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July 14 1999
ReutersBeef Ban Lifted Prematurely?
German officials reacted coolly on Wednesday to the European Union's lifting of its ban
on British beef and some local authorities said it was irresponsible and premature
following Britain's problems with mad cow disease.
German Radio quoted a spokesman for the Agriculture Ministry as saying
the ban, imposed three years ago, had been lifted too early because cases
of the disease, also known as BSE, were still being reported in cattle.
Spokesmen for the ministry were not directly available to confirm that
comment. Agriculture Minister Karl-Heinz Funke issued a more cautious
statement simply reassuring German consumers that the ban would hardly
affect them as little British beef was expected on the German market in any
case.
Bonn was obliged to observe the EU ruling, he said. But he added: "I
am confident consumers will do their shopping in a discerning way to
purchase produce of impeccable quality."
Baerbel Hoehn, agriculture minister for Germany's most populous state
North-Rhine Westphalia, was less diplomatic.
"It's irresponsible," she said, noting that Britain was still finding
cases of mad cow disease and arguing that stricter testing should be
required before letting in British beef.
Irene Soltwedel-Schaefer, a member of the European parliament and like
Hoehn a member of the ecologist Greens party which is part of the ruling
coalition, told Hesse Radio: "It's not only incomprehensible, it's a
scandal."
"EU agriculture policy is taking people for mugs," she said. "The
decision has gone the way of the market and of profit and against the
consumer."
The consumer protection office in the city-state of Hamburg said: "The
export ban on British beef must be maintained. BSE has not been beaten in
Britain." |