Brussels, 15/02/2000 (Agence Europe) - In Strasbourg on Tuesday, the European Commission decided to formally initiate infringement proceedings against Germany for persistent non-compliance with Community decisions demanding that all Member States of the Union lift their embargo on British beef (Council Decision 98/256/EC and Commission Decision 99/514/EC).
The German authorities will therefore receive a warning (first stage of the proceedings under Article 226 of the Treaty) urging them to let their position be known soon after 17 March, date at which the Bundesrat, the Parliament's upper house which has the power to lift the embargo, is to decide. If within this time, the Commission has not received a satisfactory answer it could address a reasoned opinion to Germany, second stage, before the case is taken before the Court of Justice. The Commission does, however, hope that things will not go that far. The words of David Byrne, Commissioner for Health Protection and Consumers, demonstrate this: "I have had constructive contacts with the German Government and signs are positive. However, I must ensure that EU law is respected. We can, however, clearly avoid legal confrontation if Germany complies quickly with the law", he declared.
The news, reported in the German press, that the Bundesrat risked voting against the lifting of the embargo (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.16) surely contributed to the Commission's acting on the threat it brandished in December already. EUROPE recalls that, contrary to France, taken before the Court of Justice for its explicit refusal to lift the embargo, Germany has always announced that it would follow the national procedure leading to the lifting of the embargo, but these good intentions have not been put into practice.