kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
can you guarantee that none of these will contaminate the food chain in the next twenty three months when they are still in the process of disposal;
that is why i do not agree with proinsias. this is a european issue because it has a cross border dimension. what happened in ireland could happen in any member state because there are as i understand it thousands of tonnes of pcbs in circulation.
and would the commission present a report on the status of implementation of the feed hygiene regulation which this house would like to hear?
the contamination as we understand it came as jim nicholson rightly pointed out from across the border.
i would therefore like to acknowledge the competence and swiftness of the action taken by the irish government and the department of agriculture regarding the decision taken for a total product recall. this was very well received by european and international markets and indeed by the european commission.
it highlighted how seriously we as a country view food safety matters and helped maintain our reputation at home and abroad as a quality food producing nation.
and yet even after we knew the source of the pcbs this butcher who sources all his own pork who had all the code numbers etc.
but almost from the early one thousand nine hundred s until one thousand nine hundred and sixty six when a swedish scientist actually established their danger people looked the other way and allowed them to be used even though numerous industrial accidents happened over and over and over again.
two thousand so there are a lot of pcbs out there and they were left out there almost one hundred years after we knew there was a problem.
they were used for many years in capacitors hydraulic fuels wood floor finishes clearly not something we want in the food chain.
was still being forced to throw away and destroy pork.
we can know exactly where this egg comes from what day it was laid and if we really want to delve a little bit further we can find out exactly what farm and so on.
i remember visiting a butcher around that time and he just could not understand.
we are talking today about pcbs and dioxins and rightly so but are we going to spend one hundred years before we realise the connection between dioxins and incineration?
there is perhaps a tendency once the paper trail is correct and the boxes are ticked to put it all to bed and not look underneath the surface.
i have a sense that in member states we regulate the compliant particularly tightly and we do not keep a lookout for the potentially non compliant.
however we are where we are now and we know the consequences of the system's failure in terms not just of money although that is hugely significant for the european union for the irish exchequer for taxpayers but of the loss of confidence among consumers and the damage done generally to the irish
everybody is in favour of it because we all want to be environmentally friendly and sustainable.
i welcome very particularly the announcement of the irish farmers' association that they are setting up a food taskforce.
i am happy that we have made progress now and are restoring our name on the international marketplace but i am also acutely aware that farmers throughout the european union also face problems because of the irish difficulty.
its safety and how it is processed and handled then i am afraid we may need to look at banning this in the food and feed chain.
i think the reason we are debating this tonight is because we want to learn lessons and ensure that it does not happen again.
we are looking at it again in the financial sector and we also need to look at it in the food sector.
farmers like to buy ingredients and to mix their own rations and generally larger farmers do this.
i think we need to look again at regulation.
that is appropriate if we have tight controls on it.
so that is i suppose where the starting point for this debate must be. we know that this oil should not have got into the animal feed chain.
i also think that at farm level inspectors are sometimes regarded as the devil incarnate coming on to farms.
that is why i think that tonight's debate is not just about ireland.
it is high time that farmers took some control of the food chain that they are the first step on.
i would not like to see that happen but then again i would not like to see happen again what occurred in ireland and the subsequent consequences of it.
' on the issue of regulation i believe that there are very tight controls on licensed animal feed operators the compound feed industry of the european union and they came in because of practices in the past which we needed to tighten up on.
however the level of detail or specificity of internal traceability chosen by the food business operator determines the final economic loss to be borne by food business operators in the case of recall.
no payments were made by the commission directly to farmers either in the republic of ireland or northern ireland because there is no legal base for such compensation.
the budget for that measure is eur.
and wait for this investigation to finish.
our duty as the commission is to have controls and to see that member states do their duty.
there is an ongoing police investigation and the company concerned is cooperating fully with them.
we need to look at that issue. the commission needs to look at the whole role of identification and traceability and above all let us wait for the police investigation which i think will surprise people.
the livelihoods of many irish farmers and indeed the reputation of irish food products abroad suffered because we had to have such a disproportionate response when only six to seven per cent of our pig farms were contaminated since the irish system of identification and traceability failed at the point of the slaughter house.
should we not be looking for a more stringent application of the rules in terms of the management of pcbs?
two thousand and one of course the process of implementing it is still it would appear under way and the inspection procedures for ensuring that it is being complied with appear to be quite weak.
should we not be looking more seriously at taking these pcbs out of circulation much more quickly than is envisaged particularly because of the late way in which many member states actually implemented the directive?
the most important thing is that we try and ensure that the public and the consumer can be certain that the food they are buying in the supermarkets in their local corner shops is safe to eat.
indeed unfortunately ireland was one of those member states which had to be forced by threats of legal action to actually implement this directive five years later in.
what i want to know is whether a code of practice is in fact compliant with the directive.
in order to ensure the efficiency of pcb disposal plans member states have to further improve the implementation of existing legislation on pcbs and of european waste legislation in general.
i would like to stress the major importance of a comprehensive approach to be adopted for the risk classification which includes possible risks related not only to the nature of the incoming material in this case breadcrumbs
two thousand and five lays down minimum requirements for feed hygiene which apply from the primary production of feed through the production the processing and the distribution to the point of feeding the animals.
in the irish dioxin contamination incident the use of contaminated breadcrumbs as animal feed was identified to be the source of contamination.
in most cases this must be done by an on the spot visit.
oil. the relevant responsibilities of the different actors from the breadcrumb producer to the fuel supplier and so on will be identified by an ongoing legal investigation.
this means the identification of critical control points and the identification of inter alia possible chemical contamination when using the direct heating process to dry feed materials.
gaps in the full implementation of this legislation.
as a result of these infringement procedures the overall situation has improved.
currently only two such cases are still open but are about to be closed.
the commission had to launch infringement procedures against most member states concerning the obligation to establish inventories of large pcb containing equipment and pcb disposal plans.
the eu has established legislation to decrease the release of pcbs and dioxins into the environment with the objective of reducing human exposure and protecting human health and the environment.
the fuel used was apparently contaminated with pcb transformer
additional efforts are needed.
the responsibility for compliance with these requirements rests with feed business operators although the adequacy of the measures put in place by fbos must be verified by the competent authorities of the member states.
furthermore general principles on the organisation of official controls laid down in the official control on food and feed regulation require member states to ensure that controls are carried out regularly on a risk basis and with appropriate frequency.
the plant mentioned in the question was not one of those subjected to inspection in the two thousand and eight general audit.
a general audit of ireland under this article was carried out across a number of sectors in two thousand and eight and a report will be available shortly. the list of establishments to be audited is jointly decided
the commission is placing increasing importance on the proper implementation of eu waste legislation and is actively supporting member states in enhancing the implementation of their national waste legislation. the feed hygiene regulation no one hundred and eighty three
but also to the process itself.
feed business operators should put in place implement and maintain procedures based on the haccp principles.
madam president several farmers and a processing business in my constituency face millions of pounds of loss through no fault of their own because contaminated feed bought in good faith was supplied from a food mill where wanton disregard
it is no surprise that there is considerable anger amongst those affected constituents.
i have a series of questions for the commissioner.
firstly what is the history of the culpable recycling feed mill in terms of compliance with eu regulations?
fourthly is the commission satisfied with the level and frequency of inspections and supervision imposed by the member state on this plant and its produce given the member state's obligation to have a risk based official control plan? was there negligence on the part of the irish authorities in enforcing with rigour the feed law and food safety requirements?
fifthly in my constituency legitimate food mills have to comply with rigorous controls and standards under quality assurance schemes.
why was there no equivalent scrutiny of the millstream recycling?
sixthly was there any reliance upon self certifying of safety of feed mills and if so why since that should only be permissible on small scale operators was it allowed to apply here?
finally if i might what is the precise legal basis upon which the commission agreed a large payout to the irish state as initially the commission spokesman said that no such basis existed?
will there be a follow up in terms of infringement if that member state is found to be in breach of its requirements?
the company concerned millstream recycling are cooperating fully.
they have a full paper trail to prove they bought this oil from a licensed company in dublin that supplies oil.
they bought it as a recycled light fuel oil which would have been the correct oil to use in this particular drying process.
there is a legal and police investigation.
the pertinent point is that millstream chose to buy in that oil knowing it was looking for oil to use in dryers to deal with feedstuff to dry the breadcrumbs so why was it buying oil of that sort no matter where it came from?
why was it not checked by state inspectors and by the company itself?
the use of oil in that circumstance is as i understand it illegal a breach of the food and hygiene regulations. so where it came from is not the issue it is why it came there and why it was used for the purpose for which it was used.
this is ordinary people suffering and it is our farmers who are suffering financially.
nobody knew where it had come from what pigs it came from or where it came from. commissioner it is time long past time that you brought in straight clear labelling of origin of where this comes from.
however there are two things we need in particular to do that.
we would like to see that reduced by at least one to.
we do not need to be pressurised regarding our corporation tax and we particularly do not need lectures from people like mr sarkozy who seems very cosy with an effective rate of.
that also is very important because i do not believe there is such a thing as an independent national agency.
firstly the interest rate charged is draconian and is not sustainable.
of course it will fail not for want of money being thrown at the problem but because the problem is endemic.
mr president so the european council will adopt the decision to amend the treaty with regard to the european stability mechanism but will allegedly help countries stay inside the eurozone.
the same currency value cannot possibly reflect the economic conditions in seventeen different countries.
following our proposals the agreement for the future esm clearly states the central role of the commission in the process as well as the implication of the european parliament.
we need indeed to tap the full potential of the single market and the commission will soon put forward the single market act with a set of a dozen priority proposals to put our biggest asset to work to deliver growth and jobs and reinforce europe's competitiveness.
we have mobilised eur thirty million to provide assistance to refugees and migrants and as you know we have several teams on the ground and we maintain close contact with countries of origin and donors. the commission's civil protection mechanism is also continuing to support member states' consular operations;
further it will be for the european commission to take the lead in assessing the actual financing needs of the beneficiary member state as well as the nature of the required private sector involvement.
while dealing with the short term challenges of this fast changing and extremely complex situation we are not losing sight of our long term goal of a democratic stable prosperous southern mediterranean region based on the commission proposal on partnership for democracy and shared prosperity.
without confidence there are no investments.
last monday the finance ministers agreed to set up the european stability mechanism from june two thousand and thirteen with effective lending capacity of eur five hundred billion.
i think at the end we have an agreement that is fully compatible with a community approach and i want once again to thank parliament for its interest and commitment to that approach.
in fact as you know the commission is working on a proposal to tax the financial sector.
then our new economic framework would be fully in place and all its tools could be used to assess national budgets stability and convergence programmes as well as national reform programmes
to this end the commission intends to propose a regulation of the european parliament and of the council based on article one hundred and thirty six of the treaty clarifying the necessary procedural steps in order to enshrine the policy conditionality in council decisions and ensure consistency with the european union multilateral surveillance framework. the council and the commission will inform the european parliament on a regular basis about the establishment and the operations of the
specifically on nuclear issues it is important to draw lessons from the events in japan.
since last friday we have reinforced our presence on the ground with a civil protection team composed of logistics and nuclear experts.
once again i want to thank this parliament because i believe the strong positions taken by this parliament were very important to assure that the community approach could also be recognised in the pact for the euro.
the economic policy of each member state is now recognised as a matter that should concern all member states and all european institutions. for the first time with the european semester we have the tools we need for early and strong coordination of our economic policies and structural reforms before each member state sets its own policies and budget for the next year.
they are intended to promote fiscal consolidation correct macroeconomic imbalances and ensure financial stability all prerequisites for sound growth.
the pact for the euro also recognises the commission's work on taxation and financial regulation.
the pact for the euro agreed by heads of state and government of the euro area and open to all member states wishing to join reflects the priority actions of our annual growth survey but now the pact for the euro as it was agreed is also fully compatible with the treaty and will be fully integrated in the european system of economic governance.
without investments there is no growth.
on the financial stabilisation front member states have eventually acknowledged the degree of interdependence of their economies.
by. two thousand and twelve finally with the current european financial stability fund and by two thousand and thirteen the permanent european stability mechanism we will have a backstop tool to guarantee the stability of the euro area as a whole if needed.
that is why the european commission proposed to review the safety of nuclear sites and the comprehensive risk and safety assessment on all european nuclear sites.
let me stress that having clear concrete ambitious nationally owned programmes is essential to the successful implementation of the european semester.
the commission's civil protection mechanism is also coordinating the european union's response to japan's request for assistance.
for that we also need to improve the business environment.
we need to complete the internal market.
it will be also for the european commission to propose to the council a decision endorsing the macroeconomic adjustment programme.
without fiscal consolidation there is no confidence.
a healthy banking system is a prerequisite for a sustainable economic recovery.
the policy conditionality established under an enhanced surveillance or a macroeconomic adjustment programme will be consistent with the european union surveillance framework and must guarantee the respect of european union procedures and thereby also the role of the european parliament.
his regime has lost legitimacy and is no longer an interlocutor for the
four out of the six proposals are subject to codecision.
performance. the eu will consult with the countries of the region that are concerned on financial and technical support for improving the control and management of borders as well as measures to facilitate the return of migrants to their countries
the european council will finalise this work at its next meeting and adopt a comprehensive package of measures to respond to the crisis preserve financial stability and lay the ground for sustainable job creating growth.
the un. such actions will fully respect the un guidelines on the use of military and civil defence
democratic way. the eu will support all steps towards democratic transformation to political systems that allow for peaceful changes growth and prosperity and more proportionate distribution of the benefits of economic
purpose. everything should be done in the closest possible cooperation with the un nato and
as you see real progress has been made in combating the crisis.
will not leave; he coordinates the consular and diplomatic efforts on behalf of the
member states will take these broad policy orientations into account when preparing their stability and convergence programmes and the national reform programmes to be submitted in april.
then libya and the southern neighbourhood;
the financial crisis which turned into an economic recession and then into a sovereign debt and banking crisis has forced europe to seek new ways forward to consider all possible options and to take decisions with long lasting consequences.
the results will guide the necessary restructuring and possible recapitalisation of the eu banking sector.
a european approach for a comprehensive safety and risk assessment of nuclear facilities would maximise the effects at the european level.
the commission uses all instruments available to monitor the impact including on future safety.
the assessment should cover the most important issues such as safety requirements for earthquakes as well as emergency power supply assistance for reactor cooling.
as a result of very long talks for several months the elements of a comprehensive response in economic policy are now finally there for the leaders of the union to agree and commit to in the european council tomorrow.
way. i think it is the beginning of moving in our foreign policy from interest based foreign policy to value based foreign policy.
turning to libya developments in libya have reminded us once again that we should not expect too much from the so called eu common foreign and security policy.
national leaders not eu leaders have shown international leadership.
prime minister cameron and president sarkozy have made and pushed through decisions not the eu representatives.
i think that it shows clearly that there are limits to integration in this field but not only in this field. no member state should feel obliged to do more than it feels is right.
and what did we see?
my congratulations!
being minister of defence in germany is the most risky job in the country.
the european institute of innovation and technology has made significant improvements in the areas identified in the april parliament decision.
these give industry in europe a clear competitive advantage and increase its capacity to grow as was illustrated by the high industrial investment in these partnerships. both initiatives have had a very high leverage factor
since then we have had a progress report from the eit which shows they have made progress and also recently i took the time to visit the eit myself and i heard and saw the progress which they have made.
first of all there was the three error rate detected in knowledge information community grants. secondly errors were found in procurement processes and there were also some issues regarding staff retention.
questions on spending and commitments questions on building projects like the residence palace;
if you believe in it then it is an embarrassment that this parliament is being ignored in this way;
as a result of the activities of the commission's internal audit service we also observe positive developments especially in the implementation of the elements of the institute's action plan.
in the coming months we envisage the publication of a special report of the european court of auditors which will shed light on the ability of the institute to provide innovation in the eu where i would like to discuss the distribution within the european union of the different sectors of knowledge and innovation communities.
we want to trade with the whole world and not just be bogged down with the eu.
i will give you an example of the market.
i am an egg producer free range eggs.
is german then returns his tomatoes because it knows that in this crisis it can force the producer to agree to a lower price. this commissioner is the way the market works at the moment and if you had done your job this would not be possible in a european internal market. this house talks about fair trade with third world countries but fair trade starts at home with a fair price for european
secondly there are opportunities with energy efficiency and other measures whereby farmers can help themselves but as mr stevenson pointed out they have to be practical and not by people who are selling products that will not make much difference in the long term.
the agri food industry and distribution represent seven of total employment within the eu and are worth eur one two hundred billion per year more than any other manufacturing sector in the eu.