Simply put, ladies and gentlemen, in the minds of the citizens of Europe, safety is the most important ingredient of their food. When the consumer chooses a product from the supermarket shelve, their first and over-riding concern is that it should be safe. The recent crises or scandals such as BSE or the more recent dioxin contamination have called into question the very safety of food. The fall-out from such events can have grave consequences. And I know from first hand experience, even after only a few weeks in Office in Brussels, just how important and far reaching these consequences are.
Confidence is very fragile.
And we all suffer from the fall-out from this loss of confidence. The citizen's confidence in European or national authorities and even in scientists to make sure that food in Europe is safe is undermined. Economic growth, employment and competitiveness in the European agro-food industry is threatened. And the functioning of the Single market is called into question. Restoring public confidence is our challenge.