By Peter Blackburn

STRASBOURG, France, Feb 18 (Reuter) - The European Parliament attacked European Commission President Jacques Santer on Tuesday for what it called serious mistakes in the mad cow crisis, threatening sanctions unless he put matters right. The assembly's main political groups, the Socialists and Christian Democrats, confirmed they would back on Wednesday a resolution which calls on the Commission to carry out reforms by November or face censure. But their leaders rejected a separate censure motion, due for a vote on Thursday, by maverick Belgian socialist Jose Happart calling for the immediate dismissal of Santer and his 19 commissioners. "If the reforms are not genuine, appropriate or fast enough...then my Group will join with others in tabling a motion of censure," said Pauline Green, socialist group leader. The parliament was debating a scathing report from its special committee of inquiry that accused the Commission and Britain of making serious errors in the way they handled the outbreak of mad cow disease

, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and trying to minimise the public health risk. The crisis erupted 11 months ago when the British government admitted that BSE can be transmitted to humans in a form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), like the bovine equivalent, fata. The disclosure, which alarmed consumers and undermined beef sales and market prices led the EU to impose a worldwide ban on British beef exports. Green said Brussels needed time to change its "shambolic decision-making, lack of accountability and evasiveness". "A successful motion of censure at this stage would simply lead to an institutional crisis which would last for months and not do one single thing to strengthen public health or consumer protection," she said. Earlier, Santer tried to persuade parliament that the reforms the Commission planned to take would be sufficient. He proposed that the the European Parliament be offered the right of veto over EU health policy, saying it should be given joint decision-making powers with EU m

inisters in that field. "It is my belief that the time has come to put health to the fore in Europe," he said. Santer said he would try to persuade an inter-governmental conference which is drawing up EU treaty reforms to endorse the new powers which would also cover farm policy. But France's minister for European Affairs, Michel Barnier, was very sceptical. "I have deep reservations (on co-decision in farm policy. It's the least I can say," he told a news conference after meeting European Parliament President Jose Maria Gil Robles. But he added that he favoured more joint decision making on health policy. Last week Santer announced a shake-up of the Commission's food safety services that would put the popular consumer affairs chief, Emma Bonino, in overall control. Bonino was asked to make seven scientific, veterinary and food committees advising on BSE matters more efficient andalso to run a new Irish-based veterinary inspection office. "There are no miracle solutions. We can't produce miracles overnight,"

Bonino warned the parliament, adding that more funds would be needed. "If we want a policy we have got to equip ourselves with the means." EU Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler, who lost control of food safety in the reorganisation, said he was pursuing a new quality oriented and sustainable agricultural policy. "The consumer has the right to have quality control from the field to the table," he said.