Declaration of the European Parliament on banning seal products in the European Union
Date: 2006-09-26
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: animal skin, export restriction, import restriction, market approval, protection of animal life, seal

C 306 E/194

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

15.12.2006

Tuesday 26 September 2006

oblige Member States to observe a number of common principles is an important element in the successful
cooperation between stakeholders at various levels; notes, however, that this will only be the case if it
does not duplicate existing quality assurances systems, such as the Standards and Guidelines for Quality
Assurance;

27.
Takes the view that mutual trust should be a result of increased cooperation between the Member
States in the context of the EQF and also a precondition for the efficient functioning of the EQF an appro-
priate trial period, an impact assessment and a supporting evaluation are essential
for the continual
improvement and adaptation of the EQF; calls on the Commission to develop and propose appropriate
methods and strategies to make this possible;

Urges that EQF is further developed reflecting stakeholders' requests for clarification presented in the

28.
consultations process;

29.

Calls on the Commission to revise its proposal on the basis of Parliament's observations;

Points to the importance of a wide and well-structured communication and dissemination strategy to

30.
raise awareness and interest in EQF's benefits;

Takes the view that it is essential for the success of the EQF to provide something of practical use for

31.
end users, thus for citizens, employees and employers as well as for educational institutions;

Calls on the Commission to brief Parliament on the outcome of the national consultations and to

32.
hold further exchanges of views before drawing up its final proposal;

33.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.

P6_TA(2006)0369

Banning seal products in the European Union

Declaration of the European Parliament on banning seal products in the European Union

The European Parliament,

— having regard to Rule 116 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas more than one and a half million harp seal pups have been slaughtered in the North West
Atlantic over the last four years and the vast majority of these animals were less than three months old,

B. whereas the last time the annual number of seals now being killed was slaughtered in the 1950s and

1960s the seal population was reduced by two thirds,

C. whereas, on average, sealers receive less than 5 % of their income from sealing, which provides only a

few days' work each year,

D. whereas a team of international veterinarians concluded that 42 % of the slaughtered seals they exam-

ined may have been skinned whilst still conscious,

E. whereas the import of whitecoat harp seal and blueback hooded seal furs and furskin products was
banned within the Community in 1983 pursuant to Directive 83/129/EEC (1); whereas sealers now wait
a few days until harp seal pups have moulted and whereas the products of these animals are still
imported into the European Union,

(1) OJ L 91, 9.4.1983, p. 30.

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F. whereas a number of EU countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and Italy) have already taken steps to ban the

trade in seal products, and others (the UK and the Netherlands) are considering action,

G. whereas the USA, Mexico and Croatia have banned the trade in seal products,

H. whereas the Council of Europe is currently considering a motion that calls for a ban on the import and

use of seals and seal parts,

Requests the Commission to immediately draft a regulation to ban the import, export and sale of all

1.
harp and hooded seal products;

Considers that this regulation should not have an impact on traditional Inuit seal hunting which,

2.
however, only accounts for 3 % of the current hunt;

Instructs its President to forward this declaration, together with the names of the signatories, to the

3.
Council and the Commission.

List of signatories

Adamou, Agnoletto, Aita, Allister, Alvaro, Andersson, Andrejevs, Andria, Andrikienė, Angelilli, Antoniozzi,
Arnaoutakis, Ashworth, Aubert, Audy, Auken, Aylward, Ayuso González, Battilocchio, Bauer, Beazley, Bec-
sey, Beer, Belet, Belohorská, Bennahmias, Beňová, van den Berg, Berlinguer, Berman, Bielan, Blokland, Bösch,
Bonde, Bono, Bonsignore, Bourlanges, Bowis, Bowles, Bozkurt, Braghetto, Brejc, Brepoels, Breyer, Březina,
Brie, van Buitenen, Buitenweg, Bullmann, Bushill-Matthews, Busuttil, Buzek, Camre, Carlotti, Carnero Gon-
zález, Casa, Casaca, Cashman, Catania, Cavada, Chatzimarkakis, Chmielewski, Christensen, Chruszcz, Claeys,
Cocilovo, Cohn-Bendit, Corbett, Corbey, Correia, Coûteaux, Coveney, Cramer, Crowley, Czarnecki M., Czar-
necki R., Daul, Davies, De Blasio, de Brún, Deprez, De Rossa, Descamps, Dess, Deva, De Vits, Díez González,
Dillen, Doorn, Douay, Dover, Doyle, Drčar Murko, Dührkop Dührkop, Duff, Duka-Zólyomi, Ek, El Kha-
draoui, Elles, Estrela, Ettl, Eurlings, Evans Jillian, Evans Robert, Falbr, Fazakas, Ferber, Fernandes, Ferreira A.,
Ferreira E., Flasarová, Flautre, Florenz, Foltyn-Kubicka, Ford, Frassoni, Gahler, Gaľa, García Pérez, Gauzès,
Gawronski, Geremek, Geringer de Oedenberg, Gibault, Gierek, Gill, Goepel, Golik, Gollnisch, Gomes,
Gomolka, Gottardi, Goudin, Grabowska, Grabowski, Graefe zu Baringdorf, Grässle, de Grandes Pascual,
Grech, Gröner, de Groen-Kouwenhoven, Grosch, Grossetête, Guardans Cambó, Guidoni, Gurmai, Hall, Ham-
merstein Mintz, Handzlik, Harbour, Harkin, Harms, Hasse Ferreira, Hassi, Hatzidakis, Hazan, Heaton-Harris,
Hedh, Hedkvist Petersen, Hegyi, Henin, Hennis-Plasschaert, Herranz García, Higgins, Honeyball, Hoppen-
stedt, Horáček, Howitt, Hudacký, Hughes, Hutchinson, in 't Veld, Isler Béguin, Jackson, Jäätteenmäki, Jało-
wiecki, Janowski, Jeggle, Joan i Marí, Jørgensen, Jonckheer, Jordan Cizelj, Kacin, Kaczmarek, Kallenbach,
Karatzaferis, Karim, Kasoulides, Kaufmann, Kauppi, Kelam, Kinnock, Kirkhope, Klamt, Klich, Klinz, Koch,
Koch-Mehrin, Korhola, Koterec, Krahmer, Krarup, Krasts, Krehl, Kristensen, Kristovskis, Kuc, Kułakowski,
Kusstatscher, Kużmiuk, Lagendijk, Lamassoure, Lambert, Lambrinidis, Landsbergis, Lang, La Russa, Lehideux,
Leichtfried, Le Pen J.-M., Le Pen M., Le Rachinel, Liberadzki, Libicki, Lichtenberger, Lienemann, Liese, Liotard,
Lipietz, Locatelli, López-Istúriz White, Lucas, Ludford, Lynne, Maat, Maaten, McAvan, McCarthy, McDonald,
McGuinness, McMillan-Scott, Madeira, Malmström, Mann E., Mann T., Mantovani, Markov, Martin D., Martin
H.-P., Martinez, Masiel, Maštálka, Mastenbroek, Mathieu, Matsakis, Matsis, Matsouka, Mavrommatis, Mayer,
Meijer, Mikko, Mikolášik, Mitchell, Mohácsi, Moraes, Morgan, Morgantini, Mulder, Musacchio, Muscardini,
Muscat, Musumeci, Myller, Napoletano, Nattrass, Navarro, Newton-Dunn, Nicholson, van Nistelrooij, Obiols
i Germà, Occhetto, Özdemir, Olajos, Olbrycht, Ó Neachtain, Onesta, Oomen-Ruijten, Ortuondo Larrea,
Ouzký, Paasilinna, Paleckis, Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, Pannella, Panzeri, Parish, Patrie, Peterle, Pflüger, Pie-
cyk, Pieper, Pīks, Pinheiro, Pinior, Pirilli, Piskorski, Pistelli, Pittella, Podestà, Podkański, Pomés Ruiz, Portas,
Posselt, Prets, Prodi, Protasiewicz, Ransdorf, Rasmussen, Remek, Resetarits, Reul, Reynaud, Ribeiro e Castro,
Ries, Rizzo, Rocard, Rogalski, Romagnoli, Romeva i Rueda, Roth-Behrendt, Rothe, Rouček, Roure, Rühle,
Rutowicz, Ryan, Sacconi, Sakalas, Salinas García, Samuelsen, dos Santos, Sartori, Saryusz-Wolski, Scheele,
Schenardi, Schlyter, Schmidt, Schnellhardt, Schröder, Schroedter, Seeber, Seeberg, Segelström, Seppänen, Sie-
kierski, Simpson, Sinnott, Siwiec, Sjöstedt, Skinner, Škottová, Smith, Sommer, Sornosa Martínez, Sousa
Pinto, Spautz, Staes, Staniszewska, Stauner, Stihler, Strož, Stubb, Sudre, Sumberg, Svensson, Swoboda, Szá-
jer, Szejna, Szymański, Tannock, Tarabella, Tarand, Tatarella, Thomsen, Thyssen, Titley, Trakatellis, Trianta-
phyllides, Trüpel, Turmes, Tzampazi, Uca, Ulmer, Vaidere, Vakalis, Vanhecke, Van Hecke, Van Lancker, Van
Orden, Varela Suanzes-Carpegna, Veneto, Veraldi, Vergnaud, Vincenzi, Voggenhuber, Wagenknecht, Watson,
Weber M., Weisgerber, Westlund, Willmott, Wojciechowski J., Wurtz, Wynn, Xenogiannakopoulou, Yañez-
Barnuevo García, Zaleski, Zapałowski, Zappala', Zatloukal, Ždanoka, Zīle, Zimmer, Zingaretti, Zvěřina,
Zwiefka