Europarlementariërs kanten zich opnieuw tegen gekloond vlees (en)

MEPs have reiterated their commitment to preventing the sale of meat and milk from cloned animals in the EU, following talks with Council and the Commission on Monday and the Commission's publication of a new report on cloning.

The European Parliament and Council are set to enter into conciliation negotiations to try and find an agreement on proposed updates to "novel foods" rules. The major stumbling blocks relate to food from cloned animals (and their descendents) and to the safe approval and labelling of food that contains nano-sized ingredients. An informal "trilogue" meeting was held by Parliament, Council and the Commission in Strasbourg yesterday, as a step towards formal negotiations.

Gianni Pittella i (S&D, IT), Vice-President of the European Parliament and Chair of Parliament's delegation for conciliation negotiations on the novel foods regulation, commented:

"I welcome the fact that the EU Parliament, Council and the Commission are committed to cooperating and resolving the current legal uncertainty on food from cloned animals. MEPs support the introduction of a moratorium - as soon as possible - to guarantee consumer protection in this sector. However there are critical differences in our positions, notably on Parliament's demand to prevent the sale of food not only from clones themselves, but also from their offspring and further descendents. Parliament is also determined to ensure proper safety checks and labelling for foods produced with the aid of nanotechnology."

A European Commission report published today advocates a five-year moratorium on the sale of food from cloned animals. Kartika Liotard i (GUE/NGL, NL), Parliament's rapporteur on the novel foods regulation, commented:

"After years of calls from the public and the European Parliament, I welcome the fact that the Commission is at last proposing a moratorium on food from clones. This shows that the Commission has taken into consideration animal welfare, the environment and ethics, and not just trade pressures. We also need a solution for the time before a moratorium can enter into force. Furthermore the report fails to address the status of offspring and descendants of cloned animals. Allowing trade in food products from of offspring of clones would mean closing our eyes to animal welfare and ethical concerns related to cloning. The Commission's proposal for a moratorium still makes a positive contribution to the upcoming conciliation negotiations on the novel foods regulation. I hope it will help to reach an agreement between Council and Parliament."