ABSTRACT
BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), known commonly as mad cow disease, occupied much of the European Union’s (EU’s) political agenda in 1996. Franz Fischler, European Commissioner for Agriculture, termed the BSE issue “the biggest crisis the European Union had ever had” (Southey 1996). Presently, the EU has determined there is incomplete scientific evidence to justify lifting the ban on British beef imports that was imposed on 26 March 1996. In mid-1996, the BSE issue was used as a tool to block other important matters, such as enlargement of the EU and the creation of a common currency at the intergovernmental conferences. Interwoven with the politics of BSE were fears of humans catching CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) through the consumption of beef, threats of collapsing beef markets, and fragmentation pressures within the fledgling Union. The main questions arising from the politics of BSE are the following:
(a) How could an issue that was scientific and medical in nature be used by several EU member states as a vehicle to show their political weight both on the homefront and within the Union?
