EU slaps down fishy German tale

BRUSSELS – The European Commission yesterday dismissed as silly season nonsense a media report that German fishmongers were having to rename their fish in Latin because of new EU rules.

The EU executive said a front-page piece in Germany’s mass-market Bild Zeitung recalled an equally “utterly untrue” report from two years ago by what he described as its British eurosceptic “brother-in-arms” paper, The Sun. “The story… is not only wrong but not so fresh,” said a spokeswoman.The Bild report alleged that “the crazy EU is forcing German fishmongers to rename the fish,” Brussels said, noting that “fishmongers are apparently already up in arms complaining that they have to learn Latin.”The German daily gave the example of herring, which it said was henceforth to be known by its Latin name Clupea harengus, said Gregor Kreuzhuber, spokesman for EU farm and fisheries commissioner Franz Fischler.The older Sun version of the story said that Britain’s traditional fish and chips would now have to be known as Gadus morhua (cod) and chips, he said.”Unfortunately this story is utterly untrue,” he said, adding: “We are not banning the use of the current names of fish in German, in English in Spanish or whatever.”He said the reports seemed to be a misinterpretation of EU rules introduced in 2002 to improve labelling in supermarkets, notably requiring labels to specify the type of fish and where it comes from and how it was caught.- Nampa-AFP”The story… is not only wrong but not so fresh,” said a spokeswoman.The Bild report alleged that “the crazy EU is forcing German fishmongers to rename the fish,” Brussels said, noting that “fishmongers are apparently already up in arms complaining that they have to learn Latin.”The German daily gave the example of herring, which it said was henceforth to be known by its Latin name Clupea harengus, said Gregor Kreuzhuber, spokesman for EU farm and fisheries commissioner Franz Fischler.The older Sun version of the story said that Britain’s traditional fish and chips would now have to be known as Gadus morhua (cod) and chips, he said.”Unfortunately this story is utterly untrue,” he said, adding: “We are not banning the use of the current names of fish in German, in English in Spanish or whatever.”He said the reports seemed to be a misinterpretation of EU rules introduced in 2002 to improve labelling in supermarkets, notably requiring labels to specify the type of fish and where it comes from and how it was caught.- Nampa-AFP