E. coli outbreakEU harshly critical of Germany's approach to E. coli crisis
In Germany, responsibilities for responding to a crisis — any crisis — are spread across local, municipal, state, and federal agencies, with no central information center to inform the public, and with little coordination among the various responding bodies
One of the responses of post-Second World War Germany to the Nazi experience has been to decentralize governmental authority and limit the powers of the central government. This may be good for democracy but a hindrance in a crisis. Health experts have criticized Germany’s muddled bureaucratic process for wasting precious time in identifying the origin of the outbreak. In Germany, responsibilities for responding to a crisis – any crisis — are spread across local, municipal, state, and federal agencies, with no central information center to inform the public, and with little coordination among the various responding bodies. Spiegel reports that European agricultural officials unleashed fierce criticism of Germany’s approach to the crisis and the consequences for the European agriculture industry. Belgian Agriculture Minister Sabine Laruelle said that Germany had been careless with food warnings that later proved false.
