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 Jon Sopel reports for BBC News"It's left the French government playing for time"  real 28k  |
Agency ducks beef ruling
The French Government will now rule on British beef |
There is fresh optimism that the French ban on British beef is about to be lifted after France's food agency refused to rule either way on the embargo.
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It was the agency's decision in October to oppose the ending of the ban that led the French Government to continue its embargo.
However, despite offering no opinion on whether the ban should now be lifted, the AFSSA recommended that the government should still "take into account" the "plausible but non quantifiable risks" linked to mad cow disease.
The EU declared British beef safe to eat in August |
Prime Minister Lionel Jospin said the government would take a decision soon, "which is its responsibility."
'Hope for end of ban'
European Commission spokeswoman Beate Gminder said: "We have just received the report and we're hopeful it will allow the French Government to lift the ban."
Our correspondent in Paris says the news augurs well for the end of the four-month dispute between the countries.
A UK Government spokesman said: "We will need to consider the agency's views and we are looking forward to hearing from the French Government how they intend to proceed."
The UK and France agreed a "protocol of understanding", drawn up by the European Commission, last month. It clarifies the key measures being taken in the UK to safeguard against the spread of "mad cow disease", BSE.
The document also contains new measures from the EC, which France could claim as "concessions".
It states that the Commission will carry out, from next year, on-the-spot checks on UK farms. Once the ban is lifted, EU action against France would halt.
The EU's food safety commissioner David Byrne described the agency's declaration as "rather balanced".
'serious misconceptions'
He saw government ministers from two of the German regional authorities still holding up German agreement on lifting the ban.
Mr Byrne said he had received a letter from Berlin stating that procedures were under way to lift the ban, but said there were clearly "serious misconceptions" in some parts of Germany about the UK safety measures.
The Commission started legal proceedings against France in November, after it defied an EU ruling in August ending a three-year ban on exports of British beef. The embargo had been imposed because of an epidemic of BSE.
Germany is the only other EU country to maintain a ban on British beef exports, and its health minister has said it will not be lifted until at least February.
Andrea Fischer said Germany was still not "100%" satisfied about the safety of UK beef. She said it would end the ban after receiving assurances that UK beef would be labelled, but that a decision on when could not be taken until spring at the earliest.
Four of Germany's 16 federal states, which are responsible for food safety, still oppose lifting the ban and want stricter safety measures.
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03 Dec 99 | UK |
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Germany 'ready to lift beef ban' |
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01 Dec 99 | UK Politics |
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Beef summit aims to boost exports |
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30 Nov 99 | UK Politics |
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Beef-on-bone ban ends |
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25 Nov 99 | UK |
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Beef war 'ending' |
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