Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-04-05-Speech-3-335"
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"en.20060405.23.3-335"2
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".
Mr President, I am somewhat bemused by the European Union’s approach to the bird flu scare. The EU has, it seems to me, made a mountain out of a molehill. There is no evidence whatever to suggest that bird flu has mutated and can be passed between human beings. In fact there is very little evidence that it can even be caught from birds unless there is considerable direct contact with the remains of dead birds.
Despite that, in Britain there have been lurid headlines about 320 000 possible deaths and bodies being disposed of in mass graves. This very day, a full-scale bird flu outbreak rehearsal, involving several hundred people, has started in the county of Norfolk, with the dramatic title of ‘Operation Hawthorn’. The theatrical way in which the matter is being handled is creating an atmosphere of hysteria, and the EU has played its part in that by holding well-publicised, international summits to discuss the bird flu crisis. It now wants to set aside EUR 5 million over the next five years for exceptional market support measures to deal with the alleged crisis. There is even what appears to be an open-ended commitment for more funds in 2011.
It seems to me that the EU and some national governments are guilty of creating a massive public scare that has severely damaged the poultry industry, with little or no justification. Forgive me for being cynical, but it also appears to be a handy way for the EU to promote itself as a caring organisation.
Whatever we are actually dealing with here is a virulent outbreak of public hysteria, generated by a highly contagious burst of over-the-top publicity from the national governments and the European Union. In short, everyone needs to stop flapping around like headless chickens and start examining this matter with a degree of objectivity.
If we are going to allocate those large sums of money, they should be used for the production of educational literature that can be disseminated to the public. That material should let the public know that there is actually no risk from properly cooked poultry and that it is perfectly safe to buy it in supermarkets and to eat it in restaurants.
Let us stop making a crisis out of a drama."@en1
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