Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-12-11-Speech-1-174"
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"en.20061211.17.1-174"2
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"Mr President, firstly I would like to say that I am grateful for the work done by the Members of the committees concerned with this Commission proposal to amend Decision 90/424/EEC on expenditure in the veterinary field. This year, the Commission allocated approximately EUR 210 million to assist Member States in running eradication and monitoring programmes to counter animal diseases. This programme is a key element in our food safety strategy.
As we all know, animal diseases are unpredictable – the unexpected can and does happen. In 2005-2006 even though we saw outbreaks of avian flu, blue tongue and classical swine fever in some Member States, none of them was a major outbreak and we managed to keep them under control and not allow them to cause extensive damage.
The Commission has embarked on a wide-ranging review of Community animal health policy. An extensive evaluation has recently been completed and the results were presented at a conference held in Brussels last month. I was pleased to note that several honourable Members attended, and indeed chaired, sessions.
One of the primary areas of interest for discussion today and one which generated considerable interest was the possible introduction of an insurance or cost-sharing element to help fund disease eradication costs. However, these are longer-term measures which still need considerable discussion with the various stakeholders before we can determine how best to proceed. There are, however, a number of key changes which we can make now, in order to improve efficiency in how the Commission and the Member States manage funding in this area. The proposal before us today aims to make such changes, while allowing the necessary time for other longer-term issues to be dealt with in the ongoing policy review.
The proposal contains three main elements. First, we propose to introduce the possibility of multiannual programming for the disease eradication programmes, but with a simplified procedure which will make it easier both for the Member States and also for the Commission. Second, we propose to strengthen the legal basis for the TRACES programme, but also for communication. It is interesting to note that we currently have a legal base for communication activities in animal welfare but not for animal health, and this is going to be corrected in the proposal. Third, we propose to limit the list of disease eradication programmes eligible for funding to those that correspond to clear priorities, but with a procedure under which this list could be amended when necessary in response to developments.
The proposed changes would make important advances in strengthening and prioritising our food safety strategy. The proposal makes a number of improvements which will also increase efficiency and reduce bureaucracy, both for the Commission and the Member States. I am grateful for Parliament’s support."@en1
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