French upbeat on beef despite EU legal move

French officials last night said they were confident that the six-week-old "mad cow war" between France and Britain could be resolved soon, despite the European Commission's decision to initiate legal proceedings against Paris for its refusal to lift a unilateral embargo on British beef.

"The crisis is in the process of being resolved," Mr Jean Glavany, the minister for agriculture said. "France is continuing on the path of a rapid solution."

The junior minister for consumer affairs, Ms Marylise Lebranchu, said she was "surprised" that the Commission moved against France after substantial progress was reached on Monday night, prompting Mr Glavany to announce a "quasiaccord" in the National Assembly earlier yesterday. "Brussels wants the rules to be respected, but there is another country that has not lifted its embargo," Ms Lebranchu said, referring to Germany.

The Commission's decision was interpreted in Paris as a form of pressure. Commentators stressed that violations of EU law are frequent, that there would be no immediate effect and that the crisis is likely to be resolved before a 15-day warning period expires.

In the National Assembly Mr Glavany said that Britain and the EU Commission have made important compromises regarding isolation of herds where a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is detected, and regarding labelling and testing.

"On traceability", Mr Glavany said, "the British position is that when an animal catches the disease they slaughter it - but not the herd or the family. Whereas the French position is that once an animal is affected we slaughter the entire herd . . . We have obtained a commitment from the British that from now on when an animal is contaminated, other animals of the same age in that herd will be removed from commercial circulation. This is significant progress for us."

On labelling, Mr Glavany said the Commission is to draw up "interpretative instructions for the lifting of the embargo that will authorise each country of the Union - and in particular France - to demand that labelling carried out in the United Kingdom remain with the meat all the way to the consumer".

If, for example, British meat transits the Netherlands or Belgium, French authorities can demand to see the original label at the border.

Two steps now remain before the French embargo is lifted, Mr Glavany said, adding that they could be completed within days.

The French government has asked Britain for further details on how widely, and when, it will begin using BSE laboratory tests on slaughtered cattle.

French, Irish and Swiss tests are already on the market. The government will then solicit the opinion of the French food safety agency Afssa.

It was on Afssa's advice that France announced its refusal to lift the beef embargo - in violation of an EU Commission decision - last October 1st.

When the "mad cow" crisis is finally resolved, the EU will have to address the question of what happens when national agencies like Afssa arrive at conflicting conclusions to those reached by EU experts.

French newspapers have speculated that a final Franco-British agreement on the lifting of the beef embargo could be signed at a summit in London on November 25th.