COMMISSION DECISION
of 30 March 2007
concerning a Community financial contribution towards a baseline survey on the prevalence of Salmonella in slaughter pigs to be carried out in Bulgaria and in Romania
(notified under document number C(2007) 1394)
(Only the Bulgarian and Romanian texts are authentic)
(2007/219/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Decision 90/424/EEC of 26 June 1990 on expenditure in the veterinary field (1), and in particular Article 20 thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Decision 90/424/EEC provides for Community financial contributions towards specific veterinary measures. It also provides for the Community to undertake or assist the Member States in undertaking the technical and scientific measures necessary for the development of veterinary legislation and for the development of veterinary education or training.
(2)
Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 on the control of Salmonella and other specified food-borne zoonotic agents (2), provides that a Community target is to be established for the reduction of the prevalence of Salmonella in populations of herds of slaughter pigs by the end of 2007.
(3)
During its meeting of 16 March 2006, the Scientific Panel on Biological Hazards of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) adopted an Opinion on the request from the Commission related to ‘Risk assessment and mitigation options of Salmonella in pig production’. That opinion proposes technical specifications for a baseline study on the prevalence of Salmonella in fattening pigs in the Community.
(4)
In order to set the Community target, comparable data on the prevalence of Salmonella in populations of slaughter pigs in Bulgaria and in Romania needs to be available. Such information is presently not available and a special survey should therefore be carried out to monitor the prevalence of Salmonella in slaughter pigs over a suitable period in those Member States.
(5)
A baseline study on Salmonella in fattening pigs is to be carried out by the other Member States between October 2006 and September 2007 in accordance with Commission Decision 2006/668/EC of 29 September 2006 concerning a financial contribution from the Community towards a baseline survey on the prevalence of Salmonella in slaughter pigs to be carried out in the Member States (3). The same procedures should be used in the baseline studies in Bulgaria and in Romania. However, the period of the survey should be shortened in order to enable the analysis of the data of all Member States at the same time.
(6)
The EFSA opinion recommends slaughterhouse sampling by taking ileocaecal lymph nodes to reflect the Salmonella status of pigs sent to slaughter. Such sampling should therefore be used as a tool to monitor the prevalence of Salmonella in slaughter pigs.
(7)
The survey is to provide the technical information necessary for the development of Community veterinary legislation. Given the importance of collecting comparable data on the prevalence of Salmonella in fattening pigs in Bulgaria and in Romania, those Member States should be granted a Community financial contribution for implementing the specific requirements of the survey. It is therefore appropriate to reimburse 100 % of the costs incurred in the laboratory testing, subject to a ceiling. All other costs, such as those relating to sampling, travel and administration should not be eligible for any Community financial contribution.
(8)
The financial contribution from the Community should be granted provided that the survey is carried out in accordance with Community law and subject to compliance with certain other specified conditions. In particular, the financial contribution should be granted in so far as the actions provided for are effectively carried out and provided that the authorities furnish all the necessary information within the time limits provided for.
(9)
It is necessary to clarify the rate to be used for the conversion of payment applications submitted in national currencies as defined in Article 1(d) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2799/98 of 15 December 1998 establishing agrimonetary arrangements for the euro (4).
(10)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Subject matter and scope
1. A survey shall be carried out to assess the prevalence of Salmonella spp. in Bulgaria and in Romania in slaughter pigs sampled in slaughter houses in those Member States (the survey).
2. The survey shall cover a period from 1 April 2007 to 30 September 2007.
3. For the purposes of this Decision, ‘the competent authority’ shall be the authority or authorities of a Member State, as designated under Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003.
Article 2
Technical specifications
The sampling and analysis for the purposes of the survey shall be performed by the competent authority or under its supervision in accordance with the technical specifications set out in Annex I.
Article 3
Collection of data, assessment and reporting
1. The competent authority shall collect and assess the results achieved pursuant to Article 2 of this Decision and shall report all necessary aggregated data and its assessment thereof to the Commission.
The Commission shall forward those results together with the national aggregated data and assessments done by the Member States to the European Food Safety authority, which shall examine them.
2. The national aggregated data and results referred to in paragraph 1 shall be made available publicly in a form that ensures confidentiality.
Article 4
Community financial contribution
1. A Community financial contribution shall be granted to Bulgaria and Romania for the costs incurred by them for laboratory testing, i.e. for the bacteriological detection of Salmonella spp., and the serotyping of the relevant isolates and serology.
2. The maximum Community financial contribution shall be:
(a)
EUR 20 per test for bacteriological detection of Salmonella spp.;
(b)
EUR 30 per test for serotyping of the relevant isolates.
However, the Community financial contribution shall not exceed the amounts set out in Annex II.
Article 5
Conditions for granting a Community financial contribution
1. The financial contribution provided for in Article 4 shall be granted to Bulgaria and to Romania provided that the survey is implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of Community law, including the rules on competition and on the award of public contracts, and subject to compliance with the following conditions:
(a)
the laws, regulations and administrative provisions required to implement the survey shall come into force by 1 April 2007 at the latest;
(b)
a progress report covering the first three months of the survey shall be forwarded by 31 July 2007; the progress report shall contain all information requested in Annex I;
(c)
a final report shall be forwarded by 31 October 2007 at the latest, on the technical execution of the survey, together with supporting evidence for the costs incurred and the results attained during the period 1 April 2007 to 30 September 2007; the supporting documents concerning the costs incurred shall comprise at least the information set out in Annex III;
(d)
the survey shall be implemented effectively.
2. An advance payment of 50 % of the total amount referred to in Annex II may be paid at the request of Bulgaria or of Romania.
3. Failure to comply with the time limits provided for in paragraph 1(c) shall entail a progressive reduction of the Community financial contribution to be paid, amounting to 25 % of the total amount by 15 November 2007, 50 % by 1 December 2007 and 100 % by 15 December 2007.
Article 6
Conversion rate for expenditure
For reasons of administrative efficiency all expenditure presented for a financial contribution by the Community should be expressed in euro. In accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 1913/2006 of 20 December 2006 laying down detailed rules for the application of the agrimonetary system for the euro in agriculture and amending certain regulations (5), the conversion rate for expenditure in a currency other than the euro should be the rate most recently set by the European Central Bank prior to the first day of the month in which the application is submitted by the Member State concerned.
Article 7
Application
This Decision shall apply from 1 April 2007.
Article 8
Addressees
This Decision is addressed to the Republic of Bulgaria and to Romania.
Done at Brussels, 30 March 2007.