"Sounds like them special socks that you get for sweaty feet" said my friend Mattie as we joined the fraternity of the fish queue in Ripon Market. Fred, the fishmonger, had just asked me what I had been doing in Bruxelles and I had told him I was a member of ECOSOC.
We aren't used to ECOSOCs as part of our national structure in the UK, though most of the other 14 member states of the European Union are, along with some of the `candidate' countries, that is those with aspirations to join the EU. ECOSOC is the consultative assembly of the European Union; the abbreviation is short for the Economic and Social Committee. Perhaps because of comments such as Mattie's, there is a move to refer to it as the European Economic and Social Committee i.e. the ESC.
Nominated by NfCG to the present Government but actually appointed by the European Council of Ministers, I have now been a member of the ESC for over two years. It has a little recognised feature, advantageous throughout the decision making process - unlike the European Parliament (EP) and the Committee of the Regions, it is not based on party politics. Legally, it has to be consulted by the Commission (the EU's executive civil service) and increasingly by the EP on draft legislation. So what form does this consultation take?
First, the Commission sends its proposals to the ESC which then - unlike the EP - sets up a study group of equal numbers of representatives from its three groups - employers, workers and diverse interests. Being a consumer I am a Diverse Interest, along with farmers, small businesses and socio-professional groups. Each study group has a rapporteur as leader, responsible for producing a draft opinion which is then passed on to the most relevant of six Sections for discussion, debate and amendment and, finally, to the full plenary session of all 222 members for vote with the final text published in the EU's official journal.
All this consultation results in a high level of consensus, a welding together of potentially disparate views, which are finally fused together in a generally acceptable Opinion without losing the power to be constructively hard hitting. Such fusion is often of great use to the Council of Ministers which knows that if the ESC can itself find broad agreement, then its Opinions are likely to provide a generally acceptable, more understandable, and common sense response to the Member States. There have only been two occasions in over 40 years of the ESC not being able to produce an Opinion - and both were on the subject of tobacco subsidies.
"What has tha really been up to, like?" asked Mattie. Well, what have I been doing since Christmas? Certainly I have spent thirty days away from home in three months. Though my natural preference is to deal with consumer-related issues, I am also regarded as a generalist with a professional educational background who can ask reasonable questions. My major ongoing responsibility is with draft safety legislation, particularly as rapporteur for the revised 1994 General Product Safety Directive, but I am also a member of study groups looking into proposals for e-commerce, the European Food Safety Authority, judicial networks, air pollution from motor vehicles and the practical applications of the euro.
Mattie was not much impressed with the summary I gave her, so I went on in a more up-market sort of way; "and last week I was part of a delegation to Malta which is thinking about joining the EU, and met the Deputy Prime Minister - who took me back to my hotel in his car after dinner. I talked to the Leader of the Opposition and a whole string of ministers...:'
She interrupted me. "Was it a Rolls Royce and did tha wear a hat?" (It wasn't and I didn't.)
Consultation in the search for consensus is built into the whole system, not just through the ESC and the civil society it represents. The Commission also consults widely, carries out research, holds hearings and, above all, is surprisingly accessible. It consists of a number of Directorates General, where the former DG XXIV, now renamed SANCO, deals with consumer-related issues. Recently it has increased the number of green and white papers it issues; intended to increase public discussion. For example its current green paper on integrated product policy opens up the challenge for making products more environmentally friendly to general debate. This is where NfCG could play a part with a meaningful response - easier to do than reacting to proposals for legislation which are often referred to the ESC by the Commission with a very short time in which to form an Opinion. This is where I accept my responsibilities and respond on behalf of consumers in an attempt to make sure that the consumer dimension appears in all relevant draft legislation.
A new website has been launched aimed at putting shoppers in direct contact with independent food producers.
The website lists food specialists ranging from cheese and handmade chocolate makers on the Isle of Arran to sausage makers in Cumbria and turkey producers in Norfolk.
Many products can be bought over the website or shoppers can print off their shopping list and send it by post or fax direct to the producer. There is also the facility for printing of maps for producers who welcome personal shoppers. Now that is a good idea.
Shoppers can search the site according to what products they are looking for, what is available in their locality, or by entering their postcode to find which producers will deliver to their area. They can also check out the comprehensive listing of Farmers' Markets to find out when and where they are held in their region, and that is also an excellent idea.
The aim of the site is to put the consumer in direct contact with the producer. In a way it's like a hi-tech farmers' market. People can find out how the food is produced, where it comes from and who is actually producing it - and that knowledge gives them a lot of security.
Wendy Hamilton, who thought up the idea, says " It's not about being organic -although we obviously feature organic producers - it's about that new buzz word, 'traceability'. Farmer's markets are great, but anyone who's keen on them knows how difficult it can be finding out when and where they are. And then it's not always convenient for the shopper or the producer.
" We hope this website will break down those barriers and open up the whole market for independent producers and those shoppers who like to source their food direct from the producer."
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