to transpose the provisions into national legislation.
Before I finish, I would like to make a few comments on the finer points resolved in the negotiations. The European Parliament's insistence on taking cumulative and synergistic effects into account may lead to a breakthrough in the development and application of the necessary methodology. I am pleased that this is now explicitly mentioned in the draft legislation. I welcome Parliament's determination to make an explicit link between the setting of maximum residue levels and good agricultural practice, integrated pest management and the use of the lowest amounts of pesticides necessary. The clear requirement to take into account vulnerable groups of the population, including children and unborn children, is also a useful step forward. These issues make a positive contribution to this regulation.
The final phase of the negotiations saw an increasing mutual trust among the parties. I am happy to confirm that the Commission can agree to and accept the compromise package worked out between the three institutions. I trust that you will confirm Parliament's acceptance at the vote tomorrow.
We are now approaching the conclusion of this project. It is time to acknowledge the efforts of all parties and in particular to thank the rapporteur, Mr Sturdy, for his handling of this dossier and for the time and effort he has put into his report."@en1
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