Luxembourg, 02/07/2002 (Agence Europe) - Advocate General Mischo gave his conclusions in the mad cow affair that was the subject of a preliminary ruling following a complaint filed by the National Farmers' Union against the French Government before the French State Council. The Community legislator occupied the terrain in the fight against bovine spongiform encephalopathy and there is no more place for French safeguard measures, said Jean Mischo, who thus confirmed the Commission's argument. The National Farmers' Union challenged the French Government's refusal to lift the embargo against British beef. The French Government felt that, despite European legislation, it could still have recourse to Article 30 of the Treaty which authorises barriers to the free movement of goods for public health reasons. Jean Mischo also added that the precautionary principle must be "an aspect of the rational management of risks" and not a possibility for "opening the door wide to irrationality".
The Advocate General felt that France could not now use this process in order to challenge the Commission's decision to fix the date for lifting the embargo on 1 August 1999, when it had not done so in the two months allowed for this after the Commission decision.