Fresh doubts cast over veal crate accord

Date: 01/08/1996

By Michael Mann

ALTHOUGH Ireland has pledged to put veal crates back on the EU agenda, there seems little prospect of significant progress towards agreeing an end to their use during its six-month presidency.

Overshadowed by the BSE crisis, the Commission's plans to phase out veal crates gradually by 2008 were only discussed once by member state experts during the Italian presidency.

Irish officials insist the issue is firmly on the agenda for their term at the helm, but other member states say it is by no means certain that Dublin will push the question too hard.

While the attitude of the UK and Nordic countries to veal crates has been largely driven by consumer concern about animal welfare, the Irish also stress the socio-economic consequences of possible changes in veal production techniques.

This is of particular concern to the French and Italians - the most significant producers and consumers of traditional white veal meat - and their view is given extra credence in the present climate, with the beef market already under intense pressure.

“The major reason for not pursuing the dossier is that the French could argue that changing the rules would destabilise the market even further, cause producers to leave the sector and leave more surplus beef lying around,” commented an official.

Apart from anything else, Dublin has recently been able to export more calves to countries such as the Netherlands thanks to the export ban on UK beef.

Ireland also has to confront a more general reform of the sector necessitated by the recent collapse of the market. By definition, the proposals due to be discussed in September would also impact on the calf industry.

While the ban on UK exports persists, the veal crate issue remains rather academic because it was largely British lobbying which led the Commission to bring forward its proposal.

BSE has presented several countries with a serious dilemma. France, a major importer of calves from the UK for its veal industry, was strongly in favour of imposing the ban on UK exports.

But during April and May, there were strong suggestions that Paris favoured a swift end to restrictions on UK calves born after a certain date to keep French veal producers supplied.

Bearing in mind the overall drop in beef demand, it seems likely that much of the shortfall in calf supplies is being compensated for by reduced demand.

But while no one possesses reliable data on the effects of the crisis on veal production, Dutch officials point out that their efforts to source calves from Eastern Europe have been largely stymied by quota restrictions.

An end to the export ban on calves forms one of the stages of the UK's 'framework document'.

But before this can begin to be implemented, the UK must persuade the Union that it has disposed of all potentially infected feed and set up a reliable identification system for calves.

An enormous amount also depends on the preliminary results of British government studies into whether BSE can be transmitted from mother to calf.

Despite inactivity in official circles, lobbyists from the Eurogroup for Animal Welfare have been far from idle over the last six months, continuing a concerted advertising campaign to educate consumers in France and Italy, which they regard as countries crucial to the outcome of the veal crate debate.

“We are beginning to see a realisation that veal crates will be finished eventually anyway, so there is a need to look for alternatives,” said a Eurogroup official.