WRITTEN QUESTION E-1156/00 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. White Paper on Food Safety and the European Food Authority.
20. 2. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 53 E/87 (2001/C 53 E/113) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1156/00 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (11 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. Existing legislation enables Member States to collect fees for controls of products of animal origin (sections 86-87). There is a lack of uniformity in setting and charging fees. The legislative review will extend application of this principle to other areas. Whether producers should contribute to the cost of official controls of their products is an old question. If this principle is applied unevenly it will result in a distortion of competition. In some quarters it is felt that food control is a central task of the State and should therefore be paid for entirely from public funds to avoid any hint of a conflict of interests. Does the Commission advocate full public funding for official controls? If not, what funding mechanism does it prefer? In what way will the Commission avoid a situation whereby the funding of public controls leads to a distortion of competition because the different Member States use different funding systems? (2001/C 53 E/114) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1157/00 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (11 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 legal basis for (Union) border checks should apply to all products The Commission says that (section 93). This is the right attitude. It is important to avoid the frequently observed situation where some ports or airports are more popular than others because of less strict checks. What specific measures does the Commission have in mind to make border checks uniform, and hence equally strict? (2001/C 53 E/115) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1158/00 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (11 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. It is necessary to consider whether the Commission needs to be given additional powers in the event of non-compliance with EU rules (section 94). This would enable the Commission to take rapid action