COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/116/EEC of 17 December 1992 amending and updating Directive 71/118/EEC on health problems affecting trade in fresh poultrymeat
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,
Having regard to the proposals from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas poultrymeat is included in the list of products in Annex II to the Treaty; whereas production of and trade in poultrymeat constitute an important source of income for the farming population;
Whereas in order to ensure the rational development of this sector and to increase its productivity, public health rules affecting production and placing on the market must be laid down at Community level;
Whereas Directive 71/118/EEC (4) established the health conditions to be met for the purpose of trade in poultrymeat;
Whereas the Community must adopt the measures intended progressively to establish the internal market comprising an area without internal frontiers over a period expiring on 31 December 1992;
Whereas Directive 89/662/EEC (5) laid down rules on the checks to be applied with a view to the completion of the internal market, and in particular abolished veterinary checks at frontiers between Member States; whereas, where trade is concerned, these rules must apply to fresh poultrymeat;
Whereas, to achieve this purpose, it is necessary to modify the rules laid down in Directive 71/118/EEC in order to bring it into line with the new approach at Community level;
Whereas prime responsibility for compliance with the requirements of this Directive should lie with producers and the authority should be obliged to monitor application of this principle on own-checks;
Whereas the object of this adaptation must be in particular to standardize health requirements for the production, storage and transport of poultrymeat;
Whereas it seems necessary to exclude certain types of direct sale from the scope of this Directive;
Whereas this Directive should not apply to certain products sold directly by the producer to the consumer;
Whereas it is possible that, owing to certain particular circumstances, some establishments operating prior to 1 January 1992 will not be able to comply with all the rules laid down by this Directive;
Whereas a system of approval should be introduced for the establishments which meet the health requirements laid down by this Directive, together with a Community inspection procedure to ensure that the conditions for such approval are observed;
Whereas low-capacity establishments should be approved by means of simplified structure and infrastructure criteria, while complying with the rules of hygiene laid down in this Directive;
Whereas health marking of poultrymeat is the most appropriate way of satisfying the competent authorities of the place of destination that a consignment complies with the provisions of this Directive; whereas the health certificate should be maintained for the purposes of verifying the destination of certain poultrymeat, where it is maintained for animal health aspects;
Whereas products placed on the Community market which come from third countries must afford the same degree of protection as regards human health; whereas guarantees equivalent to those offered by products of Community origin should therefore be required in respect of such products and they should be subject to the principles and rules on checks contained in Council Directive 90/675/EEC of 10 December 1990 laying down the principles governing the organization of veterinary checks on products entering the Community from third countries (6);
Whereas, in order to allow the time necessary to set up a Community inspection system to ensure that third countries comply with the guarantees provided for in this Directive, national rules on checks should be maintained for a transitional period as regards these countries;
Whereas the Commission should be entrusted with the task of taking certain measures for implementing this Directive; whereas, to that end, procedures should be laid down establishing close and effective cooperation between the Commission and the Member States within the Standing Veterinary Committee;
Whereas, in view of the Hellenic Republic's particular supply difficulties arising from its geographical situation, special derogations should be permitted for that Member State; whereas for the same reason remote regions should be given additional time to comply with the requirements of this Directive;
Whereas the adoption of specific rules for the products covered by this Directive is without prejudice to the adoption of rules on food hygiene and safety in general, on which the Commission has submitted a proposal for a framework Directive;
Whereas the deadline for transposition of this Directive must not affect the abolition of veterinary checks at frontiers on 1 January 1993;
Whereas for the sake of clarity Directive 71/118/EEC should be updated,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
The title, the Articles and the Annexes to Directive 71/118/EEC shall be replaced by the text set out in Annex B to this Directive.
Article 2
1. In Article 3 (A) of Council Directive 77/99/EEC of 21 December 1976 on health problems affecting intra-Community trade in meat products (7), point 2 is hereby amended as follows:
(a) the first paragraph shall be replaced by the following:
'2. have been prepared from fresh meat as defined in Article 2 (d), on the understanding that meat imported from a third country must meet the minimum requirements of Chapter III of Directive 71/118/EEC and have been inspected in accordance with Directive 90/675/EEC;'
(b) the following shall be inserted in the introductory passage of the second paragraph, after the reference to Directive 64/433/EEC:
'the third subparagraph of Article 4 (1), and Chapter IX of Annex I to Directive 71/118/EEC, and in general any meat declared unfit for human consumption under Community rules'.
2. Commission Directive 80/879/EEC of 3 September 1980 on health marking of large packagings of fresh poultrymeat (8) is hereby repealed.
3. The second subparagraph of Article 3 (4) (i) of Council Directive 92/45/EEC of 16 June 1992 on public health and animal health problems relating to the killing of wild game and the placing on the market of wild-game meat (9) shall be replaced by the following:
'The provisions of point 68 of Chapter XII of Directive 71/118/EEC on the health marking of large packaging shall be applicable mutatis mutandis to meat of small wild game;'.
4. Council Directive 91/494/EEC of 26 June 1991 on animal health conditions governing intra-Community trade in and imports from third countries of fresh poultrymeat (10) is hereby amended as follows:
(a) Article 3 (A) (6) shall be replaced by the following:
'6. is, if it is intended for a Member State or a region of a Member State recognized as being free of Newcastle disease or a Member State after transit through a third country, accompanied by the health certificate shown in the Annex;'
(b) the Annex shall be replaced by Annex A to this Directive.
5. In point 3 of the second paragraph of Article 2 of Council Directive 91/495/EEC of 27 November 1990 concerning public health and animal health problems affecting the production and placing on the market of rabbit meat and farmed game meat (11), 'in
Article 1
of Directive 71/118/EEC' shall be replaced by 'in Article 2 of Directive 71/118/EEC'.
Article 3
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive not later than 1 January 1994, except in the case of establishments situated in:
- remote regions, recognized in accordance with Article 17 of Directive 90/675/EEC (12), including - as regards the Kingdom of Spain - the Canary Islands, and with Article 13 of Directive 91/496/EEC (13), and
- the new Laender of the Federal Republic of Germany covered by restructuring plans,
in respect of which they must comply with this Directive not later than 1 January 1995; products from these establishments must be marketed in the regions concerned.
They shall forthwith inform the Commission of the provisions they adopt.
When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such a reference shall be laid down by the Member States.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field governed by this Directive.
3. The fact that the deadline for transposition of this Directive is set at 1 January 1994 shall not prejudice the abolition of veterinary checks at frontiers provided for in Directive 89/662/EEC.
Article 4
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 17 December 1992.