Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-05-21-Speech-3-469"
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"en.20080521.31.3-469"2
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"Mr President, I very much welcome the positive and supportive reaction of Parliament to the new Animal Health Strategy.
The Commission will in the next few weeks finalise an action plan which will take into account the recommendations and opinions of Parliament as well as those of the Council and the Economic and Social Committee. The Commission would be happy to receive further input from Parliament in this regard, notably in the context of the mid-term budget review of 2009.
Thank you once again for the interest and enthusiasm you have shown for this initiative. I look forward to meeting many of the Members of Parliament at the Veterinary Week, an event the Commission is organising with your support as an early step to turn the strategy from words into action.
We all recognise that animal disease outbreaks can have devastating consequences: they can pose a serious risk to public health; they can damage public confidence in farming in general and in animal products in particular; they can trigger heavy economic costs – just remember that in 2001 the foot-and-mouth crisis cost over EUR 13 billion in the UK alone – and animal disease outbreaks can also lead to animal welfare and environmental problems.
The strategy responds to a range of challenges taking into account feedback from our extensive stakeholder consultations.
The European Union of today – with its 27 Member States – looks very different to the embryonic Community of many years ago, when our current animal health framework was taking shape. New challenges have arisen, such as avian influenza and the spread of vector-borne diseases like bluetongue, and more are likely to emerge in the years to come. Trading conditions have changed greatly, with a massive increase in the volume of trade in and imports of animals and animal products.
The new strategy recognises and reflects the broad social and economic impacts that animal-related threats can cause – in other words, it is not just about the control of certain communicable animal diseases. It features a strong focus on animal-health-related aspects of public health, food safety, animal welfare, agriculture, trade, sustainable development and research. The key principle of the strategy is prevention is better than cure.
Recent experiences have shown the value and effectiveness of a pre-emptive or preventative approach. We need to invest more in effective measures to prevent outbreaks, thus minimising the subsequent spread of diseases and hence eliminating or at least reducing their impacts. Biosecurity on farms needs to be improved and financially supported; disease eradication and surveillance need to be stepped up; disease awareness and emergency preparedness need to be reinforced. There should be a stronger emphasis on vaccination and discriminatory testing.
The strategy envisages a new legislative framework in the form of a general animal health law to be supplemented by implementing acts of a primarily technical nature. Taking a broad holistic view, our legislation needs to be upgraded or developed in a more strategic and coherent manner: clarifying roles and responsibilities; aligning as far as possible with international standards; drawing strongly on scientific advice and the precautionary principle where appropriate.
The Commission is currently reflecting on the best methodology to define EU priority animal diseases in terms of their impact on human health, society and the economy. A study will be launched this year on the development of an EU harmonised responsibility and cost-sharing scheme to be considered in the context of a review of the currently available financial instruments. We must also work to stimulate innovation through research and development, through sufficiently funded public-private partnerships.
Finally, I should mention the Seventh Research Framework Programme, which runs parallel to new strategy. This will be important in supporting research into animal health and welfare issues."@en1
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