first of all i am not familiar with the particular area that the honourable member mentioned so if i may i will come back to him in writing about that
however i agree completely on the question of the value and importance of the industry to the european union and to trade
indeed it is an area where we have increasingly to look and focus
i work very closely with commissioner fischer boel when looking at trade agreements to make sure that the agriculture side of our agreements represents a real strength and a real opportunity
i hope that as our negotiations unfold the honourable member will see more of the value that we place on this
in terms of the reciprocity principle we are negotiating with and training third-country officials so that they understand what the eu system is so as to build their confidence in the level of protection offered to eu consumers and to their consumers alike
we insist that third countries respect their international obligations notably the world trade organisation sps agreement making sure that when setting requirements they respect international standards or base their requirements on science
