Brussels, 02/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - In the evening of Tuesday 1st February, the European Parliament (EP), Council and Commission failed to make any progress in their first conciliation meeting under Hungarian presidency on the revised draft regulation on novel foods (see EUROPE 10306). The process has begun, however, and the three institutions will continue their negotiations on 16 February.
Discussions focussed on two issues: what is to be done with food products from offspring of cloned animals, and the procedure for updating the list of novel foods. On the first, the EP has dug in its heels, demanding that the five-year moratorium on the trade in cloned animals proposed by the Commission be immediately extended to food derived from the offspring of cloned animals. The Council and Commission oppose this stance.
The updating of the list of novel foods can be done either by delegated acts (Article 290) or by implementing acts (Article 291). The EP would prefer to use delegated acts which would put it in a position of strength since this procedure allows the EP and the Council to revoke a delegation and to oppose an act delegated to the Commission. Both Council and Commission would prefer to use implementing acts to update the list.
“The conciliation committee confirmed that the European Parliament is determined to demand the firmest possible guarantees on food safety for European consumers. That is why we are still calling for a binding legal framework which is fit for the task of covering all the main issues around cloning for food purposes. Until such time as this framework comes into force, we feel that there has to be a moratorium on all foods from cloned animals and their offspring”, stated Gianni Pitella (S&D, Italy), who leads the EP delegation in the conciliation committee.
The European Commission has announced that, after an impact assessment, it would propose legislation specifically on products from cloned animals. This proposal would contain a moratorium on using cloning techniques for the reproduction of any animals that produce foods, a temporary suspension on the use of cloned animals for food production purposes, a moratorium on the marketing of foods from such animals and the establishment of a traceability system for imported cloned animal semen and embryos, so that farmers and industry can create a database of the offspring of cloned animals. This is the legislation the EP wants to see in place. (A.N./transl.rt)