WRITTEN QUESTION E-1165/00 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. White Paper on Food Safety and the European Food Authority.
13. 2. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 46 E/137 That is why the Commission has called on the Council and the Parliament on several occasions to improve the collection, analysis and dissemination of data on health, and their quality and comparability. The Commission would reassure the Honourable Member on the question of possible overlap between the measures of the Commission and those of the Member States. It has no intention of taking the place of the Member States. All the work under way in the area of nutritional health monitoring is being done together with the Member States, with the Commission initiating and coordinating such work. (2001/C 46 E/157) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1165/00 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (12 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 Commission wishes to clarify and enhance the existing WTO framework (section 108). The precautionary principle must be respected in the field of food safety. The main requirement is to devise a standard methodology for applying this principle. Measures taken by other countries to refuse EU products are to be studied in the context of the opportunities afforded by the SPS Agreement. The EU wants to accede to the Codex Alimentarius and the International Office of Epizootics. for adequate Does the Commission regard the existing rules of application of the precautionary principle? If so, what shortcomings does the Commission identify in the Agreement? What proposals will the Commission make to remedy them? If not, will the Commission nevertheless make proposals? the SPS Agreement as insufficient Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission (16 June 2000) The Commission believes that the Agreement on Sanitary and the provisions of Article 5(7) of Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) reflect the application of the precautionary principle. This article does not provide for the preparation of guidelines for its application. However, with regard to food safety, the Codex Alimentarius, whose standards are taken into consideration by the SPS, took on the responsibility, at the Communityís request, for defining the precautionary principle and drawing up guidelines for its application. The various reports of the Standing Appellate Body of the World Trade Organisation have shown that this paragraph does not exhaust the application of the precautionary principle in the SPS Agreement and that it must not be considered independently of the provisions of Articles 2 and 5 thereof. Although the SPS Agreement could be modified to classify better the conditions for the application of the precautionary principle, in the view of the Commission this is probably not necessary, since the same result may be achieved by developing binding guidelines for the application of Article 5(7) which would certainly allow for the correct and non-protectionist use of the precautionary principle in the future. The Community presented a Communication on the Application of the Precautionary Principle at the meeting of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the WTO in March 2000 in an attempt to stimulate a discussion with its partners and to pave the way for a joint approach in the future