WRITTEN QUESTION E-1839/01 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Harmful effects of animal fat consumption.
Date: 2001-06-26
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: animal fats, olive oil, production aid, public awareness campaign, public health, tobacco

C 81 E/66

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.4.2002

Reply

(26 November 2001)

Article 23(1) of the TEU states that decisions under Title V of the Treaty (which concerns the Common
Foreign and Security Policy) are taken by the Council acting unanimously. It also stipulates that abstentions
by members present in person or represented do not prevent the adoption of such decisions.

The second paragraph of the same Article lists cases in which, by way derogation from paragraph 1, the
Council acts by a qualified majority, with the stipulation that this paragraph shall not, however, apply to
decisions having military or defence implications.

It
follows that decisions having military or defence implications are taken by the Council acting
unanimously. Consequently, a single member of the Council may prevent the adoption of a decision by
voting against it.

(2002/C 81 E/077)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1827/01

by John Cushnahan (PPE-DE) to the Council

(27 June 2001)

Subject: Intimidation of human rights defenders in Ethiopia

Is the Council aware of the routine intimidation of human rights defenders in Ethiopia, which has most
recently manifested itself in the arrests and subsequent denial of bail of Prof. Mesfin Woldemariam, the
founder and first chairman of Ethiopia(cid:146)s Human Rights Council (EHRCO), and Dr Berhanu Nega, an
academic and human rights activist? In addition to the arrests, which may violate Ethiopia(cid:146)s constitutional
guarantee of freedom of assembly, the denial of bail
is a common method used by the Ethiopian
Government to silence outspoken human rights critics by incarcerating them while long, intentionally slow
(cid:145)investigations(cid:146) are carried out. Will the Council demand that the Ethiopian Government respect these
men(cid:146)s fundamental rights and that the chronic harassment of human rights defenders be brought to an
end?

Reply

(26 November 2001)

The Council, which is closely following the situation in Ethiopia,
the
development of the political situation and the human rights violations in that country. Following events
in Addis Ababa in mid-April this year, the local EU troika approached the Ethiopian authorities on two
occasions (April and August 2001) to express the EU(cid:146)s concern about the ways in which the disturbances
were quelled and about the subsequent imprisonment of students and opposition leaders.

remains concerned about

(2002/C 81 E/078)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1839/01

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Harmful effects of animal fat consumption

(26 June 2001)

The EU is moving towards abolishing aid to tobacco growing in an attempt to restrict smoking, which is
actually seriously harmful to health.

4.4.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 81 E/67

Given scientific proof that certain food products, principally animals fats, are also seriously harmful to
health, will the Commission say:

1. Whether it considers it acceptable that no measures are taken to restrict the consumption of animal
fats when they are responsible for heart disease, a range of other serious diseases and a large number
of victims, and

2. Whether it intends to propose measures to reduce the production and consumption of animal fats

(butter) in line with the measures proposed for tobacco growing?

3. Does it intend to redirect aid towards olive growing and the consumption of olive oil, which
demonstrably have positive effects on health, and to reduce support for the production of animal fats
accordingly?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(3 September 2001)

The Commission is aware of the fact that a high intake of saturated fatty acids is associated with an
increased risk of coronary heart disease, whereas a lower intake of saturated and a higher intake of
monounsaturated fatty acids is associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease.

However, the comparison between the health effects of tobacco smoking and the consumption of animal
fat is not justified. For tobacco consumption and lung cancer for example, there is an established dose-
response relationship (with smoking responsible for around 80 % of all deaths from lung cancer), whereas
the relation between animal fat and coronary heart disease is far more complex. This is not to say that an
excessive intake of fat should not be addressed in health education campaigns, and the activities of the
Commission in the framework of its health promotion programme do underline the importance of a
balanced and varied diet.

Regarding olive oil, the Commission does not envisage a reorientation of aid towards olive growing, given
the fact that there already exist numerous measures in favour of the consumption and promotion of olive
oil, either within the Community market or in third country markets. While emphasising the particular
nutritional characteristics of
the product, all promotion campaigns for olive oil are run without
devaluating other products which could be considered as competitors on the consumer markets.

(2002/C 81 E/079)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1843/01

by Ria Oomen-Ruijten (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(26 June 2001)

Subject: Cryo-cell (Commission answer to Written Question E-1079/01)

In its answer of 6 April 2001 to Written Question E-1079/01 (1) on (cid:145)commercial action for the storage of
umbilical cord blood for obtaining stem cells(cid:146) the Commission writes that it has no information on the
existence of similar commercial organisations in the Community.

However, if the Commission had visited the website I referred to (www.cryoc.com), it would have seen that
the firm Cryo-cell is active in a number of Member States.

I therefore ask the Commission to visit the website in order to examine the activities of this organisation
more closely.

I also call on the Commission, in accordance with the suggestion made in its abovementioned answer, to
submit this question to the European Ethics Group (EEG) and to inform me of the outcome.

(1) OJ C 340 E, 4.12.2001, p. 166.