Food safety could lead to conflicts within EU
Food lawyer Raymond O’Rourke predicted the clashes in a presentation to the Irish Society for European Law in Dublin last night. He claimed the EU food regulatory regime is badly prepared for the accession of ten new member states next May.
It was not because these countries have failed to transpose all mandatory EU food laws into their own national law, but because the EU has neglected to deal with the fall-out of the British-French beef war case last year.
The European Court ruled that France’s refusal to allow British beef to be sold in France was contrary to EU law.
Mr O’Rourke, who is in practice with Mason Hayes and Curran, Solicitors, Dublin, said the French ban commenced in December, 1999, and even when the court ruled against France they only ceded to the ruling in October, 2002.
“What a travesty for the principles of free movement of goods enshrined in the EU Treaty! Sadly, the reaction of the EU institutions to such a flagrant violation of EU law by France has been conspicuous by its silence,” he said.
Mr O’Rourke said accession negotiations with ten new applicants in relation to food safety have been very difficult.
Steps had been taken to allay the concerns of the EU over the possibility of unsafe food products from third countries like Russia, Ukraine and Moldova slipping through to the internal market.
A safeguard clause has been inserted in the Treaty of Accession providing the EU with draconian powers to seal-off one of these countries if a food safety problem occurs.
