France could be in line for monthly fines if it fails to lift its ban on British beef imports.
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The ban was first imposed Europe-wide in March 1996 as a measure against the spread of BSE. It was officially lifted in August 1999 but France left it in place, refusing to accept the finding that British beef was safe to eat.
The European Court of Justice rued last December that the ban is illegal, but France refused to reverse its position, leaving it open to the possibility of infringement proceedings by the European Commission (EC).
The EC received a letter from the French government detailing its reluctance to lift the ban on Tuesday evening. An official spokeswoman told the Financial Times: “We’ll study the letter in detail and take the appropriate steps. The Commission’s position is that if a Member State doesn’t comply with a court ruling, we’ll follow up with legal proceedings.”
Despite threats of legal action, however, French agriculture minister Francois Patriat insisted that there are no plans to lift the ban until June, the month of the country’s general election. Elections for the presidency of France take place in six weeks time, however the parliament will not be elected for another three months.
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By GlobalDataA spokesman from the agriculture ministry told the Agence France Presse on Tuesday: “We will not lift the embargo on British beef in the next three months because the European court found against us on procedural grounds, not on matters of substance.
“We are not going to ease up our vigilance of health safety just when the beef market is beginning to pick up.”
Britain responded by saying that the French decision is “an issue for the (European) Commission and the courts”. It maintained that it would support the fines and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: “We expect other Member States to honour their legal obligations and would support the Commission bringing further proceedings.”
UK agriculture minister Lord Whitty said that the French government should “stand condemned” in the eyes of Europe over its refusal to lift the ban.
