WRITTEN QUESTION E-0032/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(18 January 2001)

Subject: Meat-importing Member States await official measures against BSE in meat-exporting Member States

1. Is the Commission aware that governments of the Member States have waited until now to implement plans to close their domestic markets to imports of potentially hazardous animal products from other Member States because they take the view that Commission policy means that trade policy considerations outweigh food safety and consumer protection?

2. Are there instances of importing Member States being prevented by the Commission from anticipating official measures in countries where a heightened risk of BSE contamination is expected so that it was impossible to take action before the time when the exporting Member States themselves ascertained BSE infection and announced a ban on the consumption of possibly contaminated meat for their domestic market? What were the reasons for this?

3. Can it confirm that the risk of BSE infection in cows in Spain, Italy, Austria, Greece, Finland and Sweden is just as great as in Germany because, in those countries too, animal feed was used in feedstuffs and/or, until recently, the animal organs mostly responsible for Creutzveld Jacob's disease were processed into products for human consumption and that the only difference is that, unlike Germany, those Member States have not yet themselves announced bans on the consumption of possibly contaminated meat?

4. Can it confirm that animal feed is still being exported from EU Member States to other countries, particularly in the third world, with the result that European animal feed may contribute to the worldwide spread of BSE? Does it believe that such exports must be stopped and can it indicate how this can be achieved?

5. Is it prepared to eliminate with the greatest possible dispatch all obstacles that might still remain at the present time to prohibiting meat and meat products that are a potential hazard to public health?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(14 May 2001)

The Commission's policy for food is based on strict safety rules achieving a high degree of human health protection. With regard to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), it has put in place a very comprehensive series of Community measures aimed at eradicating BSE and protecting the public.

The Commission has not prevented Member States from taking appropriate health measures towards imported products provided they are based on sound scientific evidence.

The Honourable Member's attention is drawn to the opinion adopted on 6 July 2000 by the Scientific Steering Committee on the geographical risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy where it classifies Member States according to different risk levels. That opinion is available on Internet at the following address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/ssc/outcome_en.html.

Council Decision 2000/766/EC of 4 December 2000 laid down rules concerning certain protection measures with regard to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and the feeding of animal protein(1). According to Article 3(1) of this Decision, exports to third countries of processed animal proteins intended for the feeding of farmed animals which are kept, fattened or bred for the production of food are prohibited.

The Commission is monitoring the situation very closely, including the implementation of Community measures by Member States, and will propose any further measures necessary to maintain a high level of public health protection.

(1) OJ L 306, 7.12.2000.