In taking on my new role as European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, I feel, naturally, an intense responsibility - but also a sense of shared opportunity with the people I represent. After all, we are, in a very real sense, all in this together. We are all European citizens, whether we serve within the Commission or stand to benefit from its directives.

Yes, there are huge challenges, but in spite of this I feel a great sense of hope. A feeling of exhilaration at what I and my Commissioner colleagues can potentially achieve in bettering our lives - socially and economically.

For me, it is a testing time. I follow a great line of Irish Commissioners who have made enormous and telling contributions on the European stage. No doubt I will be judged over time by comparison to those achievements. But I stand to be measured on my own performance over the next five years.

So what are the challenges and the opportunities? The most immediate challenge facing me is the vital area of consumer food safety. Consumer confidence in our most basic foodstuffs has been badly buffeted over the past few years by the BSE crisis and, more recently, by the Belgian dioxin crisis. People have legitimate fears about what they are eating and there is still consumer uncertainty about food containing genetically-modified organisms (GMOs).

Food Safety

Food safety is my number one priority and I am setting about ensuring that Europe has the highest standards for our consumers. Within weeks I plan to have a debate on food safety within the Commission, so that the issue is also top of the Commission's collective agenda. Equally, I intend to have an early debate on the matter in the European Parliament.

There are clear and obvious lessons to be learned from the EU's handling of BSE and dioxin. I am going to make sure that the lessons are indeed learned and corrective measures taken. Our 350 million consumers deserve no less.

We can no longer afford to have a situation whereby contamination in the food chain is discovered and nothing is done about it for months. At pan-European level and at the level of member-states, we need to ensure that the rapid alert system means what it says and this requires change to make certain that action is not only corrective, but fast.

Indeed, our goal must be to produce a situation where we no longer have need of swift response after the fact because our safeguards are water-tight; because we anticipate rather than merely react.

To this end, we need a major overhaul of European legislation in such areas as animal feed, veterinary and consumer foods. Our capacity to trace food ingredients throughout the production chain needs improvement.

In the area of animal feed we have to consider, for example, the possibility of an approved, positive list of ingredients, as opposed to a negative or banned list. And we must ensure that our existing and future legislation is properly enforced.

I am already working on these issues and I expect that my proposals for change will be published as a White Paper early next year. And I can assure you that it will not gather dust or become bogged down in bureaucracy or "turf wars". Restoring consumer confidence in the food we eat is too important for that.

Are the interests of producers and the needs of consumers in conflict here? By no means. The beef industry, from farm to beef processor, is still trying to cope with the fallout from the BSE crisis. To put it bluntly, no confidence - no sales. This affects not only the marketing of food within the EU but also our capacity to generate exports. So it's in all of our interests to have speedy, decisive action on food safety.

The GMO Issue

As regards the issue of GMOs and consumer concerns, I will adopt a prudent approach based on the best scientific advice available. The Commission will grant new licences only on the basis of that advice and we will carefully monitor the evolving situation.

In addition, I am determined that consumers should have as much information as possible available to them to make informed choices about what they are purchasing. To that end I will be pressing for the labelling of products that contain GMOs. I also believe that GMO-free products should be labelled.

Transactions Across Borders

For the EU's 370 million citizens and consumers, the internal market is just an illusion if we cannot have confidence in cross-border transactions. The advent of the euro and the increasing use of Internet-based purchases highlight the need to have trans-European laws in place that protect the consumer from unscrupulous operators. We already have several pieces of European legislation in place in the area of consumer protection. However, we need further measures in such areas as cross-border sales of financial services and consumer credit. I expect to have substantial agreement by the end of this year on a directive on distance selling of financial services.

In the new year, I will be publishing proposals for a directive on consumer credit. This will focus on the quality of credit information, rules on overdrafts and issues about advice from credit providers. I am also looking at how we can improve things for consumers in the very important area of mortgages.

Internet-based purchases pose new challenges for consumers and legislators. We are no longer dealing with the corner shop and we have to put in place appropriate consumer protection measures to cope with the new situation. Within two or three years, the Internet will have created a market of over 300 million consumers across the globe. Today e-commerce transactions are valued at $22 billion per annum and are estimated to rise to $350 billion by 2002. I am determined that consumers are protected to the maximum extent possible. I have set about considering how the existing body of consumer legislation can best be adapted to the new environment.

Public Health - A Prime Concern

The Amsterdam Treaty considerably strengthens the role of the Commission in relation to public health. I am setting about reviewing policy in this whole area. I have strong views about our approach to children's health, allergies, vaccinations. I want to see to it that we can offer something better here. Early next year I will publish my proposals.

In my capacity as a practising barrister and as attorney general, I have had direct experience of the problems associated with defective blood products in Ireland. So I have an acute awareness of the issues involved. I am particularly keen to put in place new EU legislation, laying down minimum standards for the quality and safety of blood and blood products. This I will do by means of a new directive.

Similarly, I will bring proposals forward for a directive on minimum standards for quality and safety in relation to transplants of human organs and tissue.

These are not the only issues needing leadership and reform at European level. While the EU has achieved major advances for its citizens in terms of peace and greater prosperity generally, there is a major fault line.

European integration has too often developed in isolation from citizens who are suspicious that their interests come second to a wider agenda. They also perceive a degree of arrogance in the manner in which decisions are taken "in Brussels". This has to change - and I intend to play my part in ensuring that it does. Europe must become more transparent. It must be more in touch with the real concerns of its people. Most of all, it must deliver convincing proof that a more integrated Europe is working to the benefit of the average citizen rather than adding to the growth of bureaucracy.

Right now there is a window of opportunity to put matters right. There is a new Commission in place with a firm mandate to undertake reform. There is a reinvigorated European Parliament determined to put its stamp on developments. And there is an acceptance that if further European integration is to take place, there must be radical change in how we relate to citizens. My key responsibilities - health, food safety, consumer interests in the marketplace - are all pivotal to citizens' concerns. I intend to ensure that these concerns remain at the top of the European agenda.

David Byrne is the EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection.