Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-12-13-Speech-2-556-000"
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"en.20111213.34.2-556-000"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would firstly like to thank the shadow rapporteurs and their assistants and collaborators, as well as the secretaries, for the work they have done, because I believe it is thanks to them that we have managed to reach a hard-fought and difficult agreement on first reading.
However, I can assure you that, if any sector has the slightest complaint or feels that it has not got its own way, it is definitely not the consumer sector. This is something I can say quite clearly.
This is why we feel we have done a good job, and it is on this basis that I ask you to support this report with your vote.
We are putting forward for debate a report that, in principle, should have been simple but has been extremely complex, as can be seen in the fact it has run five months over its initial timetable. However, we have ended up with a report that meets the two objectives set: firstly, to ensure the greatest possible clarity in the labelling of juices and certain similar products, and secondly, to guarantee the highest possible quality in the contents and ingredients of these juices.
This agreement could be said to be the best possible outcome and can be summarised by highlighting the features of the main points on which we have reached agreement.
Firstly, the rules we will surely approve tomorrow, and which I ask you to vote in favour of, fully maintain the distinction between pressed fruit juices – also called fresh juices – juices from concentrate and fruit nectars. Of these, the first two – pressed juices and juices from concentrate – will not be allowed to contain added sugars once the rules come into force. This means they will be sold to consumers in their pure state and, by definition, only fruit nectars may be sweetened.
Nutrition claims of the ‘no added sugars’ type will vanish under the rules on labelling. For a limited length of time, however, a note may be included on packaging to clarify the situation for consumers, informing them that no juice may contain added sugars following the date of approval. Our aim is to ensure clarity and transparency at all times.
A much-needed dose of clarity is being introduced in the area of mixed juices, with the juice’s name having to be the same as its main fruit ingredient. This means the various fruit ingredients in the juice must be listed in descending order.
Our discussions on the best way of ensuring equal treatment for all products consumed in the European Union, whether manufactured within the Union or not, were no less complex. In this area, we also reached an agreement that, with a few exceptions about products which do not greatly affect juice, and which must abide by the Codex Alimentarius, has resolved the matter in this directive quite well.
It is no exaggeration if I tell you that Parliament has listened to all the sectors involved – farmers, consumers and manufacturers. Maybe the Council and the Commission should have paid more attention to the farmers, because although it is true their request arrived a little late, it is no less true, as I see it, that they were paid little heed.
There will probably be someone who can say they did not get their way 100%. In a report such as this one, with many interests involved, even if this may not seem to be the case, it is impossible for everyone to get their way in the negotiations. I am not referring to the Council, the Commission and Parliament, since everyone knows about the codecision procedure, but also the sectors involved – the industry, consumers and farmers."@en1
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