France refuses to lift British beef ban

France will not end its boycott of British beef in the next three months despite a ECJ ruling that the ban is illegal. France's recently-appointed Agriculture Minister, François Patriat, said on 12 March 2002 that France still did not have assurances that the meat was safe from mad cow disease. The UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw called for France to be fined for its ongoing ban on British beef.

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