§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the proposals put forward by the European Commission for a European Food Agency; what consultations have been held with Her Majesty's Government on the proposal; what overlap is likely with the work and responsibilities of the UK's Food Standards Agency; what Her Majesty's Government's response to the proposal has been; and when he expects proposals for legislation to be presented to the Council of Ministers. [105487]
§ Ms Quin[holding answer 18 January 2000]The Commission's White Paper on food safety published on 12 January sets out detailed proposals aimed at restoring public confidence on food safety and includes proposals for setting up an independent European Food Authority by 2002. The Commission proposes that the role of the Authority be restricted to information gathering, risk assessment and analysis, provision of scientific advice and monitoring, but with no responsibility for proposing legislation. The Commission are inviting comments on these proposals by the end of April.
The Government welcome the proposal to set up a European Food Authority which they see as an opportunity to improve the EU food safety regime. The Government will give careful consideration to the proposals before submitting their formal and detailed response.
During development of the proposal officials have provided the Commission with advice based on our experience in setting up the Food Standards Agency. The current proposals do not involve any Treaty change or significant alteration in the balance of EU and national responsibilities. We will be pressing for an EU Authority which complements the UK's Food Standards Agency.