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France avoids the embargo against its meat

(archives) At the cost of a compromise on the generalization of tests and the ban on flour, Jean Glavany was able to save the essentials... and the French beef industry

Locked up for seventeen hours, during one of those marathon meetings of which Europe has the secret, the fifteen agriculture ministers yesterday in Brussels managed the feat of silencing their differences.

Originally planned to be just one item among others on the agenda, the question of mad cow disease occupied most of the debates, both in the room and in the corridors. On several occasions, the discussions stalled, the session was interrupted, the meetings multiplied. It was therefore only at 8 o'clock in the morning, when the black juice flowed into the cups, that the current chairman of the board, Jean Glavany, was able to make his report. such a miss dominici announcing a papal bull, the somewhat harassed French Minister of Agriculture seemed visibly relieved to announce that " The essentials had been saved ". The compromise found places France in an uncomfortable situation.

Admittedly, the precautionary principle is reinforced. The use of carcasses in farm animal feed will be excluded. But the ban on animal meal will not be generalized anytime soon. The Council of Ministers preferred to wisely kick into touch. The European Commission is thus in charge of the dirty work: producing a report that will assess " the health, economic and environmental issues of their use ". In other words, prepare the return to animal meal.

Admittedly, the test campaign will be extended : from 1er next January, for cattle at risk, from July 1, 2001, for "healthy" animals. But this program only concerns animals over 30 months old – and not those over 18 months old as the European Parliament demands. Incidentally, Portugal obtains a decision in principle aimed at lifting the embargo to which its meat is subject. In addition, the terms of its implementation remain to be determined. in the light of the experience gained ". “Free” countries (Finland, Sweden, Austria) could therefore not be bound by the same obligations as the others.

What makes you scream Socialist parliamentarian Dagmar Roth Behrendt: “ these wayward ministers should no longer be allowed to utter the words 'consumer protection' and 'transparency' and threaten them with a vote of no confidence! However, France escaped the worst. Alone against all, accused by some diplomats of not sufficiently assuming her role as conciliator of the presidency, Jean Glavany knew how to maneuver to push back the embargo on French meat.

However, the threat remains real. The European scientific steering committee must decide before the end of the month on the lifting of "national measures" (ban on French meat) or their strengthening (the embargo). " A height for the Minister of Agriculture. " By dint of taking too many precautions, we come to be wary of our meat which is the best protected and the best secured in Europe. ". Whose fault is it ? retort in chorus the specialists of the file...

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

(published in France-Soir, November 2000)

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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