The EU's top court today annulled a European Commission decision lifting an embargo imposed on Portuguese beef in 2001 due to fears of "mad cow" disease.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in favour of France, which contested the EU executive's decision to lift the ban by saying safety guarantees were insufficient.
"The inspections carried out by the Commission did not make it possible to assert that the conditions laid down for lifting the ban had been met," said the ECJ in a statement.
Brussels banned Portuguese exports of live cattle, beef and beef products in 1998 because of the discovery of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), in the country.
The European Commission decided to lift the ban in July 2001, but Paris contested the decision, and the Luxembourg court upheld the protest.
"The Court started from the principle . . . that a high level of human health protection must be ensured in the definition and implementation of all Community policies and activities," it said.
Mad cow disease was discovered in Britain in 1986, triggering a slump in beef consumption across Europe and the subsequent slaughter of millions of cows to try to restore consumers' faith in eating beef.
AFP