madam president can i also express my appreciation to the rapporteur for a very good report
i think there are very many good ideas in this report and i agree entirely with the rapporteur mr scottà when he talks about how important it is for european producers to add value and maximise the potential of their products
we must always strive to achieve the maximum potential of europe's agri-food industry
this will ultimately serve to increase our competitiveness and strengthen the economy in rural areas
in this regard i am happy to see that mr scottà dealt with the future of the pgi and pdo systems
these instruments have proven popular with consumers and producers alike
however i agree with the rapporteur that their management and application must be simplified
also if we are serious about their value abroad we must ensure more protection from third countries
i would like to see more products from my own regions applying for a pgi and hopefully the commission will take on board some of the suggestions to simplify the application procedure so we will see more applications from my own region of northern ireland
however i must point out that there are some elements of this report which i do not support
i am against the introduction of an eu quality logo
what i support is country of origin labelling
in effect i feel an eu logo would be meaningless a waste of time and money and i feel the same way about the eu logo for organic produce
another concern for me are the amendments which were passed in the committee on agriculture and rural development calling for the reintroduction of the marketing standards of fruit and vegetables which some meps are desperately trying to get back on the table
the fact is these rules were dismantled by the commission last year
i wholeheartedly supported this move and now we can let the market set its own standards
in this regard i would urge colleagues to support the plenary amendments tabled by my own group and other groups which are very clear and simple and to delete these elements
