Culling plans needed urgently, Britain told

THE European Commission has indicated that Britain must present details on its plans for culling BSE infected herds if it wants action on removing the EU ban on British beef exports.

Commission President Mr Jacques Santer has written to the British Prime Minister, Mr Major, stressing the urgency of coming up with new measures. Commission spokesmen warned of the difficulties in getting a decision from Monday's Farm Council meeting if proposals are not available in advance for member states to discuss.

The best Britain can hope for is that, if it presents new proposals in time, the ministers will signal political willingness to the Standing Veterinary Committee to run with the substance of the proposals, leaving the committee to examine them in detail. The lifting of the by products ban might follow within days, with the lifting of the export ban expected to take slightly longer.

There is some bewilderment in Brussels at the British strategy. It emerged that Mr Hogg's meeting with Mr Fischler on Tuesday was very insubstantial, with Mr Hogg failing to make any specific proposals for a cull or even indicating that proposals will be made before Monday.

In Dublin, ICOS, the umbrella body for the Irish co operative movement, met senior officials from the Department of Agriculture to ask it to push at EU level for a special package for Irish beef farmers. ICOS wants EU export refunds to be returned to pre September 1995 levels and additional compensation for those selling beef animals up to early June, to offset steep reductions in returns.