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Date set for beef ban decision
The French food safety agency report was "inconclusive" |
A final decision on France's long-running refusal to lift its ban on British beef will be made on Thursday, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin has promised.
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Mr Jospin is under pressure to come to a decision after the French Food Health Safety Agency (AFSSA) ducked out of making a definitive decision on lifting the ban.
The agency found the safety risk of British beef "inconclusive" and passed the decision back to the French government, despite having been charged with settling the dispute in the light of new safeguards.
The refusal to say yes or no to lifting the ban - announced on Monday night - came after days of deliberations.
The French are facing legal action over the beef ban |
A "protocol of understanding" between London and Paris on the health and safety measures now in place on British beef was agreed last month.
The French Government then passed the agreement to its independent scientific agency.
But the agency's "non-committal opinion" put the ball firmly back in Mr Jospin's court.
The agency warned that there was no scientific certainty about the removal of mad cow disease, even under the Date-Based Export Scheme introduced to govern the tracing and monitoring of cattle.
It was the Food Safety Agency which triggered the latest beef row in October by declaring British beef still a health risk despite an agreement between governments to lift the three-and-a-half year ban from 1 August.
German ban
The EU's food safety Commissioner David Byrne described the Agency's declaration as "rather balanced".
And EU officials made it clear that France is now expected to make a final decision on its ban before Thursday.
Meanwhile Mr Byrne has met government ministers from two of the German regional authorities still holding up the lifting of the ban on British beef in Germany.
The commissioner said he had received a letter from Berlin stating that procedures were under way to lift the ban.
But he said that there were still "serious misconceptions" in some parts of Germany about the UK safety measures.
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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06 Dec 99 | Europe |
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Agency ducks beef ruling |
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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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