Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-12-12-Speech-3-408"
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"en.20071212.37.3-408"2
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".
Mr President, I am one who always listens carefully to Mr Stevenson whenever he speaks, and I have been listening to him for several years now, but this speech surprises me, because it is one which would have been better made in 2003 and not 2007, nearly 2008 in fact.
Mr Graefe zu Baringdorf put it very well: this is a 2004 regulation, we debated it in Parliament in 2003, and the regulation provides that the date of entry into force for the system of electronic identification for ovine and caprine animals is to be 1 January 2008.
So, Mr Stevenson − I have no doubt whatever that you have ovine animals in your constituency, as I do myself − the five Member States with the biggest ovine and caprine flocks are, besides your country and mine, France, Italy and Greece. Well now, these four Member States have undertaken the task, which seems so abhorrent to you, of convincing their farmers to tag ovine and caprine animals, because we were told that the regulation said that electronic identification was going to be obligatory from 1 January 2008.
I, as a Member of this Parliament, entirely understand this. I also understand that there are Member States – such as yours, which is why I have just been listening to you – which have not fulfilled their duties, and with this in mind, I voluntarily proposed a date – which has moreover been accepted by the Committee on Agriculture – extending that time-limit slightly, but, as you know, whereas they might pay two pounds an animal in your constituency, in mine they only pay one pound.
At this point in time, with animal disease problems being prevalent in Europe, I think that a system such as this provides a guarantee and a way of enhancing the value of what our farmers are producing. It is an identification system which enables us to know the provenance of any animal transiting Community territory and be assured that it is in good health; it is a guarantee for the consumer and that has to be good for the farmer, because he is going to get more for his meat.
If they are not going to get any more for their meat, that is just where we are now with bluetongue, foot-and-mouth disease and the chikungunya mosquito. If that is the case then there is no hope for us. So, please, let us just get to work, let us be coherent and read and examine the regulation referred to by Mr Graefe zu Baringdorf –which I would repeat is a 2004 regulation – let us read it carefully, let us recognise that there are a few exceptions in it, but it is not a matter of do-as-you-please, because the date cannot be voluntary. It cannot be voluntary because we, the Commission and the Council decided that it was obligatory.
In other words, I cannot turn the clock back to three years ago and tell my farmers that all their efforts up until now are completely pointless because the British forgot to ask their farmers to do the same. Do you understand me?
I am asking you to read my amendment carefully. My group is definitely not about to question the obligatory nature of the system, because that would create unlawful discrimination between Member States and within the European Union itself, although it would not surprise me – and I am not referring to you, Mr Stevenson – that someone who had the gall to reject the Charter of Fundamental Rights in this House today could display equal or greater gall in rejecting the identification of ovine and caprine animals.
Here we are then: I think we have a regulation, the Commission has made us a reasonable proposal, we have also made a reasonable proposal to the Commission, so let us try to finish this matter this morning without too much damage on either side."@en1
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