French action against UK beef condemned by European Court

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 20th Sep 2001

In an important development for the British Beef industry, the Advocate-General of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg today supported a complaint by the European Commission against the French government for refusing imports of British beef.

All EU member states agreed in 1999 that imports of beef from the UK could re-commence under strict conditions, namely through the imposition of a Date Based Export Scheme. France, however, failed to comply with this decision, refusing to import British beef. As a result they have been called to account for their actions at the European Court. Today's announcement is intended to guide the judges when a final judgement is made later this year.

Diana Wallis, Liberal Democrat MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, welcomed the announcement:

"The original French approach was clearly counter to the fundamental principles of European law and refused to recognise the massive effort made by UK farmers to combat the BSE problem and to ensure the appropriate conditions for export of beef from the UK.

"Everyone knows that the quality of British beef cannot be beaten. This decision goes some way down the road to ensuring that French consumers are able to enjoy this delicious product in their own country. I hope that the full court accepts this judgement in due course."