Brussels, 24/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - Monica Frassoni, Italian Green member elected in Belgium, took up in an "urgent question" to the European Commission the reproaches made by part of the Italian press concerning the European Executive because of its management of the mad cow crisis (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.10). The Italian MEP makes it clear in an internal Commission memo dated 12 October 2000 on the discussion at the Veterinary Committee on BSE of 9 and 10 October, that "it clearly appears" the Commission had chosen not to "cause any unfavourable reaction on markets, and therefore not to speak of BSE any more, to call on the United Kingdom not to publish the results of their research and to play down the BSE affairs by practising disinformation policy". Ms Frassoni states that the note cites, among the addressees, Messrs Barlero-Larsen, Prendergast (Director of the Food and Veterinary Office) and Jimenez-Beltran (Executive Director of the European Environment Agency). She asks the Commission: - what followed the "disinformation strategy" envisaged in the note; - whether the officials mentioned took part at the meeting and in the "elaboration of disinformation strategy adopted by the Commission in 1990 to 1996" (such information, she says, is particularly significant, because of the extremely important role played by two of them); - who was the representative of the Commission who, within the Standing Veterinary Committee, suggested one should no longer speak of BSE, and what his or her present responsibilities are.