mr president simplification and better regulation are priorities for the commission
i would like to thank the rapporteur mr ashworth for an excellent report in this rather complicated and challenging area
the commission fully agrees that simplification and reduction of administrative burden should be of particular benefit for farmers
this will enable the farmers to spend more time on their core agricultural activities
the commission welcomes the report presented it generally tackles the main areas of concern of european farmers and provides the commission with new ideas and observations with regard to simplifying the common agricultural policy
during the past years the commission has made substantial progress in simplifying the common agricultural policy
i would like to give just one proof of this the stoiber group which advises the commission on the topic of administrative burden has clearly indicated that the level of red tape for farmers has been reduced considerably as a result of simplification activities carried out by the commission
but simplification is an ongoing process work will continue in twenty ten
moreover there is an overall reflection process on the future of the common agricultural policy
we have already launched a public debate and that means that we will have to all work together to find efficient ways to reduce the administrative burden while maintaining a high level of protection of the european union's financial interest and at the same time a very efficient agriculture
in this process i would also warn about one desire and will just mention one example of it
sometimes simplification should not be made at the expense of the challenge that we could face
take as an example traceability
we have in recent years had a peaceful situation with no major scandals or outbreaks of epidemics but at the same time traceability is the key
we should not just abolish it because we have not had any crises
so i believe that in the whole process we should be very careful when we simplify we should not forget the lessons of the past and the reasons why we introduced particular rules
so the commission will continue to work on this process and we will be very careful not to forget the lessons learned
