Brussels, 08/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - In a letter to EU Industry Commissioner Gunter Verheugen on 24 March 2008, a copy of which was sent to Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel and Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas, the United States Trade Representative Susan Schwab expressed impatience at the European Commission's meanderings on the case of US chicken treated with chlorinated water (treated with pathogen reduction treatments, PRTs). 'We view these conflicting messages with great concern,' she wrote, referring to Marcos Kyprianou's doubts in January 2008 that the issue would be settled ahead of the June 2008 Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) due to the 'process of implementing the PRTs' appropriate would likely take until August'. 'It is difficult to understand the need for additional scientific studies on the use of PRTs in the EU to justify removing a ban on poultry from the United States treated with PRTs,' added Schwab, noting that 'the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) determined in December 2005 that poultry treated with these PRTs is safe. We have been told informally that the Commission cannot approve the use of PRTs for imported poultry without approving their use by European producers. We do not understand why this is the case. To the contrary, nothing in the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures provides for restricting imports until production is permitted domestically'. Pointing out that in November 2007, Verheugen 'reaffirmed the EU commitment… to have US poultry meat exports flowing to the EU by the next US-EU Summit,' Schwab stresses that 'the TEC needs to show it can achieve this simple outcome.' In March 2008, Verheugen defended the US view to Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the Commission (see EUROPE 9628). An opinion on the impact of PRTs on health is awaited, and on 2 April 2008 the EFSA published a mixed opinion on the health impact of PRTs, calling for the funding of new research to assess the likelihood of risk. On 1 April 2008, Vassiliou admitted that she might disagree. Although divided on the issue, the Commission will have to decide one way or the other. (E.H.)