ROBERT STURDY VOWS TO KEEP SOILS DIRECTIVE BURIED

Plans announced today by the French Presidency to restart negotiations on the Soils Directive have been condemned by Euro MP Robert Sturdy as being a waste of time and money, providing no environmental benefits.

He believes it would increase the bureaucratic burden faced by farmers, and that no further legislation was needed as there were already sufficient safeguards to maintain soil standards.

The Council of Ministers scrapped the Soil Directive in November 2007 following the recommendation of the European Parliament. But the French Presidency has today announced plans to restart negotiations with the Council of Ministers on this controversial issue – much to Mr Sturdy’s anger.

“It is totally pointless and will provide no further benefits to anyone. The elected members refused to support this unnecessary and burdensome piece of legislation and I will fight together with my Conservative colleagues, and as a member of both the Environment and Agriculture Committee, against any new proposals.

“Regulations and laws protecting soil are already in place in Britain and across the EU, as is evident within the terms of the Single Farm Payment. There is simply no need for further legislation on this matter. It would provide no environmental benefits and will simply wrap the UK farming industry in further red tape.

“I can’t understand why the French Presidency could not accept the decision that had been made, instead of trying to impose their views on the rest of us. I thought this directive had been scrapped. I shall do all I can to ensure it remains dead and buried!”

Euro-MP Robert Sturdy has urged a “fresh, informed and more balanced debate” on genetically modified foods following the results of a study which showed they had no harmful effects on public health.

The European Commission’s scientific advisory board, the Joint Research Centre, was commissioned by MEPs in November 2006 by a resolution of Parliament to scrutinise this controversial topic. It conducted an extensive review of the existing evidence on the short and long-term effects of GM foods, which included meeting 22 experts involved in assessment and evaluation of GMOs for the JRC and European Food Safety authority.

The study concluded that “no demonstration of any health effects of GM food products submitted to the regulatory process has been reported so far”.

Mr Sturdy, who sits on the Environmental and Agricultural Committees, said the results showed that this was now the time to hold a fresh, informed and more balanced debate on GM foods based on factual evidence.

“This is now the time to disregard unfounded prejudices and fears and have an open mind. Most of the lobbying is done by those who are anti-GM, but we need to evaluate the evidence on this very emotive subject very carefully.

“We should consider all options and encourage more research and development, particularly as we are experiencing a global food crisis, concerns about providing our future energy requirements and reduced land availability. Our views should be based on scientific evidence, and not emotive scaremongering.