B4-0423, 0428, 0431, 0438, 0443, 0448, 0456, 0461 and 0471/95

Resolution on combating the 'hormone mafia'

The European Parliament,

A. having regard to the murder of the veterinary inspector Karel van Noppen on 20 February 1995,

B. whereas this murder is one more in a series of attacks carried out over many years in Europe against individuals who denounce the hormone mafia and against those involved in combating such illegal practices,

C. having regard to the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament concerning the identification of residues in meat (hormones, beta-agonists and other substances),

D. having regard to the proposals for Council regulations (EC) concerning the prohibition on the use in stockfarming of certain substances having a hormonal or thyrostatic action and beta-agonists (COM(94)0441 ((OJ C 302, 9.11.1993, p. 8.)) and COM(94)0293) ((OJ C 222, 10.8.1994, p. 16.)),

E. having regard to its resolution of 26 May 1993 on residues in meat ((OJ C 176, 28.6.1993, p. 63.)) and its opinion of 19 April 1994 on a proposal for a regulation on measures to monitor certain substances and residues thereof in live animals and animal products ((OJ C 128, 9.5.1994, p. 98.)),

F. having regard to the conclusions and recommendations drawn up in 1989 by its committee of inquiry into the use of growth substances in stockfarming,

G. having regard to the legitimate concerns expressed by butchers, veterinarians, pharmacists, agricultural producers and consumers with regard to the continued illegal use of hormones and other growth substances in stockfarming (antibiotics, beta-agonists, etc.),

H. having regard to the increasing number of obstacles, threats and technical problems which veterinarians face when inspecting animals for slaughter whose meat is intended for human consumption, and deeply concerned at the scale of trafficking in hormones within the European Union, the spread of which is facilitated by networks involving the complicity of certain sections of national administrations;

I. having regard to the vital importance of maintaining in the European Union a beef and veal sector which enjoys full consumer confidence and to the imperative need to guarantee public health,

J. whereas the increase in factory farming in the EU is an inducement to the illicit use of hormone products,

K. having regard to the practice of constantly changing the chemical composition and the combinations of substances used to promote growth in animals and the resulting difficulties faced by the monitoring authorities in producing proof, and having regard to the problems in drawing a distinction between the use of approved veterinary medicinal products and their illegal use as growth promoters,

L. having regard to the inquiry into 'growth substance residues in meat' carried out by Test-Achat (report drawn up for the Commission), which has revealed problems in almost all the Member States,

M. whereas it is vital to ensure that all meat produced in the European Union should be free of illegal substances,

The European Parliament,

1. Extends its sincere condolences to the family of the veterinary inspector Karel van Noppen and condemns the foul crime perpetrated by the hormone mafia;

2. Condemns the Council's failure to act and calls on the Council to adopt, as a matter of urgency, the aforementioned proposals for Council regulations (EC) concerning the prohibition on the use in stockfarming of certain substances having a hormonal or thyrostatic action and of bega-agonists;

3. Calls on the Commission to propose a legal basis for strict import controls and compulsory registration for the comprehensive monitoring of production volumes and marketing channels of veterinary medicinal products;

4. Calls on the Council to introduce, as a matter of urgency, Community legislation concerning beta-agonists (redistributors, clenbuterol, angel dust) explicitly prohibiting their use in stockfarming, and calls on the Council to retain the current rules which prohibit any use of substances having a hormonal or thyrostatic action;

5. Calls for veterinary medicinal products to be available only on prescription and for them to be administered only by approved veterinarians, and calls for the introduction of a compulsory system of labels for all animals treated with medicinal products which could be misused as growth promoters;

6. Supports respect for working animals as living beings and calls for rules on keeping animals which are appropriate to individual species, breeding methods which respect the animals and monitoring of these rules by the competent authorities;

7. Takes the view that the European Union urgently needs an effective, uniform system of checks (uniform application of directives governing checks, checks on national laboratories carried out by certified Community laboratories, use of uniform analytical techniques, annual publication of the findings) and calls on the Member States to step up monitoring and checks regarding the use of illegal substances in meat;

8. Takes the view that the problem is not confined to individual countries and that the 'hormone mafia' must be combated at international level; takes the view that in order to break up the networks, the Commission's task force should be given more resources to coordinate more effectively action taken by national authorities and that a specialist international unit must be set up with responsibility for coordinating information available on the existing international networks and collating it in a European data base which can be consulted by national detection services; calls specifically for the duties of Europol, once it has been set up, to include the fight against trafficking in anabolic substances;

9. Calls on the Commission and Council to introduce stringent penalties for the misuse of medicinal products in stockfarming, up to and including a ban on farming or pursuing their profession for meat producers or veterinarians who use or administer illegal growth promoters;

10. Calls on the Commission to promote, in the light of the resolutions previously adopted by Parliament, a system guaranteeing checks on the quality of meat production from the farm to the consumer, and therefore takes the view that it is vital to introduce a quality label recognized throughout the European Union;

11. Calls on the Commission to fund an annual independent inquiry into the presence of residues in meat and to publish annually the official findings of the monitoring plan concerning the detection of residues in animals and meat as specified in Article 4 of Council Directive 86/469/EEC ((OJ L 275, 26.9.1986, p. 36.));

12. Calls on the Commission to organize seminars, workshops and informal meetings of experts from national detection services and laboratories in order to maximize exchanges of information between national officials;

13. Takes the view that the Commission must, as far as possible, incorporate into an overall legislative text all the provisions concerning the use of pharmaceutical products in animal husbandry and the monitoring and checks on such use in order to simplify the legal situation and thus help the authorities responsible for enforcing legislation, producers, butchers, consumers and veterinarians;

14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments of the Member States.