. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/SPS/GEN/1167 
5 July 2012  
 
(12-3594) 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
GENERAL GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTATION AND INTERPRETATION  
OF ARTICLE 24 OF COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 97/78/EC –  
RE-ENFORCED CHECKS 
 
Communication from the European Union 
   The following communication, received on 4 July 2012, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegation of the European Union. 
 
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 This communication is related to the pub lication of a guidance document detailing an 
automated procedure for the management of re-enfor ced border controls on consignments of animal 
origin from third countries intended for import into the European Union. 
 
1. The European Union would like to inform tr ading partners that it has harmonised the 
approach on the implementation of  the re-enforced checks requirements at the Border Inspections 
Posts (BIPs) in the European Union as laid down in Article 24 of Council Directive 97/78/EC1, to 
deliver a level playing field for business to ensure that all such consignments are dealt with in a 
harmonised way across the European Union.  
2. The creation of an automated procedure for the management of re-enforced border controls 
brings more clarity and ensures a harmonized appro ach across the European Union, in particular on 
the follow-up actions on imported non-compliant consi gnments of products of animal origin.  This 
improvement has been established in reply to requests received from various importers in the 
European Union and third country authorities. 
3. This harmonized system makes use of the European Commission's IT Trade Control and 
Expert System (TRACES), which was introduced to  record all veterinary border controls on 
consignments of animal origin and live animals.  A specific section of TRACES has been developed to monitor the controls carried out under re-enfor ced checks requirements. That section in TRACES is 
linked with the Rapid Alert System of Feed and Food (RASFF) of the European Commission.  The re-enforced check system is triggere d when a member State of the Eur opean Union notifies the European 
Commission of a consignment of third country orig in which has been controlled and a serious or 
repeated non-compliance with European Union legi slation was detected and which they consider 
requires a programme of re-enforced checks.  Such  a programme concerns the need to carry out 
                                                      
 1 Council Directive 97/78/EC of 18 December 1997 laying down the principles governing the 
organisation of veterinary checks on products entering the European Community from third countries (OJ L 24, 
30.01.1998, p. 9-30)  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriSe rv.do?uri=OJ:L:1998:024:0009:0030:EN:PDF.  
 G/SPS/GEN/1167 
Page 2  
 
  increased border controls across the European Union for a specified number of consignments of the 
same product, from the same country and estab lishment of origin, and for the same hazard. 
4. In notifying all European Union member States and the third country authority of origin with 
a RASFF notification, the European Commission va lidates such re-enforced checks system when 
appropriate.  
5. A General Guidance document has been develope d, which sets out the detailed procedures of 
the re-enforced checks (REC) system and how it h as been incorporated into TRACES and linked to 
the relevant RASFF notifications.  This system h as been "on-line" since January 2012 during which 
time it has been adapted to address any shortcomi ngs or problems identified.  These have been 
addressed and delivered in an updated TRACES-ve rsion in May this year and in the General 
Guidance document itself, which was formally agreed  by all the European Union member States at 
the Standing Committee of the Food Chai n and Animal Health in June 2012.  
6. It should be clarified that this system is not a result of new legislation or new requirements, 
but has been developed to harmonise the approach across the European Union to the implementation 
of Article 24 of Directive 97/78/EC.  
Please find attached for your information a link to the Guidance Document, av ailable on the European 
Commissions' website: http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biosafety/anim albyproducts/guidance_article_24_1125_5_2012_en.pdf . 
For more information on "Veterinary border  control", please see the dedicated webpage: 
http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/bips/index_en.htm . 
 
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