WRITTEN QUESTION E-0326/01 by Ioannis Souladakis (PSE) to the Commission. Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (mad cow disease).
Date: 2001-02-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: animal nutrition, animal product, beef, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, budget, public health, single market

21.8.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 235 E/177

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(12 March 2001)

The High Level Group report on the reform of air traffic management ((cid:145)Single European Sky(cid:146)) was
completed in November 2000 and forwarded to the Parliament as well as to the Council in December
2000. It will be published but is already available under
http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/library/hlg-final-report-en.pdf.

The Commission intends to adopt a communication on the follow-up to this report in time for discussion
at the European Council in Stockholm on 23 March 2001 and shortly to put forward some legislative
proposals on the principles underlying the Single European Sky and on the organisation of work.

(2001/C 235 E/207)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0326/01

by Ioannis Souladakis (PSE) to the Commission

(13 February 2001)

Subject: Creutzfeld-Jakob disease ((cid:145)mad cow disease(cid:146))

Further to the Commission reply to my Written Question E-3886/00 (1), and given that the budget
Commissioner has recommended that the Commission set aside € 1 billion for measures to withdraw,
store and destroy beef and veal, a sum which the Commissioner thinks is likely to affect the financial
perspective, will the Commission say:

1. As part of a strategic change of policy, why are the appropriations in question not used to support the
production of plant produce containing oil and proteins so as to reduce the production cost of beef
and veal, instead of using them to destroy products which are deemed a public health risk, owing to
the use of animal protein in the food chain of cattle?

2.

In order that I may receive information in accordance with the principle of transparency which
informs relations between Parliament and the Commission, what are the proposals and recommenda-
tions which have been made in this connection to which the Commission refers in its answer and
what is their content?

(1) OJ C 174 E, 19.6.2001.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(28 March 2001)

The expenditure referred to by the Honourable Member has been set aside for the 2002 financial year to
pay for the emergency plan proposed by the Commission to deal with the serious disturbance of the
market for beef and veal. The plan includes market measures, which should take effect in the short term,
and changes to the system of premiums with a view to encouraging extensification and reducing
production of beef and veal. Given the scale of the crisis and the emergency, the allocation of this
expenditure to the beef sector takes precedence over support for the production of oilseeds and protein
plants. Furthermore, granting additional support for such enterprises would not necessarily bring about
a reduction in the costs of feedingstuffs.

As promised in the answer to Written Question E-3886/00 from Mr Souladakis and others (1) and in
accordance with the remit from the Council, the Commission has undertaken an in-depth analysis of
possible developments following the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) crisis and the extension of
the ban on animal meal. The analysis covers the markets in meat, animal feed, in particular the supply and
demand for protein-rich plants, and the policies applying to the latter. Parliament and the Council will be
informed of the findings, which must comply with the financial perspective approved in Berlin and must
take the Community(cid:146)s international commitments into account.

(1) OJ C 174 E, 19.6.2001.