COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION
of 14 November 2012
establishing a common format for the submission of the information pursuant to Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes
(notified under document C(2012) 8064)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2012/707/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2010 on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes (1), and in particular Article 54(4) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Directive 2010/63/EU provides for the harmonisation of national provisions required to improve the welfare of animals used for scientific purposes and aims at the replacement, reduction and refinement of the use of animals for such purposes.
(2)
Article 54(1) of Directive 2010/63/EU requires Member States to send information on the implementation of that Directive to the Commission by 10 November 2018, and every 5 years thereafter.
(3)
Article 54(2) of Directive 2010/63/EU requires Member States to collect and make publicly available, on an annual basis, statistical information on the use of animals in procedures. Member States are to submit that statistical information to the Commission by 10 November 2015 and every year thereafter.
(4)
In accordance with Article 54(3) of Directive 2010/63/EU, Member States are to submit to the Commission annually detailed information on exemptions granted under Article 6(4)(a) of that Directive.
(5)
A common format for submitting the information referred to in paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 of Article 54 of Directive 2010/63/EU should be established in order to ensure consistency in the implementation of that Directive.
(6)
In order to have comparable information on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU and to enable the Commission to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of that Directive at Union level, data submissions from the Member States on implementation, annual statistics on the use of animals in procedures and exemptions granted under Article 6(4)(a) should be accurate and consistent, and therefore the reporting requirements should be harmonised across Member States by establishing a common format for the submission of that information.
(7)
On the basis of the statistical information submitted by Member States under Article 54(2) of Directive 2010/63/EU, the Commission is required in accordance with Article 57(2) of that Directive to submit to the European Parliament and the Council a summary report on that information. In order for the data to be meaningful, accurate and comparable, it is essential to have a common format to ensure uniform reporting by all Member States.
(8)
To allow the list of methods for killing animals contained in Annex IV to Directive 2010/63/EU to be kept up to date with the latest scientific development, it is necessary to receive detailed information on methods granted exceptionally under Article 6(4)(a) of that Directive.
(9)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established under Article 56(3) of Directive 2010/63/EU,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Member States shall use the common reporting format set out in Annex I to this Decision for the submission of the information referred to in Article 54(1) of Directive 2010/63/EU.
Article 2
Member States shall use the common reporting format and the detailed instructions set out in Annex II to this Decision for the submission of the statistical information referred to in Article 54(2) of Directive 2010/63/EU.
Article 3
Member States shall use the common reporting format set out in Annex III to this Decision for the submission of the information on the exemptions granted under Article 6(4)(a) of Directive 2010/63/EU referred to in Article 54(3) of that Directive.
Article 4
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 14 November 2012.