In France, left-wing, right-wing and far-right-wing political parties are beginning the European election campaign by fighting over the slogan ‘A Europe that protects’. In the midst of an economic crisis, this is precisely what the French expect of Europe. What is more astonishing, and more distressing, is that everybody always seems to jump on the bandwagon and make ‘Brussels’ the scapegoat for all our ills, whether real or imaginary. All those who are having a good laugh at the commotion surrounding the composition of rosé wine draw the same conclusion: ‘Why on earth is the EU concerned with such trivial matters, rather than focusing on what is important?’
The most famous case that comes to mind and is being talked about once more is the European Regulation on the manufacture of cheeses made from raw milk. Seventeen years later, Charles Pasqua’s impressive diatribe still strikes fear into the hearts of the weak-minded. What! The technocrats in Brussels think that they can teach our fine producers how to make Vacherin cheese? Bellow, you cattle, ring those bells! What bee was in those penpushers’ bonnet? Quite simply … the representatives of French producers. For a cheese made from raw milk that has been poorly manufactured could cause the dreadful infection known as listeriosis, a potentially deadly disease which still occasionally occurs in humans. Our European partners seized upon this pretext to ban imports of these French cheeses. The only way to appease them was to convert the French rules on the manufacture of cheeses made from raw milk into an EU regulation. This was done, allowing our farmers to expand their client base, much to the satisfaction of producers, consumers, our trade balance … and anti-European rabble-rousers.
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