COMMISSION DECISION of 16 July 1997 drawing up provisional lists of third country establishments from which the Member States authorize imports of meat products (Text with EEA relevance) (97/569/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Decision 95/408/EC of 22 June 1995 on the conditions for drawing up, for an interim period, provisional lists of third country establishments from which Member States are authorized to import certain products of animal origin, fishery products or live bivalve molluscs (1), as last amended by Decision 97/34/EC (2), and in particular Article 2 (1) and Article 7 thereof,
Whereas Council Decision 79/542/EEC (3), as last amended by Commission Decision 97/160/EC (4), draws up a list of third countries from which the Member States authorize imports of meat products;
Whereas a list of third countries from which the Member States authorize imports of products prepared from poultrymeat and wild game meat has been drawn up pursuant to Council Directive 92/118/EEC (5), as last amended by Directive 96/90/EC (6);
Whereas Commission Decision 94/278/EC (7), as last amended by Decision 96/344/EC (8), draws up a list of third countries from which the Member States authorize imports of products prepared from rabbit meat and farmed game meat;
Whereas, for many of the countries on that list the animal health and veterinary certification requirements for importation of meat products have been laid down in Commission Decision 97/221/EC (9), on the one hand, and on the other hand by Commission Decision 97/41/EC (10);
Whereas the Commission has received from certain third countries lists of establishments, with guarantees that they meet the appropriate Community health requirements and that should an establishment fail to do so its export activities to the European Community may be suspended;
Whereas the Commission has been unable to ascertain in the case of all the third countries concerned the compliance of their establishments with the Community requirements and the validity of the guarantees provided by the competent authorities;
Whereas, to prevent the interruption of trade in meat products from those countries, it is necessary to grant them a further period during which Member States will be able to continue to import meat products from the establishments they have recognized on the proviso that trade in these meat products will be limited to the national market; whereas during that further period the Commission will collect from those countries the guarantees needed in order to be able to add them to the list in accordance with the procedure laid down in Council Decision 95/408/EC;
Whereas, in the case of the Czech Republic, a list of establishments has been drawn up by Commission Decision 97/299/EC (11);
Whereas on the expiry of that period third countries which have not transmitted their lists of establishments in accordance with the Community rules will no longer be permitted to export meat products to the Community;
Whereas Member States will be responsible therefore for satisfying themselves that the establishments from which they import meat products meet requirements for production and placing on the market which are no less stringent than the Community requirements;
Whereas provisional lists of establishments producing meat products can thus be drawn up in respect of certain countries;
Whereas, in accordance with Article 2 of Decision 95/408/EC, Mauritius has forwarded the data of one establishment authorized to export to the Community;
Whereas a Community on-the-spot inspection has shown that the hygiene standards of this establishment are sufficient and it may therefore be entered on a first list of establishments from which imports of meat products may be authorized; whereas Commission Decision 97/365/EC should therefore be amended accordingly (12);
Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Veterinary Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
1. The Member States shall authorize imports of meat products from the establishments listed in Annex I hereto.
2. In the case of third countries other than those in Annex I, Member States may authorize establishments for the import of meat products up to 1 January 1998.
3. Imports of meat products shall remain subject to the Community veterinary provisions adopted elsewhere.
Article 2
The Annex to Commission Decision 97/365/EC is hereby amended by inserting the Republic of Mauritius in accordance with Annex II to this Decision.
Article 3
This Decision shall apply from 1 July 1997.
Article 4
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 16 July 1997.