WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/632 
31 January 2006 
 (06-0417) 
 Original:   English 
  
 
APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 6 OF THE AGREEMENT ON SANITARY  
AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES 
 
Submission by the European Communities
 
 
 
 The following communication, received on 26 January 2006, is being circulated at the request of the Delegation of the European Communities.  
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1. On 23 November 1998, the WTO Secretariat issued G/SPS/GEN/101 on "Adaptation to 
regional conditions – Equi valence" as submitted by the European Communities and on 12 December 
2003 its update (G/SPS/GEN/461) was circulated.  More recently, the EC submitted another 
document on the clarification of Article 6 of th e SPS Agreement (G/SPS/GEN/588, 8 July 2005).  The 
papers all outlined the regionalization policy of  the European Communities, providing practical 
experience.  In particular the most recent pape r (GEN/588) highlighted the steps and conditions to 
successfully apply regionalization.   
2. Lately, the concept has become more prominently the subject of discussion at every SPS 
Committee meeting.  In particular, the difficulties in the application of the regionalization policy, the 
need for clear guidance as well as the differences in  understanding of the principles laid down in 
Article 6 of the SPS Agreement between the WTO Members necessitate d a more in-depth 
contemplation of the issue.  Moreover, the growing lack of application of the regionalization principle 
as a cause for a specific trade concern under that item on the SPS Committee agenda highlights the 
need for further clarification. 
3. In the light of this, the European Communities expresses its thanks to the WTO Secretariat for 
organising an enhanced informal on Article 6 of the SPS Agreement before the regular SPS 
Committee meeting in January 2006.  At this fo rum the European Communities and several of its 
Member States present how the regionalization po licy works in practice and can be successfully 
implemented.  The European Communities descr ibes its experience through several practical 
examples that clearly show that a correct appli cation of the regionalization principle reduces trade 
disruption to the minimum, both in terms of geogra phical area affected and in terms of time period, 
without posing unacceptable risks to the importing country. 
4. Regionalization/zoning is a risk management option which is applied within the European 
Communities in a flexible manner, and in th e same manner and in acco rdance with the same 
principles, the European Communities can recognise th e application of this concept by third countries 
wishing to export to the European Communities.  The system therefore requires mutual trust and 
confidence and is to be applied without undue dela y.  This is the foundation for minimal negative 
trade effects hence emphasising that the applicati on of regionalization for SPS measures contributes to 
meet the provisions of Article 5.6 of the SPS Agreement, i.e. to choose the least trade-restrictive measures possible. G/SPS/GEN/632 
Page 2  
 
  5. Its value is equally important as it can be very beneficial to many developing countries whose 
health status is not favourable in the whole territory , but that can nevertheless export their products if 
from a regionalised area.  The European Communities has often used this technique and has created 
export opportunities for countries that would normally  have little chance to export to countries with a 
higher sanitary or phytosanitary level. 
6. As human and animal diseases and plant pest s have never respected national boundaries, the 
concept of regionalization or "zoning", had been pr esent in EC sanitary and phytosanitary legislation 
long before the establishment of the internal market.  With the abolition of border controls, this policy 
was reinforced and extended to cover all the p ests and diseases of major concern.  The examples 
provided (see web link in paragraph 10) clearly demons trate that a flexible appr oach both in strictness 
of measures and in timely lifting thereof when no long er necessary, keeps the level of trust very high 
and more importantly keeps trade going both within a country and with its neighbours.  Unfortunately 
an outbreak of a certain pest or disease is very ofte n an excuse for trading partners to put in place 
restrictive measures which go far beyond what is strictly necessary from a scientific point of view. 
7. Similarly, when assessing the eligibility of a country to export live animals, products of 
animal origin, plants or their products to the European Communities, account may be taken of the 
sanitary or phytosanitary status of regions within the country as well as of the whole country, or even 
beyond the borders of one single country.  Hen ce, the European Communities pleads that non-EC 
countries do not consider the European Communities as one single sanitary and phytosanitary zone or 
entity, but reciprocally assess individual situations  in specific geographic areas, independently of 
national borders. 
8. This principle of regionalization has been intern ationally recognized, incorporated in the SPS 
Agreement and adopted by the relevant internationa l standard-setting bodies.  The latter have recently 
(OIE) or will in the near future (IPPC) elabor ate further technical guidance and follow any new 
developments in this respect.  Although there h as been already quite some progress, the European 
Communities strongly encourages these bodies to continue  their work.  This should however not be an 
impediment for WTO Members to already practice the principle, mainly because it involves only two 
parties.  Likewise, the SPS Committee can already start developing guidelines on the administrative 
aspects.  In particular, the issue of undue dela ys should be tackled urgently, especially because 
existing international guidelines are often disrespected. 
9. The experience gained by the European Communities in operating this policy has 
demonstrated that it can meet the objective of ma intaining a high health status while minimizing 
barriers to trade. 
10. The full text of all four EC contributions (European Commission, Sweden, the Netherlands, 
Germany) can be downloaded at the following link: 
 http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/internationa l/organisations/wto_regional/index_en.htm
  
11. In addition, the European Communities wish to  take this opportunity to kindly draw the 
attention of other Members to the ongoing external  evaluation of the Community Animal Health 
Policy (CAHP).  
12. With the objective of collecting the view of stakeholders on the past Community Animal 
Health Policy (1995-2004) as well as their suggestions for the future, a survey has been launched last 
January { http://europa.sanco.cec.eu.int:8081/comm/fo od/animal/diseases/strategy/cahpeval_en.htm }. 
  G/SPS/GEN/632 
 Page 3 
 
 
  13. All stakeholders are invited to fill in the rela ted questionnaire by the end of February 2006.  
The on line questionnaire and supporting documents  can be downloaded at the following link:  
 http://europa.sanco.cec.eu.int:8081/comm/food/ animal/diseases/strategy/cahp_questionnaire_
en.htm  
14. A specific survey of third countries is undertaken in relation to the imports into the European 
Communities.  It includes a set of questions on the EC policy on regionalisation: 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/animal/diseases/strategy/survey_third_countries_en.htm  
  
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