Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-09-24-Speech-3-392"
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"en.20080924.34.3-392"2
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"Mr President, a sedentary lifestyle ailment and now increasingly a young person’s disease, it has been said that the problem of obesity is central to the work of this House and has been since the start of the current legislative term. Every year more than 400 000 young people are added to the long list of those who are destined to know all about the yo-yo effect of dieting.
Europe has therefore done well to tackle this problem head-on. It also adopted a clear strategy in this area in March 2005 when it launched the European platform that was to unite all those involved, including the agro-food industry, the retail and distribution sector, medical professionals and consumer associations.
It has to be recognised – and people have said as much here today – that it is not easy to convince people that Europe should have more than a say in this fight against obesity. To do this we have to start by clarifying the levels of authority, which does not prevent us – and indeed we are doing this – from reminding the Member States just what their powers and responsibilities are.
I am thinking here of two hard-hitting proposals that we have made in the report: the first is to prevent discrimination and the stigmatisation of obese people by officially recognising obesity as a chronic disease, as has been done for example by the WHO and Portugal; the second is to ensure that all schoolchildren have access to physical exercise and sport – two hours a week would be the minimum requirement in my opinion – along with better funding of school canteens so that fresh products are put on the children’s menu, and here I welcome the Commission’s initiative for the free distribution of fruit at school, as referred to by the Commissioner. I would also add that it is through simple, tangible and sensible actions such as this that people will learn to like Europe again.
I now come to Mr Foglietta’s report, and I wish to thank him for all the effort that he has put in. I would like to highlight two proposals that have been made here. The first concerns opting for a political incentive – such as lower prices and tax concessions – rather than a system that is based on increasing the tax on high-calorie products, namely the famous ‘fat tax’, which at the end of the day will penalise low-income households the most.
The Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, which I represent here today, is therefore opposed to Amendment 6 by the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance and prefers to stand by the proposal for a substantial cut in VAT on fruit and vegetables, as laid down in paragraph 28.
My Group also supports the banning of artificial trans-fatty acids, which are recognised as being linked to a significant increase in cardiovascular problems. We are therefore opposed to the amendments proposed by Mr Blokland, which are aimed at softening the impact of paragraphs 32, 34 and 35 and at clearing the way for, if not to say whitewashing, these hydrogenated fats. Our message to manufacturers is quite clear: show goodwill and make innovations for the sake of consumers’ health and also in your own best interest.
As time is short I would like to conclude by mentioning the first parliamentary meetings on nutrition and health issues that I set up in this Chamber a year ago. This was the start of a major debate for all the parties involved and one that was centred on four key priorities: getting through to people from a very early age, eating a varied and balanced diet, treating obesity as a chronic disease and legislating if necessary. This is more than just a slogan, it is the moral duty of this European Union of ours and we need to commit ourselves fully to the fight against obesity and the sedentary lifestyle."@en1
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