The European Commission “strongly welcomed” the change and has encouraged Brazil to take this opportunity to bring all the remaining import conditions related to BSE and imports of animals and animal products fully “into line with international standards”.
The commission has now invited interested members states to submit export applications for breeding cattle and beef and offered to provide support for any difficulties which may arise in the accreditation process. Brazil has applied an import ban since 2001 due to the risk of BSE but the commission has long argued that the measures went beyond the international standards of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and that Brazil kept the ban in place without any scientific justification.
Despite the recent movement, Brazilian legislation still requires burdensome bilateral approval procedures and accreditation of establishments before exports of animals and animal products can start. In 2012, the total EU exports of agricultural and food products to Brazil amounted to around €1.45 billion.
MEPs will this week call on the US to drop its ban on EU beef as part of an EU-US trade deal.