§ Mr. HarveyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps she is taking to resist changes to EC directive 64/432 on trade in cattle and pigs.
§ Mr. SoamesThe Government support the principle of removing unnecessary barriers to trade and support the initiative taken by the Commission in drafting a proposal to consolidate and amend directive 64/432/EEC with a view to facilitating trade. During negotiations on the proposed amendments to the directive, the Government will aim to ensure that the individual provisions are carefully assessed, do not increase the risk of disease being spread between member states and are not unnecessarily onerous on industry.