GERMANY/FRANCE: THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION CALLS AGAIN FOR A WORLDWIDE BAN ON BRITISH BEEF EXPORTS TO BE EASED

Record ID: 649328

  • Title: GERMANY/FRANCE: THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION CALLS AGAIN FOR A WORLDWIDE BAN ON BRITISH BEEF EXPORTS TO BE EASED
  • Date: 22nd May 1996
  • Summary: BONN, GERMANY (RTV) CU/SV POLITICIANS AT GOVERNMENT NEWS CONFERENCE (2 SHOTS) 1.19 CU PETER HAUSMANN, GERMAN GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN SPEAKING 1.32 ABOUT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MAKING NO COMMENT (GERMAN) SV CABINET MEETING 1.36 CU FOREIGN MINISTER KLAUS KINKEL 1.40 SV MEMBERS OF MEDIA 1.44 SV CABINET MEETING IN PROGRESS 1.50 CU CHANCELLOR KOHL 2.01 CU FINANCE MINISTER THEO WEIGEL/SHAKING HANDS (2 SHOTS) 2.07 SV MEETING ROOM AND CABINET MINISTERS 2.12 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
  • Embargoed: 6th June 1996 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: STRASBOURG, FRANCE/BONN, GERMANY
  • City:
  • Country: France Germany
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA4ZL2GYXAAL7XJFNC5FB7GA5SP
  • Story Text: INTRO: The European Commission, faced with threats from Britain of disruption to European Union business, called again on Wednesday for a worldwide ban on British beef exports to be eased.

    The European Commission said on Wednesday (May 22) that it would present a proposal on June 3 to farm ministers to lift the ban on gelatine, semen and tallow.

    This proposal was rejected on Monday by EU veterinary experts -- a move that led Prime Minister John Major to threaten to disrupt EU business until he saw progress on easing the ban.

    German reactions were guarded to news of a British threat to disrupt European business until the beef ban was lifted EU Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler reiterated that the Commission and EU farm ministers wanted to abolish the ban "at some time in the future" on a step by step basis.

    The Commission placed a worldwide ban on British beef exports on March 27 amid a health scare started by a British government admission of a likely link between the disease, known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and the human brain disorder Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD).

    The Commission's proposal, agreed unanimously by the EU's 20 Commissioners with little discussion, was based on findings from the World Health Organisation and conditional on improved processing techniques to remove all risk from BSE.

    On Monday Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg voted against the relaxation, saying Britain must do more to end the fatal cattle brain disease.

    They succeeded in rejecting the proposal under different voting rules from those that will apply on June 3.

    The seven opponents of lifting the ban will not, under EU rules, be able to block the proposal at the June ministerial session unless they can persuade another country to join them to get a simple majority.

    The German government declined to make any official comment on Wednesday (May 22) after British Prime Minister John Major threatened to disrupt normal EU business until a ban on British beef exports was relaxed.

    "The federal government is not going to comment," Peter Hausmann told reporters at a news conference after a morning cabinet meeting.

    Finance Minister Theo Waigel was only slightly less guarded, but showed some understanding for Major, who has a parliamentry majority of just one seat and is under severe pressure from so-called "Euro-sceptics" in his Conservative (Tory) party.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register