International

The SP is opposed to new European Union rules governing milk and fruit distributed free of charge in schools. The new rules were adopted on Tuesday by the European Parliament following lobbying from the agricultural lobby and represent yet another appropriation by Brussels of what is in reality a national affair, public health. It will furthermore increase the number of rules and the extent of bureaucracy, in a project which is no more than an advertising campaign for the European Union.

SP Euro-MP Anne-Marie Mineur says that she is not against the distribution of milk and fruit to schoolchildren. “Healthy eating is extremely important, and I welcome anything which counters the products full of sugar, salt and fat which are advertised and which can be too easily obtained in many school canteens,” she explains. “But the member states can do this very well for themselves. There’s no need for the European Union to once again rig up a whole bureaucratic circus.”

Mineur is disturbed to see that the European Commission is dancing to the agricultural lobby’s tune and has decided to put €250 million a year into a task which should be a national responsibility. “The approach is in all respects an example of how things must be done,” she says. “The Commission will be burdening participating countries with a load of bureaucracy when it comes to the development of the scheme, which nobody wants to see. In addition schools which participate will be, you should note, obliged to conduct an advertising campaign for the European Union. Why can’t the Commission make this purely advisory, and leave the member states to decide what to do about it?”