Madam President, I should just like to say before I start that it is a bit rich of Mr Donnelly to say that people should not have a trade war. Mr Brown, the British Minister for Agriculture, said himself that he would not be buying French food. I am very disappointed that there is no solution today. I hope there will be a solution quickly. It is not doing any good to any of our farmers, whether they be French or British. British beef is safe. Hygiene standards prove that British beef is safe; the scientific evidence has proved that British beef is safe. Other countries lifted the ban on 1 August. There have been no cases of BSE in the relevant age group – 6 months to 30 months old – since 1996. No cases at all. So why have the French not lifted the ban? I suspect it is because they have picked up our trade. Nearly 40% of our trade with the EU was to France. No objection was raised by the French back in May when the International Veterinary Organisation adopted less rigorous conditions than those foreseen by the date-base export scheme. But all this argument illustrates the need for an independent food standard agency at EU level. It would prevent the undue influence of national bodies who quite often have a political axe to grind. It could look at EU practices across the whole of the European Union. It could point out the hypocrisy of France continuing the ban. I have heard of some of the practices in France at the moment. I do not know how true they are, but I have heard of: French beef being sold in markets with the spinal tissue and brain still attached – the food agency could look at that; carcasses not inspected in France by qualified vets, unlike in the UK; pigs still fed bone marrow – the food agency could look at those cases; lower standards of farm hygiene in France; French supermarkets do not insist on seeing pesticide records. The list is endless, not to mention the sewage sludge. That has disgusted everyone. But I am not as worried about that as I am, perhaps, about the reports that offal and bonemeal are still being fed to French animals. Before any food safety agency is set up, the Commission must examine all these cases in France as well. Stringent action must be taken against them if the Commission finds, through scientific evidence, that France is breaking any of the rules and that the food is not fit for human consumption, in the same way as it did on BSE. I do not think the French were wrong to criticise Britain over some of the practices over BSE in the past. I felt the Conservative Government should have acted sooner. I felt they should have put more money into research sooner. But now we are BSE-free in the 6 months to 30 months-old exports. It is important to remember that. But we must make sure that when the evidence comes forward tomorrow and when we hear the result, if there is no new scientific evidence – and I doubt there will be – that action is taken against France immediately if it does not lift the ban. I hope France will see sense. I hope it will see sense for the sake of our farmers, for the sake of the French farmers, for the sake of the European Union and for the sake of the Commission. The Commission has to be seen to be acting firmly. If it fudges the issue, if it comes up with a compromise not based on scientific evidence, then the Commission will be brought into disrepute and consequently the whole of the European Union will be brought into disrepute. IN THE CHAIR: MR PROVANVice-President

Political group: ELDR