WRITTEN QUESTION E-1165/00 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. White Paper on Food Safety and the European Food Authority.
Date: 2000-04-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: common commercial policy, food safety, precautionary principle

13.2.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 46 E/137

That is why the Commission has called on the Council and the Parliament on several occasions to improve
the collection, analysis and dissemination of data on health, and their quality and comparability.

The Commission would reassure the Honourable Member on the question of possible overlap between the
measures of the Commission and those of the Member States. It has no intention of taking the place of the
Member States. All the work under way in the area of nutritional health monitoring is being done together
with the Member States, with the Commission initiating and coordinating such work.

(2001/C 46 E/157)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1165/00

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(12 April 2000)

Subject: White Paper on Food Safety and the European Food Authority

The White Paper on Food Safety (COM(1999) 719 final) was published in January 2000. Chapter 4 is
concerned with establishing a European Food Authority (EFA). Chapter 5 considers legislation on food
safety.

The Commission wishes to clarify and enhance the existing WTO framework (section 108). The
precautionary principle must be respected in the field of food safety. The main requirement is to devise a
standard methodology for applying this principle. Measures taken by other countries to refuse EU products
are to be studied in the context of the opportunities afforded by the SPS Agreement. The EU wants to
accede to the Codex Alimentarius and the International Office of Epizootics.

for adequate
Does the Commission regard the existing rules of
application of the precautionary principle? If so, what shortcomings does the Commission identify in the
Agreement? What proposals will the Commission make to remedy them? If not, will the Commission
nevertheless make proposals?

the SPS Agreement as insufficient

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(16 June 2000)

The Commission believes that
the Agreement on Sanitary and
the provisions of Article 5(7) of
Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) reflect the application of the precautionary principle. This article does not
provide for the preparation of guidelines for its application.

However, with regard to food safety, the Codex Alimentarius, whose standards are taken into consideration
by the SPS, took on the responsibility, at the Community(cid:146)s request, for defining the precautionary principle
and drawing up guidelines for its application.

The various reports of the Standing Appellate Body of the World Trade Organisation have shown that this
paragraph does not exhaust the application of the precautionary principle in the SPS Agreement and that
it must not be considered independently of the provisions of Articles 2 and 5 thereof. Although the SPS
Agreement could be modified to classify better the conditions for the application of the precautionary
principle, in the view of the Commission this is probably not necessary, since the same result may be
achieved by developing binding guidelines for the application of Article 5(7) which would certainly allow
for the correct and non-protectionist use of the precautionary principle in the future.

The Community presented a Communication on the Application of the Precautionary Principle at the
meeting of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the WTO in March 2000 in an
attempt to stimulate a discussion with its partners and to pave the way for a joint approach in the future.