Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-02-01-Speech-4-039"
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"en.20010201.3.4-039"2
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"Mr President, I should first of all like to draw your attention to the financial implications of the BSE crisis. Firstly, the Commission eventually adopted the Agriculture Committee’s proposal to use the scope that was left in the agricultural budget of EUR 970 million after all. I should add straight away that this scope appeared to be a little bigger than it actually is now, given also the present state of the euro, which has already absorbed 250 million of that amount.
The second point is that the funding is therefore not complete. It merely constitutes a beginning. I would urge the Commission to look into other funding options, especially in the face of this crisis, with regard to a proposal for a consumer levy. We might consider a temporary levy on meat, as a result of which we would at least be able effectively to cover the cost of far-reaching measures this year. It is in itself nothing new that we are guaranteeing safety in this way, also with regard to other products. Just consider the environmental levy on certain products which is applied in certain EU countries.
The third point which is of significance in my opinion, is the question of how we deal with Member States which have knowingly flouted EU rules. Let us be honest, last year, Germany’s red/green coalition claimed time and again that it did not have any problems; the problem subsequently arose and was shifted elsewhere. How do the Commission and the Council deal with this? I have to say that in this connection, the Commission has been far more consistent over the past few years than the Council, just to quote an example.
The final point is to look for a solution. At the end of the day, the only solution is sound chain control, sound inspections and tough measures at times. In this connection, I believe it would be politically inappropriate to claim at this moment in time that a change in the European agricultural policy vis-à-vis small holdings or organic agriculture will solve the problem. That is not the issue. It is about food safety. The politicians in Europe had better be careful about using this crisis for their own political ends."@en1
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