The political groups repġresented in the hearing of Foreign Minister Tonio Borg have written to the president of the European Parliament listing seven points which they would like Dr Borg to sign to.

In his letter, the chairman of the hearing, Matthias Groote, said "The coordinators of two political groups representing a majority of the members of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and food Safety expressed their support for the nomination of Mr Borg as European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy. The coordinators  on the Internal market and Consumer Protection gave a favourable opinion to the appointment of Mr Borg; no objections against the appointment of Mr Borg were voiced by any of the group representatives of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.

For Mr Borg to be endorsed by a majority of the House, it is vital that the Commissioner Designate deliver in respect to the following issues and concerns and reaffirm publicly, prior to the final vote in Parliament, his unambiguous an full commitment to:

  • The delivery of the legislative proposal on tobacco products by January 2013
  • The adoption of legislative proposals on animal cloning and novel food by mid-2013
  • The full respect of the March 2013 deadline for the ban on animal testing for cosmetics
  • Better enforcement of EU law in particular on animal transport
  • Fuly respect and abide by the EU charter of fundamental human rights in particular of Articla 21 thereof as well as the EU anti-discrimination legislation and case law
  • Recognising the innate dignity of all Citizens of the EU, regardless of their sexual orientation or distinctions mentioned in Article 21, and to treating as a Commissioner of Health and Consumer Policy and as a member of the College of Commissioners, all citizens of the EU fairly and equally; actively working to address health inequalities and to acting against the stigmatisation of people suffering from HIV/AIDS
  • Actively support EU policies with regards to women’s rights.

“There are substantiated reasons to believe that, if the above pledges are made, a constructive co-operation between the European Parliament and the Commissioner Designate could ensue and that Mr Borg would eventually be able to demonstrate by his actions that the reservations held against him were groundless.”

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