Mr President, almost two years have now passed since October 2000 when the Commission tabled a very good proposal for a regulation on the permitted uses of those parts of slaughtered animals that are not for human consumption. I must say that it was alarming to discover the amount of filth and other peculiar material that found its way into animal feed and the food chain. That is something that is now to be brought to an end. The Commission’s proposal was a good one. Parliament nonetheless made it very significantly better, simpler, stricter and more transparent than it had been at the beginning. At first reading, we had 99 amendments, and the Council accepted 90 of them. At second reading, we tabled nine amendments and, of these, eight were approved. The ninth – a compromise amendment – we eventually saw approved almost in its entirety. We had a proposal, however, in which we instructed the Commission to put forward a proposal and, in that respect, those of us in Parliament no doubt exceeded the limits of our powers. The Commission has nonetheless voluntarily promised to table the proposal we requested. Parliament’s most important tightening-up of the proposal involved a future total ban on ‘cannibalism’ in the handling of animal feed. It will no longer be permitted to feed animals on protein derived from animals of the same species. Researchers now believe that such feeding is a possible cause of ‘mad’ prions that give rise to BSE, TSE, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease etc. We obtained a total ban on all use of carcasses and parts of diseased animals either as protein meal or, above all, as fat. Such fat is particularly nauseating. Only raw materials declared entirely fit for human consumption will be allowed to be used in feed, cosmetics, medicines etc. It is only in cigarette filters, car tyres and such like that carcass fat will be permitted to be used in the future. We have request and obtained a clear separation of the handling chains for the various animal by-products. It will not, for example, be permitted for by-products declared fit for human consumption to be handled in the same building as by-products not declared fit for human consumption. Instead, there must be clearly separated buildings and clearly separated transport containers. By-products approved as food and by-products not approved as food must not, for example, be dealt with in the same building. Rather, there must be clearly separated buildings and clearly separated transport containers. We have, in actual fact, also succeeded in arranging for all by-products not declared fit for human consumption to be indelibly colour-labelled and, when it becomes technically possible, identified by smell, too. That has been put in place in order to protect our European farmers, for it is impossible to look at a sack of ready-processed feed and see where the protein or fat comes from. It will now no longer be possible, however, to deceive farmers when they feed their animals. I must be allowed to thank all the shadow rapporteurs and all those alongside whom I have been working within Parliament. It has been both enjoyable and inspiring. We have quarrelled, engaged in discussion and reached agreement. There has been a very good atmosphere and good group debates. I would also thank the Commission and, in particular, Mr Colombo for the helpful and intensive technical cooperation offered. I also wish to thank the Council of Minister’s working party and those involved in the Swedish, Belgian, Spanish and, now, Danish presidencies. We have all cooperated and we have done some very good work. I therefore recommend that we unanimously accept the offer of conciliation when we vote tomorrow. It is important that this work now be concluded. The by-products industry employs tens of thousands of people around Europe, mainly in rural districts. It is crucial that its managers now set about the business of investment and conversion and that they be given the opportunity to maintain what is, for us all, a very good industry.

Political group: ELDR