Kolumni European Voice: Repealing “frivolous” directives will improve image of EU 20.11.2008
I agree with the article “EU scraps rules on veg to reduce waste” (Europeanvoice.com 12 November) but I would like to add more to the discussion.
As the article said, the EU has made an important first step in streamlining regulation. EU officials abolished directives concerning requirements for twenty six produce products. 100 pages of legislation determining the size, shape and texture of fruit and vegetables were done away with.
After so much ridicule about the bureaucracy of the European Union, this is a move in the right direction.
But I wonder if there is not more that can be done to reduce frivolous directives. While it is true that requirements were removed for many products, others such as apples, strawberries, lettuce, peaches, tomatoes, and more are still under the “pretty-food” standard.
In fact, 75% of the EU’s produce will still be under these directive standards. I wonder if these remaining food directives are necessary. I commend the EU agriculture commissioner for making the progress he did, but all trivial directives must be removed if the EU is expected to make progress on major issues.
Certainly not all directives are bad. In fact, many of them are important for internal markets and protecting consumer rights for example. The point here is not that we should remove all directives rather that we should focus on more important issues.
The European Commission has established a better regulation strategy to do just this. The EU should be focused on big challenges like the financial crisis and climate change, issues that affect everyone and require action.
The reason I am concerned about this frivolity is because it has caused a public distrust in the EU. People are unhappy with the EU reaching into such specific matters as the shape of a cucumber. Only half of our citizens trust the EU at the moment, according to the June’s Eurobarometer survey and this is real cause for concern.
I hope that removing the restrictions on vegetables will start a trend towards removing all unnecessary bureaucracy. Let’s make sure that this was the first step in a larger race to better regulation.
Anneli Jääteenmäki
Member of European Parliament
Vice-Chairwoman on Committee for Constitutional Affairs
