Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-05-25-Speech-3-203"
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"en.20050525.21.3-203"2
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".
Madam President, we all agree that we want an informed consumer in the European Union; that we want the consumer to be able to decide for himself or herself and not to have a nanny state. It is something we all tend to agree on. However, in order for the consumer to achieve that, we need to provide the consumer with accurate, exact, correct, scientifically justified information. That is very important.
We must not forget that in Europe the consumer assumes and expects that any label that reaches him or her has been checked and approved by an authority. Therefore, there is a responsibility here to do so. I would also like to remind you of something I mentioned earlier, that any vacuum that may be left in Community legislation will be filled in by the Member States and therefore will defeat the purpose of having this harmonised legislation and will mean a return to a fragmented set of rules and regulations that harm the industry, consumer confidence, cause problems for the internal market and of course do not achieve the level of protection that we would all like to have.
That is why we presented this proposal. I would like to thank the committee for all the work it has done on such an important issue, the rapporteur, Mrs Poli Bortone and of course the shadow rapporteurs. I would also like to thank Mrs Niebler and Mr Stubb, the draftsmen of the opinions of the two other committees, and the committees themselves, for the work they have done.
The proposal says something very simple. It says that no one can make a voluntary claim without having the scientific justification for doing so. We must not forget that these are voluntary claims with the sole aim of profit, it is a marketing tool. Therefore, in order to allow the use of this marketing tool for profit, we must make sure that it has the correct scientific justification and that it is substantiated scientifically. Consumers, as I said earlier, have to be able to make their own decisions, but they must not be misled. They must not be convinced by products sold on unsubstantiated claims.
The adoption of the proposal meets the purposes I would like it to. It protects the consumer; it advances health considerations; it helps the industry, competition and the internal market and it allows innovation. Having a common set of rules in a unique legal environment also helps in the internal market and competitiveness.
Some claims that may have adverse effects will need to remain prohibited. It is also very important to maintain the link between claims and nutritional profiles. Once again I have to remind you that these are voluntary claims and if they are going to be made, they have to based on a nutritional balance. If the nutritional balance is questionable then the use as a marketing tool of a specific characteristic of a foodstuff must not be allowed as it will eventually mislead the consumer. The nutritional profile is a key element of the proposal and therefore it should remain."@en1
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