madam president i wish to highlight the importance of explaining to affected stakeholders early on in the legislative process the reasons why it is necessary to regulate
as a representative of a predominantly rural constituency i have received a considerable number of representations from highly concerned constituents in the farming community on this particular dossier
there is a general perception amongst this community that regulations are being arbitrarily handed down from brussels without any input from the bottom up
therefore i firmly believe that member state governments need to do a lot more explaining of these matters with affected stakeholders rather than taking the easy route of foisting the responsibility on the so-called brussels bureaucrats
after all it is the member states that have to implement these measures in the final instance and it is the member states that have the resources in terms of local representatives to explain these matters to farmers
it is important that those who are producing food within the eu are not over-regulated compared to those who bring their produce onto the market from outside the eu
any proposal must have balance for consumers farmers and the environment but we must also make sure that the correct information is made available to all of the stakeholders
