COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 846/2014
of 4 August 2014
amending Annex D to Council Directive 92/65/EEC as regards the conditions for donor animals of the equine species
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Directive 92/65/EEC of 13 July 1992 laying down animal health requirements governing trade in and imports into the Community of animals, semen, ova and embryos not subject to animal health requirements laid down in specific Community rules referred to in Annex A(I) to Directive 90/425/EEC (1), and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 22 thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Directive 92/65/EEC lays down the animal health requirements governing trade in and imports into the European Union of animals, semen, ova and embryos not subject to the animal health requirements laid down in the specific acts of the European Union referred to in that Directive.
(2)
Chapter I of Annex D to Directive 92/65/EEC lays down the conditions governing the approval and supervision of centres for the collection of semen of animals of, amongst others, the equine species. Since the collection of semen of animals of the equine species is largely seasonal, the required permanence of the supervision by a centre veterinarian, frequently being contracted by the semen collection centre, appeared to be disproportionate compared to the limited added level of confidence in the animal health guarantees. As long as supervision is guaranteed during the activities of the semen collection centre in respect of semen of animals of the equine species intended for trade the competent authorities should be allowed to establish details of that supervision during the approval process.
(3)
Directive 92/65/EEC also provides that semen of donor animals of the equine species must have been collected from animals meeting the conditions laid down in Chapter II(I) of Annex D to that Directive. Those conditions should be reviewed as regards donor stallions taking into account international standards for health testing set up in the Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals (2), and the capacity development in laboratories in the Member States.
(4)
In accordance with Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3), the competent authorities may only designate laboratories to carry out the analysis of samples taken during official controls that operate and are assessed and accredited in accordance with EN ISO/IEC 17025.
(5)
In Chapter III of Annex D to Directive 92/65/EEC requirements applicable to, amongst others, processing of embryos are laid down. Those requirements should be reviewed taking into account international standards for processing of embryos set out in Chapter 4.7 of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code (4).
(6)
The recent update of Annex D to Directive 92/65/EEC by Commission Regulation (EU) No 176/2010 (5) did not sufficiently take into account the discontinuous nature of collection of semen, ova and embryos of the equine species for trade and thus frequent testing of donor stallions is unnecessarily required. Additionally, since its adoption laboratory capacities to carry out advanced, highly sensitive, but less laborious tests for contagious equine metritis and equine viral arteritis have developed.
(7)
Annex D to Directive 92/65/EEC should be therefore amended accordingly.
(8)
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Annex D to Directive 92/65/EEC is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 October 2014.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 4 August 2014.