Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-12-15-Speech-3-207"
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"en.19991215.9.3-207"2
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"Madam President, it is now 18 weeks since the European Commission ordered the lifting of the ban on British beef; 18 weeks during which time France and Germany have prevaricated while blatantly defying the law; 18 weeks during which naive attempts at appeasement by the Commission and the hapless UK government have been rebuffed in circumstances which have caused deep humiliation to both; 18 weeks during which British beef farmers have continued to suffer catastrophic losses, exacerbated by the titanic efforts of the French government to blacken the good name of British beef internationally.
The time for dithering and delay is now past. In the face of clear evidence that the French government has engaged in a devious game of cat-and-mouse with the Commission and the UK government and clearly never had any intention of removing the ban on British beef from the outset, they must now be held to account. They must be made to answer in the European courts and the procedure must be fast-tracked to ensure compensation is paid to the British beef industry, not only for the loss of trade to France, but also for the loss of our trade worldwide as a result of the damage done to the reputation of our high-quality products.
Can I also deal with the red herring that Prime Minister Jospin has introduced into this debate. He claims that last October he made an offer to Prime Minister Blair to lift the ban on grass-fed Scottish beef. Let me say this to Prime Minster Jospin: all British beef is safe. It has been judged safe by the European Commission and by the Scientific Steering Committee. Under the chairmanship of a French scientist, that committee unanimously approved the safety of British beef and unanimously rejected the French position. It is preposterous, therefore, for Mr Jospin to endeavour to drive a coach and horses through the European directive and the British date-based export scheme by introducing his own conditions. It is Mr Jospin who is in the dock and it is not for those who break the law to attempt to revise the rules.
Can I also ask the Commission what action they intend to take against Germany? The German Government has been content to hide behind the French coat-tails throughout this dispute, blaming the intricacies of their federal system of government for the delays in lifting the ban in Germany. I would remind this House that the German Government was able to introduce the ban on British beef in a matter of hours. It is therefore quite unacceptable that they continue to apply this illegal ban 18 weeks following the directive ordering that the ban should be lifted.
On my final point I would point out to this House that on an issue of this crucial importance there are very few Socialist Members sitting here taking part in this debate – and that is a disgrace."@en1
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