Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-16-Speech-4-030"
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"en.20041216.5.4-030"2
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".
Mr President, I have noted with great interest the views expressed by Members. I share most of your concerns and most of your views. However, as I have already said, the Commission felt that there was a need for immediate action. Some of you said that this compromise has been rushed through. But at the same time, some of you said that this has been pending for more than ten years. I believe, therefore, that we had an obligation to find a solution as soon as possible, without just saying that we would not continue these efforts for improvement.
It is true that Member States can do more. They can adopt stricter rules, not just for animals originating from their territory but also for transit animals. So there could be, through this, a possibility of stricter regulations covering a much wider area and affecting much more transport.
As far as the subsidies are concerned I must remind Parliament that even though we do not have the right – because of various international agreements – to legislate on movement of animals outside the territory, nevertheless the European Union has linked the export subsidies to animal welfare requirements during transport. Therefore to link the two is a substantial step as it brings compliance to a great extent, even though not through immediate legislation.
I agree that implementation is very important. We will put greater emphasis on the issue of travel times, including all the other improvements that need to be made. We will gather enough scientific evidence to be able to convince even those who are reluctant at this stage. Therefore we will continue to monitor the situation and get this evidence that can be used in a future proposal.
On the staging point, this regulation has increased both the welfare situation and the bio-security situation. Even though I understand and share the disappointment of many of you with regard to this regulation, at the same time, we must not, through this emotional approach, disregard significant improvements that have been made to the regulation. Travel times are very important – that is why they were included in the Commission proposal; but conditions during travel are just as important. They are being improved and dealt with in the regulation.
The Commission examined the legal problems referred to in the way in which the decision was taken. I can assure you that we checked with the legal services and everything was done in a proper legal way.
While I share your concerns, we feel that this was a good compromise. It has gone the right way. Some of us might have wanted to go one step further, or take one step less, but it is nevertheless going in the right direction. The Commission will continue to monitor and follow the implementation. Implementation is in the hands of the Member States. Agreement on any future proposal coming from the Commission will again, in the final analysis, be in the hands of the Member States. Therefore it is something on which Parliament and the Commission have to work together."@en1
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