§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the French ban of British beef; and what action her Department is taking to encourage the French Government to lift the ban. [57821]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Secretary of State has made it clear that we expect France to lift its ban as soon as possible. It is for the Commission to take action to enforce EU law and it has asked France for an explanation of its failure to comply with the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). This is the first stage in a process which may lead to a further ECJ case against France and the imposition of penalties for failure to comply with the court's judgment in December 2001 that the French ban on imports of UK beef exported under the data based export scheme is illegal.