Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2001:650
Date: 2001-11-29
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Beef and veal;Veterinary legislation
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Netherlands

Summary of the Judgment 
Agriculture — Approximation of laws concerning animal health — Veterinary and 
zootechnical checks in intra-Community trade in live animals and products of animal 
origin — Directives 89/662 and 90/425 — Emergency measures to protect against 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-507/99 
bovine spongiform encephalopathy — Powers of the Member States — Decision to 
slaughter young bovine animals originating from the United Kingdom — Determination 
of the timing of slaughter 
(Council Directive 90/425, Art. 8(1)(a)) 
The Community provisions applicable to 
the common agricultural policy in the beef 
and veal sector are to be interpreted as 
meaning that, in response to information 
concerning a possible link between bovine 
spongi form e n c e p h a l o p a t h y and 
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and 
to the bovine spongiform encephalopathy 
crisis in the United Kingdom, the Member 
States were entitled, under Article 8(1)(a) 
of Directive 90/425 concerning veterinary 
and zootechnical checks applicable in intra-
Community trade in certain live animals 
and products with a view to the completion 
of the internal market, as amended by 
Directive 92/118 laying down animal 
health and public health requirements gov­
erning trade in and imports into the 
Community of products not subject to the 
said requirements laid down in specific 
Community rules referred to in Annex A (I) 
to Directive 89/662 and, as regards 
pathogens, to Directive 90/425: 
— to order the slaughter of young bovine 
animals originating from the United 
Kingdom present in their territory and 
— consequently, to determine when their 
slaughter took place. 
(see para. 47 and operative part) 
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