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11/05/2011 18:09:21
Marketing of cloned food sparks debate in European Parliament
Eurogroup for Animals welcomes the fact that the European Parliament sent a clear message on the future of the regulation on Novel Food and cloning to the European Commission and Presidency today during a debate in Strasbourg.
The debate provoked strong reactions from the majority of MEPs present about the failure of both the Council and the Commission to find a solution which would enable a ban to be introduced to prevent the marketing of food from cloned animals and their offspring in the European Union. MEPs repeatedly stressed the fact that they were united in representing the demands of Europe’s citizens and consumers and not the agri-business from third countries and refused to take the blame for not compromising.
The Commission also faced strong criticism of using false arguments and threats of a trade war in the negotiations while an undisclosed recent legal document of the Council concluded that a defence in WTO would be possible.
"We are deeply disappointed that the Commission and the Presidency have not done more to fully explore the WTO defence. It is not acceptable that incorrect information was given throughout the discussion to MEPS and to Member states, firstly ignoring the animal welfare aspect, then stressing the impossibility to trace imports and now it seems about the compatibility of a ban with international trade rules," said Sonja Van Tichelen, Director of Eurogroup for Animals.
"The Parliament was ready to compromise, they moved from defending a marketing ban to accepting labelling but we need to go back to the original position that we, Europe’s citizens, do not want Frankenstein food in our shops, on our plates or as part of European livestock farming," she added.
"It is a disgrace that European consumers without knowing and against their will are being served food produced as a result of cloning although 77% of them refuse to accept it according to the Eurobarometer survey. The Commission and the Council blocked everything even an agreement on labelling which they stated would create a trade war"’ stated Kartika Liotard MEP following the debate.
"I am extremely disappointed that it appears they withheld important legal arguments on possible WTO defences from myself and my colleagues and that is scandalous and shows that they do not put European citizens first," she concluded.
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The debate provoked strong reactions from the majority of MEPs present about the failure of both the Council and the Commission to find a solution which would enable a ban to be introduced to prevent the marketing of food from cloned animals and their offspring in the European Union. MEPs repeatedly stressed the fact that they were united in representing the demands of Europe’s citizens and consumers and not the agri-business from third countries and refused to take the blame for not compromising.
The Commission also faced strong criticism of using false arguments and threats of a trade war in the negotiations while an undisclosed recent legal document of the Council concluded that a defence in WTO would be possible.
"We are deeply disappointed that the Commission and the Presidency have not done more to fully explore the WTO defence. It is not acceptable that incorrect information was given throughout the discussion to MEPS and to Member states, firstly ignoring the animal welfare aspect, then stressing the impossibility to trace imports and now it seems about the compatibility of a ban with international trade rules," said Sonja Van Tichelen, Director of Eurogroup for Animals.
"The Parliament was ready to compromise, they moved from defending a marketing ban to accepting labelling but we need to go back to the original position that we, Europe’s citizens, do not want Frankenstein food in our shops, on our plates or as part of European livestock farming," she added.
"It is a disgrace that European consumers without knowing and against their will are being served food produced as a result of cloning although 77% of them refuse to accept it according to the Eurobarometer survey. The Commission and the Council blocked everything even an agreement on labelling which they stated would create a trade war"’ stated Kartika Liotard MEP following the debate.
"I am extremely disappointed that it appears they withheld important legal arguments on possible WTO defences from myself and my colleagues and that is scandalous and shows that they do not put European citizens first," she concluded.
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