After the long and failed negotiations on new kinds of food, including meat from cloned animals, rapporteur for the European Parliament, Kartika Liotard (GUE/NGL, Netherlands) revealed a "secret" document from the Legal Service of the Council of Ministers that stated that a ban on products from clones and their offspring is actually defensible under WTO rules.

Quoting from the document that “The bans of food from cloned animals and of food from offspring of clones could be justified on the basis of the consumers ethical considerations...” , Ms Liotard demanded answers from the Commission and Council to a series of questions.

First of all, "if the WTO is not the problem, then what is? Why could the Council not respond to the objections of 77% of the population who do not want food from clones or their descendants on their plates? And why did Dalli, De Gucht and the Member States constantly scare us with the false WTO argument?"

She wondered if Member States had knowledge of the Legal Service's advisory note, did they really get to see this document or was it intentionally withheld? "If so, then this is absolutely scandalous!"

 "Parliament has done its utmost to reach a compromise on animal cloning techniques worthy of EU market legislation. Council and Commission were opposed. They explained that it was because of the WTO negotiations; may we now be allowed to know their real motives?"  

 "I still think there is a solution for the consumer and I am still willing to cooperate. The initiative should come from the Commission this time." 

 "Commissioner Dalli, EU citizens are waiting for you!"