Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-07-05-Speech-2-621-000"
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"en.20110705.38.2-621-000"2
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Madam President, it is a great pleasure for me to take part in today’s debate. It concludes four years of debates on a regulation on the provision of food information to consumers. This is really a debate on the inalienable rights of consumers to information. These debates have not been easy, but their outcome is worth the work put into them. The regulation will provide clear benefits for EU consumers, and is an important step towards ensuring that food products purchased in the European Union contain clear, legible and useful information.
Your constructive attitude in Parliament was a significant factor in achieving a favourable outcome for our negotiations. I would particularly like to thank the rapporteur, Mrs Sommer, the shadow rapporteurs and all those who worked on the report we are debating. Of course, I would also like to thank all of the six preceding presidencies whose work paved the way for the compromise package that I hope will be put to the vote tomorrow. I have no doubt that the provisions of this legislation will make it possible for consumers to make more balanced and healthier dietary choices, at the same time avoiding an extra burden on entities operating in the market.
All three institutions were able to achieve a very important compromise on many issues: labels will be more legible, since a minimum font size will be laid down, packaged food will from now on have to contain information on nutritional values, mandatory information on allergens will also need to be included, and non-packaged food, usually sold via personal contacts between the seller and the consumer, will be subject to more flexible rules laid down by the Member States. In order to avoid imposing excessive burdens on small and medium-sized enterprises, non-packaged food will be exempt from the labelling obligations, and hand-made products or products manufactured in small enterprises will also be exempt. As far as distance selling is concerned, almost all information will need to be provided before the purchase is completed. We have also succeeded in achieving indirect compromises on three issues relating to labelling, upon which the Commission is still working. These issues relate to alcoholic drinks, country-of-origin labelling for additional types of food and the provision of information on whether the food product in question contains trans fatty acids. The Commission will submit a report on these issues within three years of the entry into force of the regulation, and may also put forward its own legislative proposals where appropriate.
Madam President, honourable Members, this regulation provides consumers with a number of benefits: it increases transparency and helps to improve enforcement of EU legislation by simplifying the labelling requirements in force. The Polish Presidency is keen for this legislative act to enter into force as soon as possible. We hope that after the text has been verified by lawyers and linguists as usual, the Council will be able to adopt it in early October. This would mean that it would be possible to publish the act in the Official Journal of the European Union before the end of October this year."@en1
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