15. Believes that food security should not be jeopardised by the development of agrofuels; calls therefore for a balanced approach that gives priority to the new generation of agrofuels using farm and forestry waste (straw and other crop waste, animal manure, biogas, etc.) instead of food crops, to avoid a situation of competition between food and energy production; considers also that the EU should make sure that agrofuel imports from developing countries respect sustainability criteria;

3. Considers that an improvement in access to the Community market might enable the SEMC to optimise part of their agricultural production via an increase in exports; points out, however, that the agriculture sector in the SEMC employs a substantial proportion of the working population and is based principally on small farms (of under 5 ha) typified by low productivity levels; stresses the fact that a sudden and generalised opening-up of agricultural trade with the European Union threatens the survival of these small farms and producers of food crops and is liable to exacerbate regional imbalances (acceleration of the rural exodus towa ...[+++]rds urban and coastal areas) and to sacrifice a multifunctional agriculture sector for the sake of cash crops that are often unsuited to the land and water resources in those countries;

This is because integration into the world market encourages increasingly intensive methods of production that are oriented towards cash crops and do not necessarily fit agricultural rationale in the country concerned; it would lead to non-rational use of water, whose crucial and strategic role is already a source of tension, and to the abandonment of traditional food crops, which are not only essential for feeding local communities but also still in tune with the nature and potentials of the land in the SEMC.

(i)for plants or plant products to be used as feed or food, where appropriate, the maximum residue levels for the agricultural products affected by the use referred to in the authorisation have been set or modified in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 396/2005.

In the case of an active substance, safener or synergist for which one or more representative uses includes use on feed or food crops or leads indirectly to residues in food or feed, the dossier submitted pursuant to Article 7(1) shall contain the information necessary to carry out a risk assessment and for enforcement purposes.

for plants or plant products to be used as feed or food, where appropriate, the maximum residue levels for the agricultural products affected by the use referred to in the authorisation have been set or modified in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 396/2005.