MEPs BID TO SAVE THE BRITISH 'PINTA' (Sharon Bowles MEP)

Sharon Bowles MEP <info@sharonbowles.org.uk>

MEPs BID TO SAVE THE BRITISH 'PINTA'

February 1, 2006 5:20 PM

Sharon supports better regulation Sharon Bowles Liberal Democrat Euro-MP for the South East is calling on the European Parliament's other political groups to join the Liberals in voting down the report which has caused such confusion about the future of the British pinta and loaf of bread.

Sharon Bowles said: 'The European Commission - the 'Brussels bureaucrats' - are the good guys in this saga of woe. They proposed to slash red tape for most products so as to allow whatever sizes of bottles and cartons customers and shops want."

"But Conservative and Socialist Euro-MPs insisted on maintaining EU harmonisation rules for an additional list of products including milk. So now there has to be an exception to try to save the pinta and everybody is misled into blaming the wrong people."

"Despite all the rhetoric we hear from others, only the Liberal Democrats are really getting to the bottom of what is necessary at EU level and what is not."

"This ridiculous report by some misguided MEPs (who have whipped up a frenzy for absolutely no reason) should be thrown out in favour of the Commission's original deregulation plan. So that's what Liberal Democrats will do."

Ends

Note:

In the Commission's proposal only a tiny number of products would keep specified bottle or package sizes (wine, spirits, instant coffee and white sugar). Conservative and Socialist group MEPs voted to add butter, brown sugar, rice, pasta and milk to that list, which Liberal Democrats opposed.

A copy of the Commission's proposal can be found at:-

http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/com/pdf/2004/com2004_0708en01.pdf