Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-05-16-Speech-2-337"
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".
Madam President, Commissioner, I feel I must spend a little of my time sending warmest greetings to Mrs Roth-Behrendt, together with best wishes for her recovery.
My group considers many parts of this report on the amendment of the Regulation on the prevention of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies an extraordinary success. In the hectic days when the BSE problem was at its height, we had to take very quick and very harsh decisions on many things, and science has advanced in the meantime. That is why we can now speak of a good proposal.
What are the advantages I see? Firstly, comitology has been limited to the necessary amount. The original proposal involved much more comitology, Mr Graefe zu Baringdorf! That makes for clarity and reliability in the implementation. Secondly, the introduction of three risk categories simplifies risk assessment without jeopardising safety. It brings an internationally agreed programme of measures to prevent BSE/TSE into force throughout the European Union, based on the proposals of the World Organisation for Animal Health. The results of risk assessment in all countries can now be compared. Among other things, that also makes exporting and importing easier.
Thirdly, the age from which animals must be tested for BSE is now the same for all the European Union, because the rule has been laid down in the main body of the Regulation. For animals that will be used for food it is now a uniform 30 months. We know that a lot of countries have adopted quite different rules. This new rule will make it possible to compare Member States’ statistics. We will be able to get a much better overview of the situation.
Fourthly, I also welcome the fact that the general cull of the herd when BSE appears is abolished. That is scientifically based and that is how it should be done.
Fifthly, the introduction of tolerance thresholds for animal proteins adventitiously and unavoidably present (I want to stress that) in plant-based feeds takes account of reality and removes problems in the sectors concerned without affecting safety. I expect the Commission and the Council to approve the agreed value of 0.5%. I consider this figure to be just about acceptable, although the tolerance limits can be expected to differ greatly in this measurement range and the tolerances can be expected to be very high.
Sixthly, the scientific prohibition on the use of animal proteins in cattle feed will remain. I very much welcome the fact that we have agreed on a rule allowing some fishmeal to be used for young bovine animals. All right, it is a compromise. I would have preferred it to be clearly separated. There would then have been a clear separation in the feed industry, too, and we would have had much more safety. All the same, this rule is to be welcomed.
I really must also mention, and remind the Commission of the fact, that it promised to include the question of feeding kitchen and food waste to animals when revising Regulation 1774/2002. I consider that to be very important and I would like to stress that once again. In this connection I believe we can agree to this proposal with a large majority without more ado."@en1
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