1998D0371 — EN — 23.07.2003 — 008.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COMMISSIONDECISION
of29May1998
concerning the animal health conditions and veterinary certification for imports of fresh meat
fromcertain Europeancountries
(notified under document number C(1998) 1445)
(TextwithEEArelevance)
(98/371/EC)
(OJ L 170, 16.6.1998, p. 16)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Decision 98/546/EC of 22 July 1998 L 260 15 23.9.1998
►M2Commission Decision 1999/538/EC of 26 July 1999 L 207 21 6.8.1999
►M3Commission Decision 2000/19/EC of 9 December 1999 L 6 58 11.1.2000
►M4Commission Decision 2001/774/EC of 7 November 2001 L 291 48 8.11.2001
►M5Commission Decision 2001/849/EC of 30 November 2001 L 315 71 1.12.2001
►M6Commission Decision 2002/7/EC of 28 December 2001 L 3 50 5.1.2002
►M7Commission Decision 2002/940/EC of 27 November 2002 L 325 40 30.11.2002
►M8Commission Decision 2003/533/EC of 17 July 2003 L 184 33 23.7.2003
▼B
COMMISSIONDECISION
of29May1998
concerning the animal health conditions and veterinary certifica-
tionforimportsoffreshmeatfromcertain Europeancountries
(notified under document number C(1998) 1445)
(TextwithEEArelevance)
(98/371/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 72/462/EEC of 12 December 1972
on health and veterinary inspection problems upon importation ofbovine, ovine and caprine animals and swine, fresh meat or meat
productsfrom third countries(
1), aslas t amended by Directive 97/79/
EC (2), and in particular Articles14, 15 and 16,
Whereasthe animal health conditionsand veterinary certification for
imports of fresh meat from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Mace-
donia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, CzechRepublic, Slovak Republic and the Federal Republic of Yugoslaviawere established by Commission Decisions 81/547/EEC (
3), 82/8/
EEC (4), 82/9/EEC (5), 82/132/EEC (6), 92/222/EEC (7), 92/377/
EEC (8), 92/390/EEC (9), 94/845/EC (10), 94/846/EC (11) and 97/737/
EC (12);
Whereas the imports of fresh meat from Albania are not authorised by
Commission Decision 89/197/EEC (13);
Whereasthe animal health conditionsand veterinary certification for
imports of fresh meat from Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia have not yet been established; whereasit is therefore necessary to determine the products to be authorisedand the health guaranteesto be reques ted;
Whereas, with a view to the internal market, numerous health measures
have been established in the framework of trade inside the Community;whereas the realisation of this objective necessitates, in parallel, anadaptation of the health conditionsrequired for importation of fres h
meat from third countriesparticularly from certain European countries ;
Whereasthisadaptation mus t take into account the different epidemio-
logical situations in the European countries concerned, and indeed in
the different parts of their territories; whereas, given the existence of
identical health situations between the various parts of those differentcountries, it is necessary to take account of this fact in establishing anew system of health guarantees;
Whereas, as a result, it is appropriate to establish different health certi-
ficatesin accordance with the conditionsrequired for the importationof fresh meat from those different categories of countries or parts ofcountries;1998D0371 — EN — 23.07.2003 — 008.001 — 2
(1) OJ L 302, 31. 12. 1972, p. 28.
(2) OJ L 24, 30. 1. 1998, p. 31.
(3) OJ L 206, 27. 7. 1981, p. 15.
(4) OJ L 8, 13. 1. 1982, p. 9.
(5) OJ L 8, 13. 1. 1982, p. 15.
(6) OJ L 60, 3. 3. 1982, p. 16.
(7) OJ L 108, 25. 4. 1992, p. 38.
(8) OJ L 197, 16. 7. 1992, p. 75.
(9) OJ L 207, 23. 7. 1992, p. 53.
(10) OJ L 352, 31. 12. 1994, p. 38.
(11) OJ L 352, 31. 12. 1994, p. 48.
(12) OJ L 295, 29. 10. 1997, p. 39.
(13) OJ L 73, 17. 3. 1989, p. 53.
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Whereas, in order to clarify and simplify the Community legislation it
is necessary to group together the health conditions required forimportsof fres h meat from the European countriesconcerned and to
repeal the decisions in force for those countries;
Whereas, in addition, the responsible veterinary authorities of the
concerned countriesmus t confirm that their countriesor regionshavefor at least 12 months been free from rinderpest, foot-and-mouthdisease, African swine fever, classical swine fever, swine vesicular
disease, porcine enteroviral encephalomyelitis (Teschen disease);
Whereas the responsible authorities of the concerned countries must
undertake to notify the Commission and the Member States within 24hours, by fax, telex or telegram of the confirmation of the occurrenceof any of the abovementioned diseases or an alteration in the vaccina-
tion policy against them; whereas certain authorities have also
undertaken to notify the Commission periodically with updated infor-mation on monitoring and diseases control plans for theabovementioned diseases, in particular classical swine fever;
Whereas other health conditions must be established for meat not
intended for human consumption in accordance with the provisions of
Directive 92/118/EEC (
1) and Commission Decision 89/18/EEC (2),
concerning importation from third countries of fresh meat for purposesother than human consumption;
Whereasanimal health conditionsand veterinary certification mus t be
adapted according to the animal health situation of the third country
concerned;
WhereasCouncil Directive 96/93/EC (
3) laysdown s tandardsof certifi-
cation which are necessary for valid certification and to prevent fraud;whereasit isappropriate to ens ure that the rulesand principlesappliedby third-country certifying officersprovide guaranteeswhich are at
least equivalent to those laid down in this Directive;
WhereasCouncil Directive 93/119/EC (
4) requiresthat the veterinary
health certificate accompanying meat to be imported from third coun-tries to the European Community must be supplemented by anattestation certifying that the animals have been slaughtered under
conditionswhich offer guaranteesof humane treatment at leas t equiva-
lent to the relevant provisions in the Directive;
Whereas considering that a new certification regime is hereby estab-
lished, a period of time should be provided for its implementation;
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
For the purposes of this Decision the following definition shall be used:
‘Fresh meat’: as defined in Article 2(b) of Council Directive 64/
433/EEC (5).
Article 2
1. Member States shall authorise the importation of the categories of
fresh meat set out in Annex II and coming from the territories laiddown in Annex I, if they comply with the guaranteeslaid down in thehealth certificate, drawn up in conformity with Annex III.1998D0371 — EN — 23.07.2003 — 008.001 — 3
(1) OJ L 62, 15. 3. 1993, p. 49.
(2) OJ L 8, 11. 1. 1989, p. 17.
(3) OJ L 13, 16. 1. 1997, p. 28.
(4) OJ L 340, 31. 12. 1993, p. 21.
(5) OJ 121, 29. 7. 1964, p. 2012/64.
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2. Member States shall authorise the introduction onto their territory
of fresh meat from the country of origin subject to the supplementaryguarantees required in Annex II and described in Annex IV. These
supplementary guarantees must be provided by the exporting country
in section V of each model of certificate laid down in Annex III.
3. In the case of imports of fresh meat described in Article 1 and
intended for purposes other than human consumption, Member Statesshall ensure that the following requirements are complied with:
— the conditionss et out in paragraph 1,
— the conditions established by Directive 92/118/EEC,
— the conditions established by Decision 89/18/EEC.
Article 3
This Decision will be reassessed as required by the changing animal
health situation in the Community and in the concerned Europeancountriesfrom which the importsare permitted.
Article 4
This Decision shall come into effect from 15 June 1998.
Article 5
1. Commission Decisions 81/547/EEC, 82/8/EEC, 82/9/EEC, 82/
132/EEC, 92/222/EEC, 92/377/EEC, 92/390/EEC, 94/845/EC, 94/846/
EC and 97/737/EC are repealed on the date mentioned in Article 4.
2. Member States shall authorise the importation of fresh meat
produced and certified according to the requirements of CommissionDecisions 82/8/EEC, 82/9/EEC, 82/132/EEC, 92/222/EEC, 92/377/EEC, 92/390/EEC, 94/845/EC and 94/846/EC during the 15 daysfollowing the date mentioned in paragraph 1.
Article 6
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.1998D0371 — EN — 23.07.2003 — 008.001 — 4
▼M7
ANNEX I
DESCRIPTIONOFTERRITORIESOFCERTAINEUROPEANCOUNTRIESESTABLISHED
FORANIMALHEALTHCERTIFICATIONPURPOSES
CountryCode of
territoryVersion Description of territory
Albania AL 1/98 Whole country
Bosnia- Herzegovina BA 1/98 Whole country
Bulgaria BG 1/98 Whole country
BG-1 1/98 The provincesof Varna, Dobrich, Solis tra,
Choumen, Targovichte, Razgrad, Rousse,
V.Tarnovo, Gabrovo, Pleven, Lovetch, Plovdiv,
Smolian, Pasardjik, Sofia district, Sofia city,
Pernik, Kustendil, Blagoevgrad, Vratza, Montana
and Vidin
BG-2 1/99 The provincesof Bourgas , Jambol, Sliven, Stara-
zagora, Hasskovo and Kardjali, except the
twenty-kilometre-wide corridor on the border
with Turkey
BG-3 1/99 The twenty-kilometre-wide corridor to the border
with Turkey
BelarusBY 1/98 Whole country
Czech Republic CZ 1/98 Whole country
CZ-1 1/99 Whole country excluding the provincesof
Kroměriž, Vyškov, Hodonín, Uherské Hradište,
Zlín and Vsetín
CZ-2 1/99 The provincesof Kromíž, Vyškov, Hodonín,
Uherské Hradišt, Zlín and Vsetín
Estonia EE 1/98 Whole countryFederal Republic of
YugoslaviaYU 1/98 Whole country
YU-1 1/98 The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia excluding
the region of Kosovo and Metohija
YU-2 1/98 The region of Kosovo and Metohija
Croatia HR 1/98 Whole country
Hungary HU 1/98 Whole countryLithuania LT 1/98 Whole country
Latvia LV 1/98 Whole country
Polond PL 1/98 Whole countryRomania RO 1/98 Whole countryRussia RU 1/98 Whole country
Slovenia SI 1/98 Whole country1998D0371 — EN — 23.07.2003 — 008.001 — 5
▼M7
CountryCode of
territoryVersion Description of territory
Slovak Republic SK 1/98 Whole country
SK-1 1/2002 Whole country excluding the District Veterinary
and Food Administations of Trnava (comprising
Piestany and Hlohovec districts), Levice
(comprising Levice district), Nitra (comprising
Nitra and Zlate Moravce districts), Topol čany
(comprising Topolcany district), Nové Mesto
nad Váhom (comprising Nové Mesto nad Vahom
district), Tren čín (comprising Trencin and
Banovce nad Bebravou districts), Prievidza
(comprising Prievidza and Partizanske districts),
Púchov (comprising Puchov and Ilava districts),
Žiar nad Hronom (comprising Ziar nad Hronom,
Zarnovica, Banska Stiavnica Districts), Zvolen
(comprising Zvolen and Detva districts), Banská
Bystrica (comprising Banska Bystrica and
Brezno districts).1998D0371 — EN — 23.07.2003 — 008.001 — 6
ANNEX II
Animalhealthguaranteestoberequestedoncertification offreshmeat
Country CodeFresh meat for human consumption
Fresh meat intended for
purposes other than human
consumptionBovine Swine Ovine/Caprine Solipeds
MC (1)S G (2)M C (1)S G (2)M C (1)S G (2)M C (1)S G (2)
Albania AL — — — — — —
Bosnia and Herzegovina BA — — — — — —Bulgaria BG — — — D — E
BG-1 A — C D — E
BG-2 — — — D — E
BelarusBY — — — — — ECzech Republic CZ A B C D — E
CZ-1 A B C D — E
CZ-2 A B C D — E
Estonia EE — B A — — — EFederal Republic of Yugoslavia FY — — — D — E
FY-1 A — C D — E
FY-2 — — — D — E
Croatia HR A — C D — EHungary HU A B C D — E
Lithuania LT A B A C D — E▼M81998D0371 — EN — 23.07.2003 — 008.001 — 7
Country CodeFresh meat for human consumption
Fresh meat intended for
purposes other than human
consumptionBovine Swine Ovine/Caprine Solipeds
MC (1)S G (2)M C (1)S G (2)M C (1)S G (2)M C (1)S G (2)
Latvia LV — — — — — E
Former Yugoslav Republic of Mace-
donia (3)MK — — C D — E
Poland PL A B A C D — E
Romania RO A — C D — ERussia RU — — — — — E
Slovenia SI A — C D — E
Slovak Republic SK A B A C D — E
N.B.Imports of fresh meat for human consumption are not allowed unless a programme of control of residues in the exporting third country has been approved b y the Commission.
(1) MC: Model of certificate to be completed. The letters(A, B, C, D…) appearing on the tablesrefer to the modelsof animal health guarantees , asdes cribe d in Annex III to Decision 98/371/EC, to be applied for each product
and origin in accordance with Article 2 of this Decision. A dash ‘—’ indicates that imports are not authorised.
(2) SG: Supplementary guarantees. The letters (a, b, c, d…) appearing on the tables are referring to the supplementary guarantees to be provided by the ex porting country as described in Annex IV. These supplementary guar-
antees must be inserted by the exporting country in the section V of each model of certificate laid down in Annex III.
(3) Provisional code that does not affect the definitive denomination of the country to be attributed after the conclusion of the negotiations currentl y taking place in the United Nations.▼M81998D0371 — EN — 23.07.2003 — 008.001 — 8
▼B
ANNEX III
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▼M5
ANNEX IV
SUPPLEMENTARY GUARANTEES TO BE PROVIDED BY
EXPORTINGTERRITORYWHENREQUIREDINANNEXIIINAPPLI-
CATIONOFARTICLE2(2)
a: I, the undersigned official veterinarian, hereby declare that the fresh meat
described above is obtained from porcine animals coming from holdings
where an undertaking hasbeen received that pigsare not fed with catering
waste (1), that are subject to official controls and are included in the list
established by the competent authority for the purpose of exporting pig
meat to the European Union.1998D0371 — EN — 23.07.2003 — 008.001 — 19
(1) Catering waste means: all waste from food intended for human consumption from
restaurants, catering facilities or kitchens, including industrial kitchens and household
kitchens of the farmer or persons tending pigs.