Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-05-10-Speech-4-037-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20120510.9.4-037-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Madam President, I shall confine myself to five reports in this debate: the discharge of the Council and the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITER), on the one hand, and the reports of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Environment Agency (EEA), on the other.
As regards the Council, I call again for reasonableness and for us to accommodate the demands of the discharge authority. We want nothing less than insight into the accounts. Transparency of spending is quite simply necessary, because the Council’s spending is of an essentially different order than forty years ago.
As regards ITER, I call for my amendment to be approved. It is aimed at reassessing the ITER project and at taking stock of our future financing needs.
Next, the agencies. There is a fundamental distinction between EMA and EFSA, on the one hand, and EEA, on the other. EMA and EFSA have been under fire for years and, as far as EEA is concerned, we actually just want to dot the i’s. As regards EMA and EFSA, I would draw your attention to the funding for both agencies. Seventy-three per cent of EMA’s funding already comes from fees paid by the pharmaceutical industry. For EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority, that is not yet the case, but it
come onto the agenda. And that is dangerous. We need appropriate rules and, if we do not get them, the very least we will see out there is the perception that the results of product evaluation may have been interfered with.
The Committee on Budgetary Control calls attention to the need to fight conflicts of interest and the revolving door policy. With regard to EMA, we find ourselves in the role of a former director who has formed a consulting firm while still in office, who is now working there and providing consultancy to the pharmaceutical industry. That is a reprehensible practice.
Turning to EFSA: I visited the European Food Safety Authority in Parma just last week, together with an EEA delegation. The good news is that EFSA is committed to transparency and change. It has also shown that the efforts of Parliament and individual members of this House are really working. The work done by the rapporteur, the work of a member such as José Bové, is remarkable and is very helpful. EFSA recognised with much delay that there was something wrong with one of its former employees moving to a company like Syngenta. We call particular attention to the ties between members of the management board, EFSA’s scientific experts, and ILSI, a notorious lobbying organisation funded by food giants such as McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, BASF, Danone, Kraft, Monsanto, Syngenta and Unilever. That is problematic. It is good that the chair of the management board resigned the day before yesterday, because her ties with ILSI have been, and still are, too close. Incidentally, since yesterday, she has been in that organisation’s active employment.
EFSA’s scientific research should not only rely on research and data from industry. Independent experts and independent research must also get a chance. We have to monitor the ties between scientific experts and the biotech industry, the food companies and lobby groups. We are not going to grant discharge now because we want to issue a concrete action plan, so that in October, we can grant discharge to EFSA, too.
With regard to the Court of Auditors, I ask that a report on potential conflicts of interest at EMA and EFSA be published urgently.
Finally, a few brief comments on the European Environment Agency. The agency’s utility value is not at issue. However, what
at issue are a number of past practices: director’s ties with an NGO and potential problems concerning public procurement. I call for close cooperation between Parliament and the EEA so that we can clear up these matters and so that we can grant discharge to the agency in October. Thank you, Madam President, for allowing me to speak for a few additional seconds."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
"is"1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples