|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Temporary Committee on Foot and Mouth Disease
The final report of the Temporary Committee on Foot and Mouth Disease was adopted by the European Parliament on Tuesday, 17 December 2002. Of the 526 Members who voted, a crushing majority of 481 Members supported the report, only 32 Members voted against and 13 abstained. The main group who rejected the report were the British Socialists. The resolution will now be transmitted to the European Commission and all Member States.
from left to right: Mrs Margaret BECKETT, British Secretary of State for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs and Mrs Encarnación REDONDO JIMÉNEZ (EPP-ED, ES),
Chairman of the Temporary Committee on FMD, during a meeting
in Brussels, 12 September 2002
Introduction
On 20 February 2001, the British Government confirmed the first case of Foot and Mouth Disease in the UK for over 30 years. Within weeks, the world's worst ever Foot and Mouth epidemic had spread to France, Ireland and the Netherlands. Eradication efforts came at a painfully high cost - over 6 million animals were slaughtered, according to the official figures, and the direct and indirect financial impact runs to billions of euros. Recent studies suggest that the real number of animal slaughtered could have been more than 10 million. Rural communities across the EU continue to feel the psychological and economic effects.
The EPP-ED attached the utmost importance to the Foot and Mouth crisis, driving two hard-hitting resolutions through Parliament in 2001. Angered by the British Government's stubborn refusal to hold a public inquiry into the handling of the crisis in the UK, the Group then called for an EU-level probe to examine why there was an outbreak in the first place, why it was not controlled more quickly and what lessons must be learned in future. In the face of relentless opposition from the Socialists, including British Labour MEPs, the decision to set up a Parliamentary inquiry was deferred several times. By January 2002, however, the EPP-ED had secured sufficient support and the Plenary agreed to establish a Temporary Committee on Foot and Mouth and Disease. Even then, the Socialists voted against the move en bloc.
The Committee, which will sit for up to one year, will deliberate and hold all its hearings in public. Delegations from the Committee will visit affected Member States so as to hear first-hand the experiences of those who have been denied the chance to be heard. The Committee's work will be guided by its mandate with a view to producing a report towards the end of the year. Through this website, the EPP-ED warmly invites you to follow our work on the Committee and to contact us should you wish to make a direct contribution.
|
|
|
Printer friendly - 
Send page by e-mail - 
Back to Top
