This article is from page 36 of the 2007-09-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 36 JPG
MINISTER of State, Tony Killeen, has received assurances from the Minister for Agriculture and Food and the EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection that all produce entering the EU must meet standards equivalent to those re- quired of community producers.
The response follows Minister Kil- leen’s representation on behalf of a number of Clare farmers who had expressed concern over the standard of Brazilian beef imports.
“Minister Mary Coughlan and Mr Markos Kyprianou confirmed that
EU policy requires that third coun- Daves bee] ole )u KO) mr-DObONT-D mm oyueye LUC Kmppe ete! standards at least equivalent to those required for production in, and trade between, EU member States,’ ex- plained Minister Killeen.
“As regards traceability and con- trols of residues of veterinary medi- cines, the commissioner said that the purpose of EU legislation is not to impose on exporting third countries a system of guarantees that is equal to the EU system, but that the export- ing country provides guarantees that are equivalent to EU standards.
“Commissioner Kyprianou pointed out that his service is committed to
protecting the health of European consumers and livestock.
“The commissioner also assured Minister Coughlan that the Commis- sion will not hesitate to take appro- priate protection measures if a prod- uct, imported from a third country or produced in the domestic market represents a risk for the health of ECX consumers, livestock or plants.
‘Tam also aware of a similar assur- ance to members of the Dail in Sep- tember 2006 by a senior commission official.”
In a letter this week to Minister Killeen, the Minister for Agriculture and Food stated, “I have consistently
expressed the view that Irish farmers deserve fair play in the market place. At EU level I have advocated that produce imported from third coun- tries must meet standards equivalent to those required of community pro- ducers. In the interests of our pro- ducers and consumers | will continue to adopt this approach.”
Concern have been raised by all of the Irish farming organisations in recent months over the safety of Brazilian beef. Foot and Mouth dis- ease 1S widespread in many areas of Brazil and fears have been raised of spreading the disease through the importation of infected animals.