Brussels, 24/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - Before the General Assembly of Consumer Associations in Europe, gathered this Thursday and Friday in Brussels, the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi underlined the priority given by the Commission to food safety and its belief that the "adoption of an integrated food policy covering the whole food chain" is the only way of restoring consumer confidence. Commenting on the new Mad Cow crisis, the President stated "it is ironic that the results of the extra measures put in place by the French authorities has lead to increased concerns. What we can learn from the French situation is the need to prepare consumers for the fact that improved controls may well lead to more cases being found (Ed: of Mad Cow disease). Adding, by specifying the additional measures approved the day before by the Veterinary Committee: "I believe that the measures that are in placer to ensure the safety of beef are sufficient to ensure the high standard of safety that consumers expect".
The President also insisted on the important role played by the organisations representing civil society in the decision-making process for a transparent and democratic Europe. "That is why the Commission wants consumer organisations and individual consumers to help us develop our consumer policy, and to improve all European policies that concern consumers", he stated when confirming that the Commission will present in the summer 2000 a White Paper on European governance that would propose a more democratic and centralised management method in Europe.