§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who represented the United Kingdom at the Council of Ministers meeting that decided to remove the derogation from marking for ungraded eggs. [184191]
§ Alun MichaelMy right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, and my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Commons) represented the UK at the meeting in question.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the United Kingdom voted against the decision of the Council of Ministers to remove the derogation from marking for ungraded eggs; and if she will make a statement. [184192]
§ Alun MichaelThroughout the negotiations, the UK opposed the Commission's proposal. At the Council of Ministers, we abstained and gave the following statement formally to record our position;
The United Kingdom has not felt able to support the proposal to require all eggs at local public markets to be marked. The Commission has produced no evidence demonstrating that there is actually a food safety or enforcement problem that needs to be addressed. The proposal is therefore likely to lead to unnecessary additional burdens on small-scale producers. A facultative provision, allowing those member states which do have concerns about local markets to take necessary action, would have been more appropriate.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which member states(a) supported and (b) opposed the Council of Ministers' decision to remove the derogation from ungraded eggs. [184193]
§ Alun MichaelThe UK abstained from voting but all other member states voted in favour.