MEPs to summon Kyprianou over Brazilian beef
EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou is to be summoned to appear before the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee, either next month or in early March, to explain his handling of Brazilian beef imports.
Kyprianou can expect a rough ride from the MEPs, who are furious about what they see as delays in imposing restrictions on Brazilian beef.
A Commission decision adopted last month, tightening export conditions for Brazilian beef sent to Europe, takes effect on January 31 (see AE2290, 21.12.07, EP/3). But this is not soon enough for MEPs.
They want to know why the Commission only acted after its Food and Veterinary Office visited Brazil in November, when many of the problems were clear at an earlier inspection last March.
British MEP Neil Parish, who chairs the Committee, summed up the mood after a meeting this week by telling the Commission: "We intend to pursue this vigorously until we get the answers we want."
Some progress
Colm Gaynor, head of the Commission's Food and Veterinary Office, told the Committee that November's inspection had focused on various features of the Brazilian animal health system, including movement controls, identification, traceability and the standards applied.
Gaynor said that there had been progress in some areas such as registers of holdings and animals, but there were problems with identification (i.e. whether the ear tag on the animal was the same as that registered in documentation), approval and certification of holdings and with the database.
Currently some 10,000 holdings are cleared for export because they are located in territories authorised by the EU as being free of foot-and-mouth disease and other diseases.
Individual approvals
But under the new rules, holdings will have to be approved individually.
A Commission official estimated that under the new regime only 300 farms will be able to send beef to the EU from February 1.
If the results of follow-up inspections showed continuing problems, then the Commission would "go for a total ban on Brazilian exports."
Parish congratulated the Commission on the decision, but said the key question was what the Commission had done to ensure that meat from Brazil really came from the animal it purported to come from. "That is the crux of the matter," he declared.
Some MEPs were further dismayed when by the Commission's clarification that beef consignments that have already left Brazil before the end of the month can continue to be sold legally in Europe until 15 March. (b)
Source Agra Europe 25.01.08