Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-10-23-Speech-2-362"
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"en.20071023.26.2-362"2
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"Mr President, I will try to respond to some of the questions raised.
So I am quite sure that we will come back to this issue. I feel certain that we will before too long.
First of all, I agree with those who say that it is nice and very satisfactory to see that the market is now working, that the reforms we have been making are working. That was the whole idea behind all the work done to reform our agricultural sector, so now the farmers can actually respond to the market, and that – from the farmer point of view – is what we really want to do.
It is also important to realise that this increase in prices is not a European phenomenon, it is a global phenomenon – and that is the reason why it is very difficult for us to take certain measures.
I would just like to respond to the idea of introducing export refunds. I think it could send the wrong signal to the sector to continue production and thereby prolong the pain to the point where we see an increase in prices – here I am talking specifically about the pigmeat sector. But there will be pressure on prices as long as we have overproduction compared to demand. We see that prices are going down on carcases; we know that it is part of the cycle and we know as well that in autumn there is always pressure on pigmeat prices.
Let me just mention biofuels, which, under the mandatory targets that the Commission presented on 10 January 2007, will represent 10% of our fuel transport sector by 2020. We never intended that this would be exclusively European production: we will need imports. However, it is very important that we start on the first generation and thereby encourage our research institutions to try to find the golden solution for the second generation that will not be produced exclusively or mainly on cereals but on straw, woodchips and residues from slaughterhouses. We therefore have potential, and we estimate that, by 2020, between 20% and 30% will be coming from the second generation, and we might be able to do better if we push the research investments.
Concerning GMOs, I can fully assure you that the Commission is aware of the problem posed by asynchronous authorisation. You can see the consequences in the Directorate General for Agriculture’s recently published report – which you can find on the internet – where there are three different scenarios. The Commission is currently reflecting on the best way to address this situation without any compromise on our high level of risk assessment, with regard to both the environment and human health.
Important improvements have already been made in reducing the procedure or the time line – the time necessary – for authorising GMOs. I would like to mention, just as an example, the recent commitment by the European Food Safety Authority to perform the completeness check within six weeks, compared with a much longer period previously. I also expect that stronger support from the Member States will help the Commission in further shortening the time line of the authorising process. Steps in this direction have been taken to increase Member States’ support in the authorising process.
I am strongly committed to workable implementation of our rules to ensure that trade in animal feed is not disrupted, with clearly negative consequences for our farmers. But I am also committed to ensuring the highest level of safety when it comes to placing new GM products on the market, and of course our trading partners know the specific rules that we have within the European Union.
Just two days ago I came back from Argentina and Brazil. They told me clearly that they will be able to deliver non-GM products, soybean and maize mainly, and the types of GM products that have been authorised in Europe. But they said that we have to be aware that this is more costly. If we are prepared to pay the price they will deliver but we have to remember that they have other customers out there, and here they mentioned China as a big customer."@en1
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