Luxembourg, 09/07/2003 (Agence Europe) - The families of victims who died in France from a "variant" of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are demanding that the EU Court of First Instance charges the Council and Commission for material and non-material damage suffered as a consequence of the death of persons infected with BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy).
The families accuse the Community institutions of misuse of powers in their attitude in this affair and which "aimed only at protecting in an ill-considered manner the interests of the market and of the beef sector". Victims of the families are claiming that the Commission's disorganisation, "led their staff to underestimate the risks of BSE and that very fact constitutes a serious breach of the legitimate expectations of European consumers".