Brussels, 16/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - Following the row that in certain Members States has broken out over two aspects of the Commission's plan to remedy the disruptions on the beef market (EUROPE of 14 February, p.14), Mr. Fischler's spokesperson provided the following details:
1. Future of the purchase system for the destruction of cattle: the special purchasing scheme (presented to the beef management committee on Friday) that is to replace the system of purchase for the destruction of cattle will apply to Member States with the necessary capacities to proceed with systematic screening for BSE among all cattle of over thirty months. It will enable them to freely decide either to destroy the cattle regarded as unable to be sod (with a compensation of 70% of the price of the animal paid to the farmer by the EU), or to store the meat, at their own cost, if they believe there are sufficient outlets. This freedom of choice should close the ethical discussion currently raging in Germany and Austria, the spokesperson stressed, pointing out, moreover that the current crisis on the market has had as result that animals are being destroyed in much lesser quantities than in normal times. He then added that the introduction of the special scheme would render null and void Austria's request to be exempted from the purchase for destruction plan. Presenting the crisis package to the press, Franz Fischler had stipulated that it was the fact that all Member States had said they were able to conduct systematic screening of all cattle of over thirty months from April (three months before the date of 1 July at which this measure was to be made compulsory throughout the Union) that had incited the Commission to propose an alternative to the purchase for destruction scheme. The draft decision concerning this special scheme will be formally put to the beef management committee on 2 March.
2. Possibility of disposing of beef from tested animals of over thirty months, exempt of BSE, in third countries: the possibility of disposing of meat stored by non-commercial channels, that is to say, for the purpose of food aid for developing countries, for example, will require the Commission's approval, which, for reasons of coherence among Community policies, will ensure that local (third country) markets are not inundated by meat from the Union. Bilateral food aid will take the form of requests by third countries and in small quantities, "to avoid harming the recipient countries under the pretext of seeking their good", the spokesperson stipulated.