AT the European Parliament, I met British farmers frustrated by the French beef ban and demanding action.

They had good reason for their anger; by breaking European law the French have inflicted pain on farmers and damaged the European single market.

I have been amongst those MEPs urging trade commissioner David Byrne to apply all possible pressure.

But why have so many newspapers used the dispute to attack the European Union when hardly a country in the world outside Europe will accept our beef?

Commonwealth colleagues like Australia, Canada, and the rest have turned their backs on Britain. Where have been the editorials condemning them?

The truth is that our European partners have proved the only friends which British beef farmers have got.

The European Commission has backed Britain every step of the way. Getting results has proved a slow process, but where in the world do international laws work fast?

To speed things up in future, we could give 'Brussels' more power to crack down on lawbreakers, but I doubt that is what the critics want.

Given the scale of the 'mad cow' crisis we stupidly inflicted upon ourselves through our appalling animal feed practices, it is only thanks to the process of European law that we are able to get anyone to start taking our beef.

So instead of carping and criticising, let us give a word of thanks to the 12 countries in Europe which have supported our farmers without hesitation and to the Commission for taking action to uphold the law.

CHRIS DAVIS MEP, (Liberal Democrat - North West of England).

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.