BELGIUM: EU FOOD SAFETY COMMISSIONER DAVID BYRNE ANNOUNCES SURPRISE AGREEMENT BETWEEN FRANCE AND BRITAIN OVER BEEF BLOCKADE.
Record ID:
190095
BELGIUM: EU FOOD SAFETY COMMISSIONER DAVID BYRNE ANNOUNCES SURPRISE AGREEMENT BETWEEN FRANCE AND BRITAIN OVER BEEF BLOCKADE.
- Title: BELGIUM: EU FOOD SAFETY COMMISSIONER DAVID BYRNE ANNOUNCES SURPRISE AGREEMENT BETWEEN FRANCE AND BRITAIN OVER BEEF BLOCKADE.
- Date: 24th November 1999
- Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, NOVEMBER 23 1999 (RTN) 1. GV: WALKING SHOT OF EU FOOD SAFETY COMMISSIONER DAVID BYRNE 0.05 2. CU: SOUNDBITE (English) BYRNE SAYING; "What was agreed today between the UK government the French government and the Commission was the culmination of the discussions that took place between the government ministers over the last number of weeks. Essentially it provides clarification on the five issues that were raised for discussion over the number of weeks that we have discussed them. Priincipally in relation to traceability of animals, traceability of derived products, controls, further testing and the traceability through third countries. So all the of the issues that we have discussed have now been reduced to this document which has been agreed by all of the parties and I am very pleased about that." 0.47 3. MV: CUTAWAY OVER QUESTION: (English) Is this enough now for France to lift the ban on British beef 0.48 4. MCU: SOUNDBITE (English) BYRNE "This document has now been put by the French government to their food safety agency this afternoon and I understand that they will consider than and they will be a response to that next week. I believe that these clarifications are sufficient to give full assurance to those who have raised these questions. So I expect a good response next week. 1.14 5. CU: SOUNDBITE (English) BYRNE: I think the French government will be in a position to lift the embargo next week. That would be my hope. 1.22 6. CU: SOUNDBITE (English) BYRNE "We have given the Germans the facility of providing an observer to the talks that went on between the UK and France. They are fully up to date as to what has gone on over the last couple of weeks and as to the clarifications that have been made, (The German minister) is going to consult immediately now with her colleagues in government and her colleagues in the Laender and fully discuss the issues that have been agreed. I am hopeful that the German government will be in a position and the Laender will be in a position to go along with the clarifications that have been made today. 2.10 7. MV: TWO-SHOT OF BYRNE SPEAKING TO REPORTER 2.16 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 9th December 1999 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- Country: Belgium
- Reuters ID: LVA8CP45N9XKDLDJECWE6ECNHEGI
- Story Text: EU Food Safety Commissioner David Byrne on Tuesday
(November 23) announced a surprise agreement between France and
Britain over the French blocade of British beef and said Paris
would lift its ban in a matter of days.
France and Britain took a step closer to resolving
their row over Paris' refusal to lift a ban on British beef on
Tuesday by agreeing a "protocol of understanding" on key issues,
the European Commission said.
EU Food Safety Commissioner David Byrne told Reuters
Television the protocol clarified measures in five areas where
Paris had concerns about the procedures for the export of
British beef.
Agreed by officials from all sides, the protocol was seen as
a necessary step towards an eventual lifting of the French ban.
France has said it would pass the text to its food safety
agency to rule on whether the embargo should stay in place
despite EU scientists giving the all-clear to Britain's beef
export scheme.
French government sources in Paris said it could be another
week before the agency gives its verdict, leaving the row to
simmer on during a planned meeting between British Prime
Minister Tony Blair and Lionel Jospin in London on Thursday.
"I hope that this (protocol) will help to overcome France's
objection to lifting the embargo on British beef," European
food Byrne said.
The protocol covered five main points raised by France --
the traceability of animals, on-the-spot controls in Britain,
tests on cattle for BSE or mad cow disease, how derived
products are handled and the labelling of meat.
The French and British agriculture ministers agreed
earlier this month to study these problem areas in an effort to end
the dispute, which has soured relations between Paris and London.
They said last week an agreement was close.
The detailed annex to the protocol states the Commission
will carry out from January 1 next year on-the-spot checks on
farms and approved establishments, and experts from member
states will be invited to join the missions.
A surveillance project will also be established to monitor
the effectiveness of a British ban on meat and bonemeal, widely
believed to be responsible for how BSE swept through the
national cattle herd.
It also calls for a working group to be set up to look into
post mortem tests for BSE on cattle.A Commission decision on
this ie expected before March 2000, it said.
France and Germany are the only two European Union member
states which have not yet complied with and EU ruling to end a
ban imposed in March 1996 at the height of the BSE crisis.
The Commission has started legal proceedings against France
last week over its failure to lift the ban.It has also given
Germany two weeks to come up with indications for a timetable
for implementing legislation to allow British meat to be sold.
The Commission lifted the ban on August 1 more than three
years after it was imposed in the wake of the British
government admitting a possible link between BSE and a new
form of the human brain disorder Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
More than 40 people have died from nvCJD in Britain.
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