Brussels, 22/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - During the first meeting, on Thursday, of the temporary committee on foot and mouth disease, MEPs recalled that their aim was to avoid a further crisis at all cost (this was the main message given by Encarnación Redondo Jiménez (EPP, Spain), Chair of the Committee). It will seek to shed full light on the reasons that motivated the Community not to have recourse to ring vaccination, the dysfunction that occurred in external border controls, the progress made in finalising new tests and vaccinations, and the financial burden supported by the Community budget. The foot and mouth committee will be meeting again next Tuesday to examine and adopt its work programme.
The MEP designated for preparing the report to be examined in November by the European Parliament, Wolfgang Kreissl-Dörfler (PES, Germany), reaffirmed how important it was to understand the context of the crisis, which affected the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France and Ireland. He was firm in saying that the committee would not allow any one Member State to be "pilloried".
Jan Mulder (ELDR, Netherlands) stressed that the Community budget earmarked for combating this epizootic was "a pittance". He pointed out that the EU had been able to cope only because the current weakness of the euro against the dollar created a temporary budget surplus.
Robert Sturdy (Conservative, UK) recalled that the crisis had not only hit the farmers but also the tourism industry and the whole of the rural community. The message was passed on by Albert Jan Maat (EPP-ED, Netherlands) and the Welsh member, Eurig Wyn. Gordon Adam (Labour, UK) showed greater optimism and said that the farmers of his region, who were the first affected, have started restocking. British Green member Caroline Lucas pointed to the confusion over the interpretation of the Community legislation as the crisis unfolded. Mr Maat stressed that global trade, the increase in animal transport and the expansion of tourism all increased the risk of spreading disease.
MEPs who were on the committee of inquiry into BSE in the past recalled their "frustration" at the refusal of government ministers to attend hearings and at the difficulty of obtaining information from the Commission. Mr Adam sought to reassure his colleagues by saying that the British government had stated its readiness to cooperate with this inquiry. Neil Parish (EPP-ED, Britain) suggested inviting the former British Agriculture Minister, Nick Brown, and also his successor, Margaret Beckett, to give evidence. Theodius Lennon, for the Commission's Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection, said the Commission would "cooperate fully, entirely and in the most transparent manner possible". He said the Commission would adopt new policy proposals by the end of the year in order to combat foot and mouth.