Deal struck after marathon farm talks

Date: 04/04/1996

By Michael Mann

THE EU faces an annual bill of well over 320 million ecu to compensate British farmers forced to slaughter cattle because of the latest scare over mad cow disease.

The final bill is likely to be much higher, with agriculture ministers pledging to compensate other EU farmers also forced to cull herds to allay public fears over the possible risk to human health from BSE.

But the agreement reached early this morning (3 April) after two days and two nights of tough negotiations in Luxembourg was not enough to satisfy the UK - which had called for an immediate end to the worldwide ban on British beef exports - and it refused to endorse the package.

Farm ministers said they would review the ban within six weeks, but only after the UK has announced how many additional cattle it intends to slaughter under a selective culling programme.

The battle over beef has already spilled into the Intergovernmental Conference. As negotiations got underway this week, German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel made a direct link between the IGC and EU help for the British beef industry. “Solidarity is not a one-way street. The British expect solidarity from us in connection with BSE. That is legitimate. But in return, we can demand solidarity from the British in the IGC on extending European integration,” he said.