Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-07-05-Speech-2-657-000"
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"en.20110705.38.2-657-000"2
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"−
Mr President, honourable Members, we have had over three years of debates, but a multitude of doubts still remain, and there are still very diverse opinions on the matter, ranging from full support, through major doubts, to the outright disappointment expressed by Mr Tabajdi.
Honourable Members, what we eat to a large extent determines how we live. Of course, as consumers we are fully entitled to information about the products we consume, for example in order to avoid Mr Mikolášik’s colleagues having to correct our dietary mistakes. I would also like to agree in full with the opinion expressed by Commisisoner Dalli in this Chamber a short while ago, that consumers do not need to be told by us what they should eat, but that they have the right to know what they are eating. However the problem is that labelling alone will not really help us to shape good nutritional habits. I agree with Mr Zemke that a huge amount of work is needed, including in terms of consumer education, since it is unfortunately not enough just to describe products.
I would also like to agree with the Commissioner that what we have today in the form of a compromise is a balance between consumers’ expectations and interests and the possibilities open to farmer-producers and processors. I would also like to stress very emphatically that the issues raised by the Commissioner, including the matter of slaughter and animal welfare, and the issues relating to cloned animals raised by Mrs Liotard, will need to be clarified in future in separate legislative acts.
You were very emphatic on the issue of country-of-origin labelling. I remember the debate from before the last enlargement in 2004, when the new Member States were told quite clearly that country-of-origin labelling was nothing other than trade protectionism. I am very glad that today, as part of a larger European Union, we have become mature enough to provide consumers with the right to know where products come from. In the first instance, it is certainly worth labelling products originating from outside the European Union, since within the EU products are manufactured to the same standards and norms. The matter of national labelling is of course still open in my opinion, and still needs to be debated.
The issue of counterfeit products is also important. This practice is too widespread for us to turn a blind eye to it. It is thus also worth ensuring that anything that is not animal fat is clearly named, and that anything that is not a food product, but instead an additive or improver, is clearly named and labelled so that consumers are fully aware of what they are eating.
Honourable Members, I would like to conclude by thanking you for this debate. I would like to assure you that I will, of course, raise all your concerns and opinions at the Council meeting."@en1
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