Brussels, 01/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - European Parliament President Nicole Fontaine welcomed the measures taken by the European Commission to stem the mad cow crisis and enable consumers to regain confidence. "The European Parliament hasn't ceased saying, since 1996: animal meal must be banned as long as there is scientific doubt on the transmission of BSE through this meal to all farm animals,"" Ms. Fontaine observed, hoping that "Monday's Agriculture Council will take up the issue again and take the measures required to restore the EU's credibility in the eyes of the public". To "those who will not fail to criticise the cost of these measures", Ms. Fontaine recalls that "human health has no price" and that agricultural spending exceeds 40 billion euro a year. She considers that, whence, a they just have to be able to find a solution to allow for the financing of these measures, in the framework of budgetary negotiations between the Council and Parliament (EUROPE recalls that Commissioner Fischler has spoken of an annual cost of three billion euro).
Happart approves measures proposed but "Europe must pay"
In a statement to the Belga news agency, the Walloon Minister of Agriculture (Belgium has two regional ministers of agriculture and no federal minister: Ed.), Jose Happart approves the measures recommended by the Commission. "I back the Commission's decisions while demanding that it take on the cost. Europe is responsible for the mad cow crisis. We must demand that it pay".