WRITTEN QUESTION E-2579/97 by Reino Paasilinna (PSE) to the Commission (24 July 1997)

Subject: The problem of monitoring British beef on the internal market

It has been announced in the media that 1600 tonnes of possibly contaminated beef from The United Kingdom has been illegally exported through Belgian intermediaries to The Netherlands, Russia and Egypt. There has also been speculation on whether British beef has been transported to Bosnia as humanitarian aid. Over the past few months almost twice as much of this 'illegal meat' is reported to have been in circulation as was originally thought.

In the supervision of the internal market it is essential to be able to rely upon the 'country of origin' label. However, this label increasingly appears to be unreliable. A safe way must be created of protecting consumers from contaminated meat and guaranteeing product quality. For this reason the Commission should set up an effective system with a view to putting an end to the British scandal. One solution would be to move all control over the meat industry from the busy and careless DG for agriculture to the DG for consumer policy which has already been entrusted with quality policy, product labelling and the general safety of products and services.

In view of the above, why does the Commission not move responsibility for supervision of the meat industry and its products from the DG for agriculture (DG6) to the DG for consumer policy (DG 24), whose main concerns are the consumer protection of European citizens and the general safety of products and services?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-2579/97, P-2642/97 and P-2643/97 given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission (2 October 1997)

The matter to which the Honourable Member refers relates to a recently uncovered fraud, involving the redescription and recertification of frozen beef of British origin as coming from other Member States.

Investigations by the Commission, working very closely with the relevant Member State authorities, into the extent and implications of this fraud are currently in hand and have been reported to the Parliament on an interim basis. However, care is needed at this stage not to jeopardize the success of these investigations through the premature release of information on their findings.

Primary responsibility for controlling the health marking, certification and movement of such beef rests with the Member States concerned. Although frauds are extremely difficult to prevent completely, it has become clear from the Commission's investigations that there is a need to improve health controls at a national level so as to increase the level of detection and prevention of such illegal activity. In response to the shortfalls already identified by the Commission's inquiries, a formal letter requesting information has already been sent to the United Kingdom.

Investigations into the possible existence of other fraudulent meat movements are continuing, with a view to ensuring that a full picture is obtained and that all possible avenues are explored.

Following the results of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) parliamentary inquiry, the Commission transferred responsibility for veterinary control from the Directorate general for agriculture (DG VI) to the Directorate general for consumer policy and consumer health protection (DG XXIV).

The Commission is fully aware of the importance of prompt and vigorous action in response to this situation to ensure that a high level of protection for animal and public health is ensured and that consumer confidence is maintained. To this end, all Member States are being kept informed of progress in the investigation, so that a coordinated approach can be followed.

The Commission will ensure that the Parliament continues to be informed of developments.