Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-12-16-Speech-4-090"
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"en.19991216.2.4-090"2
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"Mr President, I am all in favour of the labelling of beef. Reforms in beef production introduced in Britain following the beef crisis now make British beef among the highest quality and safest in the world. In time, I am confident that consumers not just in Britain but throughout the EU will recognise this fact and actively search out British beef. Full labelling will therefore work to British beef farmers' advantage.
If such a confidence-building measure also speeds the end of the illegal French ban on British beef, then so much the better.
EU citizens will recognise good beef when they see it. They will also recognise law-breaking and hypocrisy when they see it. The French beef ban, as everyone but the French Government agrees, is illegal and totally unjustified. The French beef ban is also hypocritical and unworthy of a French Government that claims to be at the heart of Europe. Hence Labour MEPs dignified walkout during the official opening of the new Parliament building on Tuesday. MEPs should not make EU laws in a country that breaks EU laws.
In contrast, I can only praise the restraint and respect for the law shown by farmers in the north-west and Britain as a whole throughout this crisis. I urge them to continue to show such responsibility.
I also urge the Commission to institute fast-track proceedings against the French Government as soon as possible. Furthermore, I urge the Commission to investigate the possibility of compensation for hard-pressed British beef farmers, many of them driven almost to the wall by the beef ban. In this connection, I welcome new proposals by my Socialist Group colleagues for a European Small Claims Court to help people facing ruin due to EU disputes in future.
We should never forget, however, where ultimate responsibility for this crisis lies. It was the Tories who, through lax regulation, caused the crisis. It was the Tories, who, through their ludicrous beef war, escalated the crisis. And it is the Tories now, who, through irresponsible calls for illegal retaliatory boycotts, are trying to extend the crisis for their own party political gain. While the Tories continue to play politics, however, Labour continues to work, with the support of the NFU, to get the ban lifted."@en1
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