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7. LUNCHTIME DISCUSSION CONCLUDED WITH AGREEMENT ON COMMON ADVICE TO TRAVELLERS: AND ON A COMMON POSITION ON INFORMATION TRANSFER AND
THE USE OF THE IAEA IN A CENTRAL ROLE.
8. COREPER, REINFORCED BY EXPERTS, TOOK UP THE DISCUSSION ON INTRA-COMMUNITY TRADE IN THE AFTERNOON. INITIALLY, THE PRESIDENCY ATTEMPTED TO REACH AGREEMENT ON THE LINES OF THE COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION, BUT EXCLUDING BROAD LEAF VEGETABLES ON WHICH THE GAP BETWEEN GERMANY AND THE OTHER WAS TOO WIDE TO BRIDGE. THIS EFFORT FOUNDERED ON ITALIAN ASSERTIONS THAT THE CONTAMINATION LEVELS WERE A GLOBAL PACKAGE THAT MUST STAND OR FALL AS A WHOLE. THEY SUGGESTED THE ALTERNATIVE APPROACH SUMMARISED IN PARA 1 ABOVE, WHICH AVOIDED THE PROBLEM OF SETTING ANY COMMON STANDARDS ALTHOUGH IT DID OF COURSE FRAGMENT THE MARKET. THERE ENSUED A BAD TEMPERED EXCHANGE IN WHICH GERMANY MORE OR LESS ACCUSED ITALY OF PROTECTIONISM AND GERMANY AND ITALY DIFFERED SHARPLY ABOUT THE VALIDITY OF EXPERTS' CONCLUSIONS ON FRIDAY. FINALLY, IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY VISIBLE ALTERNATIVE, COREPER RATHER GLOOMILY ACCEPTED THE ITALIAN APPROACH BUT ONLY AFTER REPEATED GERMAN DEMANDS FOR ITALIAN ASSURANCES (WHICH WERE GIVEN) THAT ITALY WOULD NOT ARBITRARILY MAKE ITS STANDARDS FOR MILK MORE STRINGENT. THE FOLLOWING WERE THE OTHER MAJOR POINTS MADE
IN THE DISCUSSION:
(A) FRANCE SAID THEY COULD ACCEPT ANY LEVELS AS LONG AS DOING SO PAVED THE WAY FOR THE LIFTING OF NATIONAL CERTIFICATION
(B) ALL BUT GERMANY COULD ACCEPT THE LEVELS AGREED BY EXPERTS ON
FRIDAY
(C) AT UK REQUEST, THE PRESIDENCY EXPLAINED THAT THE REFERENCE IN THE TEXT TO COMPLETING COMMUNITY STANDARDS REFERRED TO SETTING STANDARDS RELEVANT TO EMERGENCIES, E.G. FOR FOODSTUFFS
(D) IRELAND SAID THAT EXPLICIT REFERENCES TO ARTICLES 31 AND 32 EURATOM AS A BASIS FOR FUTURE COMMISSION PROPOSALS WERE TOO LIMITING, E.G. IF A NUCLEAR SAFETY INSPECTORATE WERE PROPOSED. THESE WERE REPLACED BY THE PRESENT TEXT
(E) THE COMMISSION ANNOUNCED THAT IN VIEW OF THE NEW TEXT THE NEXT EXPERTS MEETING WOULD BE BROUGHT FORWARD TO WEDNESDAY.
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19.