madam president the commissioner said we cannot impose the same standards but we must ensure they have an equivalent effect
she spoke of eu traceability from farm to table but she also told us that in third countries the scope of traceability is much more limited
if the scope is much more limited and those are the commissioner's words then how can it have an equivalent effect
but my issue is the recent fvo report on beef imports from brazil
my problem is that both the commission and the fvo consistently play down the impact of their findings and they minimise any adverse information
yes additional requirements were authorised but as my colleague mrs mcguinness said that was only after sustained pressure from the committee on agriculture and the irish farmers organisation
i was a maths teacher for most of my life and if i gave my students twelve problems to solve like the twelve visits that the commissioner had to establishments in brazil and they only solved six of them correctly i would not stamp satisfactory on their exam paper
if three had minor and three had major problems i would not consider that a good outcome particularly if i had spent years working with them to improve their grades
eu farmers want fair trade as well as free trade and eu consumers deserve certainty
the eu commission and the fvo have a responsibility to ensure both
i certainly would not give them an a grade for their work
