Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-12-13-Speech-3-342"
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"en.20001213.13.3-342"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine. These mills here, however, are grinding too slowly for my liking. For two years we have had the Commission's proposal on the table. Its aim is better harmonisation and coordination of official inspections in the field of animal nutrition in the Member States of the European Union. Food safety is the watchword of the moment, perhaps even the concept of the year.
How closely the safety of our food is linked to the feed eaten by livestock has been demonstrated by recent scandals, from dioxins and waste oil in feed mixes to the manufacture of animal and bone meal, which, as we all know, can be a good source of protein if special manufacturing methods are used. But methods have also been exposed which are nothing short of criminal. Consumers have rightly made a radical response, switching to other foodstuffs that they believe to be safe. The political world is called upon to do everything in its power to ensure that the safety of foodstuffs can be guaranteed. But how can guarantees be given if inspections have not taken place?
In an internal market where there are no border controls, we believe that the European Union has an obligation to conduct inspections. The inspection of foodstuffs and animal feed, however, is the prerogative of the Member States. Now, after lengthy negotiations in the Conciliation Committee, an acceptable compromise has been worked out, involving a guarantee that safeguard measures taken by the Commission will remain in force until they are replaced by another act and an obligation on the Member States to provide full assistance to the Commission officials carrying out on-the-spot inspections.
One thing is sure: only if the Member States and the Commission cooperate and pool all their resources will we be able to achieve a higher level of safety in this sensitive field of animal nutrition. The PPE-DE Group supports the compromise that has been achieved. We stress, however, that we shall continue to keep a critical eye on developments and that we shall again respond to any problems in the appropriate manner."@en1
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