Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-10-22-Speech-1-098"
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"en.20071022.14.1-098"2
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".
Madam President, Commissioner, it is a pity that representatives of the agricultural sector have not been involved in this debate, as it would have been extremely interesting, in the light of the recent CAP reform, to hear the farmers’ voice as well.
The task we face is not only to safeguard the future of farming in Europe and the quality and quantity of food production but also to promote research and to ensure that data are protected. The greatest challenge, of course, is to protect human health and to prevent toxic products from accumulating in our water and our environment. We must also be concerned, however, with the health of farmers and their families, who need better protection as it is they who come into direct contact with these products and the advice they receive is often the advice of the companies marketing the pesticides. The companies are hardly likely to tell them that researchers have started asking questions about the link between exposure to pesticides and the steadily increasing incidence of certain conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, prostate cancer, brain tumours and congenital deformities. It will therefore be absolutely essential to establish strict rules for the placing of products on the market. We should also encourage research through proper provision for data protection, and promote research programmes on biological means of pest control – a useful example of innovation. At the end of the day these products should also be affordable for farmers.
My final point, Commissioner, concerns the protection of bees: the long-term evaluations provided for in Directive 91/414 have not been carried out. Simply having rules and regulations is not good enough: they must be applied and systems are needed to ensure that they are applied. I agree that the most important thing is to regulate the placing of these products on the market but I would also make the comment, Madam President, that in the course of this impassioned debate the intrusions of lobbying by the chemical industry – although infrequent – have been disgraceful."@en1
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