WRITTEN QUESTION P-1975/96 by Jimmy Goldsmith (NI) to the Commission (12 July 1996)

Subject: Disinformation by the European Commission concerning mad cow disease

Can the European Commission explain how it has been able to assert officially, on several occasions, notably through its current President and his predecessor, Mr Jacques Delors, that it was not fully aware of mad cow disease and the risks of the disease being transmitted to humans, when an internal memo dated 12 October 1990, which was revealed by the French weekly 'Journal du Dimanche' of 30 June 1996, proves that it was, in fact, aware of the situation?

How does the European Commission explain the following statements by one of its 'representatives' at the meeting of the Standing Veterinary Committee of 9 and 10 October 1990, a copy of the minutes of which was sent to three of its officials:

- 'A cool approach is needed so as not to cause negative reactions on the market.'

- 'Stop talking about BSE.'

- 'We shall officially request the United Kingdom to stop publishing the results of its research.'

- 'This BSE business must be minimized by using disinformation. It is better to say that the press tends to exaggerate things.'

Finally, can the Commission state on what other occasions it has encouraged the use of 'disinformation'?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (25 September 1996)

The Commission has never stated that it was not aware of the situation regarding bovine spongiform encephalopathy, nor have any of its Presidents. The Honourable Member should refer to the statement made by the Commission during the July session of Parliament (16 July 1996). The Commission has kept itself fully informed of the situation ever since the disease was first recognised in the United Kingdom, and has taken appropriate measures for the protection of animal and human health.

The document reproduced in the 'Journal du Dimanche', to which the Honourable Member refers, is not an official account of the meeting in question. It is apparently the personal interpretation of an observer at the meeting, written on Commission headed paper but not officially registered. Members of the standing veterinary committee have confirmed, from their official records, that no such statements were made by the Commission.

In any case, the record of action on BSE by the Commission since the date of the meeting demonstrates that the allegedly proposed course of action was not followed. In particular, the Commission has held two major seminars on spongiform encephalopathies, to which British experts were invited to present the results of their studies, and the Commission has published the proceedings. These publications are:

'Sub-acute spongiform encephalopathies' - Proceedings of a seminar held in Brussels, 12-14 November 1990, Kluwer academic publishers, ref. EUR 13836 EN, and

'Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies' - Proceedings of a consultation held in Brussels, 14-15 September 1993, Commission document VI/413/94 EN.

It will be noted that the seminar in 1990 was held one month after a Commission representative is alleged to have stated that BSE would no longer be discussed and that the United Kingdom would be asked not to publish its research results.

Furthermore, BSE was discussed on the following occasions after the meeting of 10 October 1990:

>TABLE>