On 1 February 2011, the Hungarian Presidency of the Council launched the final, conciliation phase of the novel food regulation procedure, a simplified and centralised authorisation system for innovative food products.

Following the first meeting of the Conciliation Committee, Minister Sándor Fazekas, chair of the Agriculture Council, said: “We must all keep in mind the need to move swiftly and decisively to ensure that public concerns about food from cloned animals are alleviated, and to this end we made a comprehensive and feasible proposal that could be put in place without delay.”

During the course of the meetings on Tuesday night, the positions of the European Parliament, the Member States and the Commission were further explored and clarified. All parties agreed on the need for a separate and specific law on cloning, and for a temporary moratorium during the transitional period preceding its entry into force. At the same time, there was considerable disagreement on the feasibility of the different approaches. The Hungarian Presidency offered an arrangement that is fully in line with international obligations and minimises the administrative burden on economic operators. However, this approach has not yet been accepted by the delegation of the European Parliament, thus delaying the agreement on the moratorium on food products from cloned animals.

As we are in the final, conciliation stage of the legislative procedure, there is only limited time left for the EP and the Council to reach an agreement on this legislation. Otherwise the status quo will prevail, without legislation on novel foods or moratorium on food products from cloned animals. Therefore, the Hungarian Presidency will continue to engage the European Parliament in a constructive dialogue in the forthcoming weeks, so that the novel food legislation can be adopted before the final deadline of 30 March.

So far, the Hungarian Presidency has held 4 Coreper meetings, one trilogue and numerous technical talks to gather the views of the Parliament, Member States and the Commission for a possible compromise. In proposing certain practical limits regarding the offspring of cloned animals and the legal form of the moratorium on food from cloned animals, the Council is seen as occupying the middle ground between the Parliament and the Commission. This approach would not only ensure high level consumer protection, but would also protect the legislation from international legal challenges and prevent it from imposing an unnecessary burden on economic operators. Since the need for further discussions became clear, the Hungarian Presidency will continue its efforts to reach a workable compromise. To this end, the Presidency will meet the EP delegation in Strasbourg on 15 February, while the next conciliation committee meeting is foreseen for 16 March.

(eu2011.hu)