. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/EEC/271 
27 October 2005 
 (05-4969) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
 
If applicable, name of local government involved:   
2. Agency responsible:  Commission of the European Co mmunities. Health & Consumer 
Protection Directorate-General Directorate E – Food Safety, Plant Health, Animal Health 
and Welfare, International questions.  
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where 
applicable):  Meat of bovine animals, fresh or chill ed or frozen (CN 0201 and 0202), Meat of 
sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen (C N 0204), Edible offal of bovine animals fresh, 
chilled or frozen (CN 0206), Meat of bovine anim als and edible meat offal, salted, in brine, 
dried or smoked; edible flours and meals of meat or meat offal (C N 0210 20), Guts, bladders 
and stomachs of animals (other than fish), whole and pieces thereof, fresh, chilled frozen, 
salted, in brine, dried or smoked (CN 0504), Ra w material for the ma nufacture of animal 
feedingstuffs (CN 0210.90).  Bones and horn-cores,  unworked, defatted, si mply prepared (but 
not cut to shape), treated with acid or de gelatinised; powder and waste of these products 
(CN 0506), Fats of bovine animals, sheep or goats, other than those of heading 1503 
(CN 1502), Sausages and similar products, of m eat, meat offal or blood; food preparations 
based on these products (CN 1601), Other prepar ed or preserved meat, meat offal or blood 
(CN 1602), Flours, meals and pellets, of meat or me at offal, of fish or of crustaceans, molluscs 
or other aquatic invertebrate s, unfit for human consumption; greaves (CN 2301), Gelatine 
(including gelatine in rectangular (including squa re) sheets, whether or not surface-worked or 
coloured) and gelatine derivatives; isinglass; ot her glues of animal origin, excluding casein 
glues of heading 3501 (CN 3503).  
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected , to the extent relevant or practicable:  
Botswana, Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Namibia and Swaziland  
5. Title, language and number of p ages of the notified document:  SANCO/1371/2005 
Draft Commission Regulation amending Annex XI to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the 
European Parliament and of the Council as regards rules for importation of live bovine 
animals and products of bovi ne, ovine and caprine origin  (4 pages).  
6. Description of content:  This proposal removes the countries indicated in § 4 from Annex 
XI, Part A, point 15(b) second subparagraph,  and from Annex XI, Part D, point 3 of 
Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 
2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies  (TSE) notified in G/SPS/N/EEC/72 (16/03/1999).  G/SPS/N/EEC/271 
Page 2  
 
  Background 
Third countries exporting to the EC must comp ly with the TSE related import conditions as 
defined in Annex XI to Regulation 999/2001 wi th the exception of the countries listed in 
point 15 of this annex XI.  Regulation 999/2001 provides also for the examination of statistical surveys to confirm or overturn the Geographical BSE Risk (G BR) of trade partners, 
this assessment is made by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).  A consequence of 
delisting a country from point 15 of Annex XI is that, when exporting to the EC, it must 
comply with the TSE related import conditions.  
7. Objective and rationale: [ X ] food safety,  [   ] animal health,  [   ] plant protection, 
[   ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [   ] protect territory from other damage from pests   
8. International standard, guideline or recommendation: 
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission,  [ X ] World Organization for Animal Health 
(OIE), [   ] International Plant Protection Convention,  [   ] None 
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate 
reference and briefly identify deviations:  This proposal implements  the advice provided 
by the EFSA.  The criteria used by EFSA are in compliance with CHAPTER 2.3.13. of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the Wo rld Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).  
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  European 
Commission Document SANCO/1371/2005 Draft Commission Regulation amending Annex 
XI to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council as 
regards rules for importation of live bovin e animals and products of bovine, ovine and 
caprine origin  (Available in all community languages).  When adopted it will be published at 
the Official Journal available at Eur Lex in http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/    
A consolidated version (until April 2004) of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control 
and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies  is available in
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/cons leg/pdf/2001/en_2 001R0999_do_001.pdf   
The EFSA updated its different opinions GBR ce rtain third countries in February and August 
2005.  The assessment reports can be downloaded from: http://www.efsa.eu.int/science/tse_assess ments/gbr_assessments /catindex_en.html
   
10. Proposed date of adoption:  Towards the end of December 2005  
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  January 2006  
12. Final date for comments:  Sixty (60) days after the date of notification  
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [ X ] National notification 
authority, [   ] National enquiry point,  or address, fax number and E-mail address (if 
available) of other body:   
13. Texts available from:  [   ] National noti fication authority, [ X ] National enquiry 
point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body: