16/06/2008
CIAA welcomes launch of high level group

CIAA welcomes the launch of the High Level Group on the Competitiveness of the Agro-Food Industry on 12 June 2008 by Vice-President Verheugen. The involvement of key Commissioners, as well as Ministers and other stakeholders, ensures a comprehensive approach towards improving the framework in which the food and drink industry operates.

CIAA is strongly committed to active involvement in the HLG. The group lays the foundation for improved competitiveness, provides an opportunity to put essential food and drink industry requirements into the political limelight, and has the potential to initiate a visible change.

“This is a major opportunity for the food and drink industry and must be given the highest chance of success,” states Jean Martin, President of CIAA and member of the HLG. “A holistic and integrated food policy, that focuses on the needs and the role of the sector as a whole, is essential for the competitiveness of the industry.”

The food and drink industry’s overall objective is to provide consumers and society with a wide variety of safe, wholesome, nutritious, sustainable and affordable food and drink products. Requirements for the food and drink industry’s competitiveness include:

• EU policies that pursue the objective of a well-functioning Internal Market, while at the same time recognising that globalisation represents both a pressure on competitiveness and an opportunity for further development in the global markets on which EU food and drink companies operate.
• The ability to produce and market products without undue constraints; this is essential to achieve the industry’s overall objective. There are two ways of achieving sustained growth: by reaching out to rapidly expanding markets and by developing products with higher value, through research, development and innovation.
• A sufficiently flexibility and business-friendly framework in which to operate. Legislation is imperative in certain areas. However, alternatives to legislation can often provide equivalent or even more effective guidelines to market players and must be give due consideration.
  

For CIAA, the success of the High Level Group will depend on its ability to deliver a comprehensive and coherent set of actionable recommendations that should be swiftly implemented. CIAA is fully committed to working towards this goal.

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