Madam President, I speak today both as an MEP and a beef farmer from the United Kingdom. The farming industry in Britain has suffered greatly from the BSE crisis, both financially and in terms of consumer confidence. However, we have learnt a great deal over the years as to how to put our house in order. We now have a belt-and-braces system for the safety of our beef. Recently, the Phillips inquiry into BSE has been published in the UK. I am pleased that you, Commissioner Byrne, have read that report. I hope that you will act on it. The French Government should also read this report because they are in danger of making exactly the same mistakes as were made in the UK at the time of our BSE crisis. But we now have the benefit of hindsight. I suggest that the French Government should learn from us. I have never been convinced by the argument put forward by France that the whole-herd slaughter policy was the right way to tackle outbreaks of BSE in their country. The recent problem in Normandy of an infected animal being presented as a healthy animal highlights the resistance there is in the farming community to having their entire herds slaughtered. Furthermore, the recent tests that have been carried out in France of fallen stock have shown several hidden cases of BSE. I have long been suspicious that in order to avoid having their whole herds slaughtered animals have been secretly shot and buried on farms in France. The British system of removing infected animals from the herds and paying good compensation for those animals encourages farmers to declare their cases of BSE. I call upon the European Commission to carry out a total review of the systems that are in place in France to deal with cases of BSE. In Britain we have also learnt that it is very difficult to stop meat-and-bone meal, that is produced and incorporated in the feedingstuffs for pigs and poultry, also – either by accident or by intention – landing up in feed for cattle and ruminants. It is very difficult for a feed mill to guarantee that its production lines are completely cleared of meat-and-bone meal before they start manufacturing feedingstuffs for pigs and poultry. I have long been of the opinion that a complete ban on the use of meat-and-bone meal in animal feeds should be in place throughout Europe. France has recently introduced a ban on beef on the bone and many French provinces have stopped school children from consuming home-grown beef. One of the main reasons for this action is that the French Food Agency takes the precautionary principle very seriously. I would suggest that the European Commission also use the precautionary principle in regard to beef from France. Until such time as the French Government can guarantee the absolute safety of their beef the Commission should ban all exports from France to the rest of the Community, especially from beef animals that are over 30 months of age. There is, at the moment, £2 million worth of French beef for the meat processing industry consumed in the UK. This is totally unacceptable considering the problems regarding BSE in France. Over a year ago, 16 of Europe's best scientists, including a French chairman, declared British beef safe for consumption throughout Europe, and yet France has illegally maintained a ban on the importation of British beef. It is total hypocrisy for France to maintain its ban on British beef.

Political group: PPE-DE