BELGIUM: EU vets close to vote on lifting of 10 year British beef ban imposed over mad cow disease

Record ID: 565010

  • Title: BELGIUM: EU vets close to vote on lifting of 10 year British beef ban imposed over mad cow disease
  • Date: 8th March 2006
  • Summary: (BN13) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (MARCH 7, 2006) (REUTERS) BUTCHER CUTTING FREE RANGE BEEF; BUTCHER PLACING BEEF IN THE WINDOW (SOUNDBITE) (French) CUSTOMER, MRS VOLPI SAYING: "I think I will be able to buy Britisg beef without fear now" MEAT IN THE WINDOW; IRISH MEAT IN THE WINDOW; CUSTOMER WALKING AWAY WITH MEAT; BUTCHER CLOSING TILL
  • Embargoed: 23rd March 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belgium
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA5VNG3CVG04NH707M057NI9R25
  • Story Text: A 10-year European Union ban on British beef could be finally lifted on Wednesday (March 8, 2006) in Brussels.
    EU officials said the ban, imposed on British beef exports to stop the spread of mad cow disease, looked set to be removed during a meeting of veterinary experts which convened in Brussels on Tuesday (March 7). This would also mean a resumption of live veal exports.
    An Irish butcher in Brussels, Jack O'Shea, who came to Belgium around the time of the BSE crisis which hit Britain and Ireland, says there is unlikely to be beef that is safer than the British variety following the strict rearing and feeding measures which were imposed on farmers after the BSE scare.
    He therefore thinks its high time the ban was lifted feeling the measure unfair on those who had reared their cattle on grass rather than bone meal.
    But he also says that a lifting of the ban was unlikely to negatively affect other European markets who prefer to buy and eat domestically produced beef.
    Britain has already fulfilled the first precondition for lifting the embargo with a moderate risk status for BSE of fewer than 200 cattle per million per year with the disease.
    The country's last full year of beef exports was in 1995 when shipments amounted to some 274,000 tonnes. The main market was France which took 80,000 tonnes.
    Several schemes have been put in place to enable Britain to continue to export beef but trade has been very limited. Among these was a date-based scheme that made it possible to sell subject to certain conditions, meat from animals aged between six and 30 months at the time of slaughter and born in Britain after August 1996.
    "But the French I imagine would always buy French beef before they buy British beef anyway. So I think its more of a matter of pride for British agriculture that they can re-export and that the ban is lifted to show the world that it is safe to eat but I don't think it'll make major waves especially with the price of the sterling against the euro, it won't make any major waves in the beef industry, certainly not," O'Shea said.
    At at meeting in December veterinary experts from at least 10 countries voiced their support for the ban to be removed after britain presented them with its latest BSE update.
    About the same number asked for more information but British authorities have now provided more epidemiological information and technical details on the country's BSE testing system.
    In the past France objected strongly to the lifting of the ban but its food safety agency AFSSA said on Monday evening that it did no longer objected as long as the imports concerned only beef slaughtered at the date of the lifting of the ban.
    "In France we just had an agreement published yesterday from their food safety agency and they were now quite happy that there was no potential risk from the export of live animals and they also said exports of beef meat coming from UK cattle would be find providing they were slaughtered after the date of the lifting of the ban," said Helene Judge, of the British Meat and Livestock Commission.
    A vote is expected on Wednesday morning but sources close to the veterinary committee suggested some countries were still opposed to the lifting of the ban. Italy for example had earlier been thought to block a deal blaming coming elections as a reason not to vote on the issue.
    France, with the biggest share of the beef market in Europe, may also have problems in being seen to back such a deal.
    Judge said domestic political issues were a problem which had always dogged BSE and British beef re-introduction into the European market but she seemed confident such concerns would eventually be set aside on Wednesday.
    "I think we've moved on from the very intense political fighting that went on in the early days of the crisis. I think we are now at a situation where invariably the ministries in other member states are quite rightly absolutely concerned about consumer protection and even though we have proved by inspection visits, by falling incidence numbers that, you know, we are in a good position now, its sometimes very difficult for individuals to actually take that decision to relax a piece of legislation," Judge said.
    The vote will be by a qualified majority and the executive European commission is confident that Britain can answer any outstanding concerns other member states may have.
    One customer said she would have no problem buying British beef now after a 10 year ban.
    "I think I will be able to buy British beef without fear now," said customer Mrs Volpi.
    The lifting of the ban would also mean a resumption of the live export of veal calves to the rest of the EU.
    The export of live veal calves prompted mass protests at ports in the 1990s.
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