Madam President, we have certainly been through a lot with the BSE crisis. It has led to the resignation of a Commission, a British government was voted out partly because of it and now there is an internal policy crisis in France – who knows where it will all end! There are people and countries who are using the BSE crisis as a political instrument. For example, the president of one country has stood up and announced that no more animal meal is to be used as animal feed – animal meal that should never have been fed to animals in the first place, because France has not complied with the standards. And the health minister of one of Germany's Länder recently stated that she was demanding a new import ban on English and French beef. This minister had refused to introduce the tests which we called for in association with lifting this ban. That would have given us tests in Germany and thus, scientific proof, either that there is no BSE or that cases do actually exist. Had that happened, we would not now be complaining that we have been put in an undesirable category just because we asserted that we were BSE-free. Then Mr Gollnisch turns round and tells this House that his group has been spearheading the BSE debate. Mr Gollnisch, I do not recall your group contributing to the Temporary Committee of Inquiry into BSE. You played no part in it whatsoever. (Applause) Then the President-in-Office comes along and tells this House what measures he now intends to take. Of course, what you say is quite right, Mr President-in-Office. But what you told us goes without saying, it is blindingly obvious! It is European law! We urgently need to give the Commission the mechanisms it requires, and that is something that should be done in Nice. And if new threats arise in future – Mr Böge has already referred to this – the Commission needs powers to close down factories, negotiate and impose sanctions immediately, so that years do not have to pass before we recognise what needs to be done in scientific and political terms and take action! That is the real scandal, and this is not, for the moment at least, a matter for the Commission. We have to recognise that, Mr Byrne, and I welcome your contribution today. But it was indeed a matter for the Commission at one point! Now it is down to the Member States, who do not want to implement the legislation! We have a key role to play in exerting pressure here. This is now a European problem. That is why I have taken the liberty of talking about France and Germany, because we have to recognise that this is a European problem and stop indulging in national squabbling! We need to establish a precautionary policy for the European public as a whole, and we have done that in a solid and rational way here. I accordingly welcome the motion for a resolution. We have not let ourselves be lured into calling for a total ban on animal meal, because in that case we would have had to call for a total ban on meat, because if what is deemed fit for us to eat can no longer be fed to animals, that is not just nonsense, it is political populism! We need to steer clear of that and to carry on working in the same sensible way as before! (Applause)

Political group: Verts-ALE