EP Press Release, 17 March 2011
Parliament/Council conciliation talks on updating the Novel Foods Regulation broke down without agreement late last night. Under conciliation rules, the final deadline to agree on a common text is the end of the month. A last-chance conciliation meeting is provisionally planned for the evening of 28 March.
Parliament's delegation chair Gianni Pittella (S&D, IT) and rapporteur Kartika Liotard (GUE/NGL, NL) made the following joint statement:
"The Parliament has made considerable efforts towards reaching a compromise but these were not mirrored by Council. It is simply incredible that the Council, which consists of the same political parties as the Parliament, cannot agree to the Parliament position on the prohibition of food from cloned animals and their offspring. It is equally incredible that the Council is willing to turn a blind eye to public opinion, as well as the ethical and animal welfare problems associated with cloning. Time is rapidly running out. Negotiations can only have a positive outcome if Council moves towards consumers' expectations on the issue of cloning. If the position of Council and Commission remains exclusively tied to commercial trade interests, Parliament won't accept any deal."