‘Panic’ move delays beef plan

Date: 06/03/1997

By Michael Mann

AGRICULTURE Commissioner Franz Fischler is set to come under fire at a meeting of EU farm ministers later this month amid accusations that he has been panicked into a decision which will delay plans to reassure consumers about the safety of beef for up to six months.

Critics say the plan for an EU-wide identification system for cattle and beef labelling has become a victim of the Commission's over-hasty reaction to the European Parliament's committee of inquiry into BSE.

Just as farm ministers were inching towards a deal on the system, the process has been put back by Fischler's decision to give the Parliament joint responsibility over the issue.

“There will be pressure to put the issue on the Council [of Ministers] agenda to allow people to let off steam and call Fischler to account for what he has done,” said one member state official.

The strongest reactions have come from France, Belgium, Germany and Austria - the countries campaigning most strongly for the rapid adoption of compulsory rules on the origin and feeding of all beef sold in Europe's shops.

Fischler apparently decided to offer MEPs 'co-decision' powers shortly before the parliamentary vote two weeks ago on whether to censure the Commission for its handling of the beef crisis.

The move represented a last-minute effort to win the Commission a sympathetic hearing from the Parliament. It also reflected Commission President Jacques Santer's preference for extending co-decision to cover most areas of the Common Agricultural Policy.

But EU governments are furious that they were not consulted and were given no hint of what Fischler was planning, even though ministers met in Brussels on the eve of his announcement. “Until 1.30am the night before, Fischler was saying these measures had to be adopted urgently. Twelve hours later, he was telling the Parliament he was changing the legal base of the proposal,” said one official.

Fischler this week presented a revised proposal under Article 100a of the Maastricht Treaty, which gives Parliament co-decision rights and necessitates two readings of proposals by MEPs and ministers.

The original plans have already been under discussion for four months as an Article 43 measure, requiring MEPs only to give a non-binding opinion.

“We are wondering what the legal justification is for the change,” said an official, adding that the Netherlands, the UK and Ireland had asked for an opinion from the Council's legal service, whose initial reaction was that the move was not justified.

Aware that getting agreement on a revised proposal will take months, some governments have suggested the only way to counter the Commission's tactics is to agree the original plan unanimously.

But this is unlikely. An accord is near on a harmonised cattle tracing scheme, but there are still big divisions over beef labelling. Some countries want the system to be compulsory from 2000, as proposed in this week's revised plan. But others remain opposed to an obligatory arrangement.