April 20,2005

Grassley Meets with EU Commissioner Kyprianou

WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, today met with Markos Kyprianou, the European Union’s Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection. Mr. Kyprianou’s portfolio includes food safety matters. The meeting focused in large part upon agricultural biotechnology issues.

“I had a very constructive meeting with Commissioner Kyprianou,” Grassley said. “He’snew in his position, and I appreciated his taking the effort to get to know me while he’s in Washington.

“During our meeting, I expressed my concerns regarding the EU’s biotech regime. Biotech commodities grown in the United States are safe. If they weren’t, we wouldn’t produce and consume them here. I look forward to working with Commissioner Kyprianou to resolve biotech disputes between the EU and the U.S., a matter of great importance to Iowa farmers.”

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