Text tabled : A6-0046/2009

  James Nicholson (PPE-DE). – Mr President, I voted against his report. While there may well be good points in it, it eventually went too far. I am in favour of streamlining European Union regulations, but not if you make it more bureaucratic, difficult to operate and unfavourable to industry.

The attempt to bring agriculture into this legislation is, to me, totally unacceptable and is a step too far. It must be rejected. To bring in soil protection is not the responsibility of the European Parliament, nor can it be done throughout the whole of the European Union. That should be the responsibility of the national governments.

I have to ask why the Committee on Agriculture was not consulted on this particular issue. You cannot bring in regulations that are destructive and make pig and poultry farmers go out of business. The truth is that we are bringing in regulations in Europe, and restricting production in Europe, whilst allowing imports into the European Union that are not produced to the same standards as they are in Europe. I cannot accept that.