This essay will examine the policy making process in the European Union (EU) concerning food safety in the case of raw milk cheese production. Food safety has been a key concern of the EU after several food scandals at the end of the 90´s such as the mad cow disease or more recently the usage of falsely labeled horse meat. As a reaction to that, the focus shifted from the creation of a common food market to food safety.
The case of raw milk cheese is in so far an interesting one because it symbolizes a dilemma for the EU. Firstly, because the milk that is used for the production is untreated. Untreated milk can be the cause of several diseases, yet this kind of cheese is deeply rooted in the culture of especially southern European cuisine. Secondly, the common market aims to standardized products with the aim to create an even bigger, more prosperous market and integrated market. However, the standardization takes place at the expense of product variety and the livelihood of small dairy farmers. The challenging task for the union is to find a compromise between these driving factors.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction:
2. Policymaking: The legislative procedure in the EU, the balancing of interests
3. Theoretical Framework concerning the European integration and policy-making: How Liberal Intergovernmentalism can explain regional integration
4. Context and food legislation history: Health risk versus market interests?
Objectives & Core Themes
This paper explores the EU policy-making process through the specific lens of raw milk cheese production regulations, examining how the European Union balances health safety standards with market integration and cultural diversity. It investigates the legislative procedures, the influence of interest groups, and the role of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in shaping directives.
- The legislative process of the European Union and the role of the European Commission.
- Theoretical application of Liberal Intergovernmentalism to explain regional integration and regulatory "trading up".
- The conflict between consumer safety, standardization, and the preservation of traditional food heritage.
- The impact of institutional structures and lobby groups on raw milk cheese production regulations.
- The evolution of EU food law, from the creation of a common market to modern safety frameworks.
Excerpt from the Book
Context and food legislation history: Health risk versus market interests?
Before the creation of the EU, food legislation and safety was entirely in the hands of the individual state. Many EU current member states have food traditions concerning their legislations and safety that reach several centuries back, especially when it comes to cheese and sausages. The treaty of Rome marks the first indirect legislatorial step of the Union towards a common food policy. The primary aim of the first set of EU food legislation was to build the foundation of a common market for food. Since food trade has contributed to a significant share of the inter state trade ever since the foundation of the EU. The legislative process for food has been burdensome and lengthy. A landmark development towards the mutual recognition of food products was the Cassis judgment of the European Court of Justice from the Mid-1980s. Through this judgement regional specialities were protected for the first time and gave voice to the demands of rural producers.
The EU Commission initiated the compatibility of food legislation which caused the EU to formulate food laws which were more detailed. The next milestone development was noticeable by the combining of “vertical directives into horizontal ones."The main objective thereby was to establish a wider range of broad principles and requisites. Finally, the arguably biggest turning point came in the 1990s trigger through various food scandals such as the mad cow disease which caused consumer concerns and brought food safety back on the agenda. Through his development the institutional focus altered from the building of a common food market towards food safety at its core.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: This chapter introduces the dilemma of regulating raw milk cheese in the EU, balancing the necessity for standardized safety with the preservation of cultural product diversity.
Policymaking: The legislative procedure in the EU, the balancing of interests: This section details the Ordinary Legislative Procedure (OLP) and the influence various actors, including the Commission, Parliament, and industrial lobbyists, have on shaping EU regulations.
Theoretical Framework concerning the European integration and policy-making: How Liberal Intergovernmentalism can explain regional integration: This chapter utilizes Liberal Intergovernmentalism to analyze how states bargain and how regulatory "trading up" drives the leveling of standards across the common market.
Context and food legislation history: Health risk versus market interests?: This chapter traces the historical evolution of food laws from national control to unified EU frameworks, highlighting major shifts prompted by food safety crises.
Keywords
European Union, Raw Milk Cheese, Food Safety, Liberal Intergovernmentalism, Legislative Procedure, EFSA, Regulatory Approximation, Trading Up, Interstate Bargaining, Consumer Protection, Common Market, Standardization, Cultural Heritage, Risk Analysis, Food Scandals.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research paper?
The paper examines the EU's policy-making process using the specific example of raw milk cheese production to understand how the Union balances food safety mandates with internal market goals.
Which theoretical framework is applied to this study?
The study employs Liberal Intergovernmentalism (LI) to explain regional integration and how member states engage in interstate bargaining to align regulations.
What is the core conflict identified in the case of raw milk cheese?
The conflict lies between the EU's drive for standardized, safe, and pasteurized products and the cultural heritage of small-scale, traditional, raw milk producers in southern Europe.
How does the Ordinary Legislative Procedure (OLP) affect lobbying?
The multi-stage OLP provides various entry points for interest groups and non-institutional actors to influence parliamentarians and the Council during the law-making process.
What role did food scandals play in shaping EU legislation?
Scandals like the mad cow crisis shifted the EU's focus from merely building a common market to prioritizing food safety, leading to the creation of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and more stringent regulations.
What is the significance of the "trading up" phenomenon?
It describes how states with stricter regulations gain a privileged bargaining position, forcing other nations to adopt higher standards to maintain market access, leading to an overall increase in common EU standards.
How does the EU reconcile safety with product diversity?
The EU utilizes specific legal categories and exceptions, such as those for Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) products, to allow niche traditional products to exist alongside highly regulated, standardized market items.
Why is the influence of the EFSA considered potentially problematic by the author?
The author notes that a significant percentage of experts on EFSA boards have direct or indirect links to the food industry, raising concerns about conflicts of interest influencing safety policy.
- Quote paper
- Otto Möller (Author), 2017, Cheesy? How raw milk cheese made its way through the EU’s legislative procedure like the village of indomitable Gauls, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/373376
