§ The Marquess of Ailesburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the European Union has the legal right to forbid a British export to a non-European Union country.
§ Lord Simon of HighburyExports from a member state to a third country are part of the common commercial policy within the exclusive competence of the Community under Article 113 of the EC treaty, subject only to Article 223 of the treaty. This means that the Council of Ministers may make a regulation by a qualified majority of its members to prohibit a member state from exporting goods of a particular type; but the council cannot prohibit a member state from exporting military goods if the member state considers the export to be necessary for the protection of the essential interests of its security.
The Commission is also empowered by Council Directives 89/662/EEC and 90/425/EEC (which are concerned with veterinary and zootechnical checks in intra-Community trade) to adopt any measures which may be necessary to safeguard the health of humans and/or animals. The Commission purported to act under this power in March 1996 when imposing a ban on the export of UK beef and bovine products to other member states and third countries, in response to the BSE crisis. The UK Government have challenged the ban in the European Court of Justice, arguing, in relation to third countries, that the ban exceeds the limits of the power delegated to the Commission by the Council. The advocate-general concluded in September this year that the third country element of the ban is necessary to prevent the spread of BSE and effect its eradication, and therefore the Commission had the necessary power. The court's judgment is expected in the New Year.