1972L0461 — EN — 29.12.1977 — 005.001 — 1
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►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of12December 1972
onhealthproblemsaffectingintra-Communitytradeinfreshmeat
(72/461/EEC)
(OJ L 302, 31.12.1972, p. 24)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Directive 73/358/EEC of 19 November 1973 L 326 17 27.11.1973
►M2Council Directive 74/387/EEC of 15 July 1974 L 202 36 24.7.1974
►M3Council Directive 75/379/EEC of 24 June 1975 L 172 17 3.7.1975
►M4Council Directive 77/98/EEC of 21 December 1976 L 26 81 31.1.1977
►M5Council Directive 78/54/EEC of 19 December 1977 L 16 22 20.1.1978
Corrected by:
►C1Corrigendum, OJ L 200, 20.7.1973, p. 42 (72/461/EEC)
►C2Consolidated text of corrigenda to instruments published in Special
Editions 1952-72, p. 111 (72/461/EEC)
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COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of12December 1972
onhealthproblemsaffectingintra-Communitytradeinfreshmeat
(72/461/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Articles 43 and 100 thereof;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission;
Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament;Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee;Whereas the implementation of the Council Directive of 26 June
1964(
1) on health problems affecting intra-Community trade in fresh
meat, as last amended by the Council Directive of 27 October1970,(
2) will not have the desired effect so long as intra-Community
trade is hindered by differences between the health requirements ofMember States concerning meat; whereas to eliminate such differences
the health provisions of the Member States concerning meat must be
approximated;
Whereas in particular, to improve information concerning the state of
health of the animals from which fresh meat for consignment toanother Member State comes, it should be stipulated that animalsfrom certain categories must have stayed for a specified period in the
territory of the Community, unless an exception is granted by the
country of destination and communicated to the other Member Statesand the Commission;
Whereas, in order to avoid the spread of epizootic diseases by means of
freshmeat, freshmeat from animals coming from a h olding or area
which, in accordance with Community rules, has been placed under
health restrictions, should be excluded from intra-Community trade;
Whereas care should be taken that fresh meat which does not comply
with Community rules should not be given the health mark providedfor in those rules;
Whereas the Member States must have the right to prohibit the intro-
duction of meat into their territory if it does not comply withCommunity health provisions; whereas, however, the consignor shouldat his own request or upon request of a representative be allowed toreturn the meat unless on health grounds there are reasons to the
contrary;
Whereas the consignor or his representative and the competent authori-
ties of the exporting country must be informed of the reasons for anyprohibition or restriction so that they may be aware of them;
Whereas the Member States must have the right to prohibit the intro-
duction into their territory of fresh meat from a Member State where
an epizootic disease has broken out; whereas, depending on the natureand character of this epizootic disease, such a prohibition may either belimited to meat coming from a part of the territory of the exportingcountry, or extended to the whole of that territory; whereas, in the
event of an outbreak of a contagious disease in the territory of a
Member State it is necessary for appropriate measures to be takenrapidly to control it; whereas the dangers inherent in such diseasesand the requisite protective measures should be viewed in the samelight throughout the Community; whereas, to this end, the StandingVeterinary Committee set up by the Council Decision of 15 October1972L0461 — EN — 29.12.1977 — 005.001 — 2
(1) OJ No 121, 29.7.1964, p. 2012/64.
(2) OJ No L 239, 30.10.1970, p. 42.
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1968(1) should institute an emergency Community procedure to take
the necessary measures;
Whereas it seems desirable to set down in this Directive the general
principle of non-discrimination; whereas it should accordingly beexpressly laid down, pending specific Community rules covering
imports from third countries, that the treatment to be applied to third
countries by each Member State should not be more favourable thanthe treatment applied, pursuant to this Directive, to trade between theMember States;
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
1. This Directive shall apply to intra-Community trade in fresh meat
of domestic bovine animals, swine, sheep and goats and solipeds.
2. All parts of these animals which are fit for human consumption
shall be considered to be meat.
3. All meat which has not undergone any preserving process shall be
considered as fresh meat; however, for the purposes of this Directivechilled and frozen meat shall be considered to be fresh meat.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Directive:
(a)official veterinarian means the veterinarian designated by the
competent central authority of the Member State;
(b)exporting country means the Member State from which fresh meat
is sent to another Member State;
(c)country of destination means the Member State to which fresh meat
is sent from another Member State.
Article 3
Only fresh meat which fulfils the following requirements may be sent
from the territory of one Member State to the territory of anotherMember State:
(a) Meat obtained from domestic sheep, goats or solipeds must,
without prejudice to Article 6, come from animals which havestayed in the territory of the Community for at least twenty-onedays immediately prior to slaughter or from birth in the case of
animals less than twenty-one days old.
(b) The meat must not have been obtained from animals which come
from a holding or area which for health reasons is subject to prohi-bition pursuant to Article 3 (2) (b) of the Council Directive of 26June 1964(
2) on animal health problems affecting intra-Community
trade in bovine animals and swine, last amended by the Council
Directive of 7 February 1972(3), as a result of the outbreak of
foot and mouthdisease, swine fever or contagious swine paralysis(Teschen disease) to which the animals in question are susceptible.
(c) The meat must not be obtained from slaughterhouses in which
cases of foot and mouthdisease, swine fever or contagious swineparalysis (Teschen disease) have been recorded.
Should there be an outbreak of one of these diseases, the Member
States shall ensure that no meat suspected to be contaminated formspart of intra-Community trade.1972L0461 — EN — 29.12.1977 — 005.001 — 3
(1) OJ No L 255, 28.10.1968, p. 23.
(2) OJ No 121, 29.7.1964, p. 1977/64.
(3) OJ No L 38, 12.2.1972, p. 95.
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Article 4
Without prejudice to Article 3 (b), fresh meat from swine, sheep and
goats may not be sent to the territory of another Member State except
on condition that such animals do not come from a holding in the
exporting country which is subject to prohibition for health reasons asa result of the outbreak of porcine, ovine or caprine brucellosis.
Such prohibition must last at least six weeks after the last case has
been officially recorded.
Article 5
1. The Member States shall ensure that fresh meat obtained from
animals which do not fulfil the requirements of Articles 3 and 4 shall
not be given the health mark provided for in Chapter IX of Annex I ofthe Directive on health problems affecting intra-Community trade infreshmeat.
2. The country of destination may prohibit the introduction of fresh
meat into its territory if it has been established that Articles 3 and 4
have not been observed.
3. In this event, the country of destination must authorise, at the
request of the consignor or his representative, the return of the wholeconsignment of freshmeat, provided th is is not contrary to considera-tions of health.
4. The competent authority of the country of destination may order
the consignment to be destroyed where introduction is prohibited,pursuant to paragraph2, and th e exporting country or country oftransit, as the case may be, does not authorise return.
5. For the application of the measures referred to in paragraphs 2, 3
and 4 of this Article, Article 6 (7) of the Directive on health problems
affecting intra-Community trade in bovine animals and swine shall
apply.
Article 6
1. This Directive shall not affect the appeal procedures available
under the rules in force in the Member States against the decisions of
the competent authorities and provided for in this Directive.
2. Each Member State shall grant to exporters, whose fresh meat
may not be introduced in accordance with Article 5 (2), the right toobtain the opinion of a veterinary expert. Each Member State shallensure that the veterinary experts have the opportunity of determiningwhether the conditions of Article 5 (2) have been fulfilled before the
competent authorities take other measures such as the destruction of
the meat.
The veterinary expert must be a national of a Member State other than
the exporting country or the country of destination.
The Commission shall draw up, on a proposal from the Member States,
the list of veterinary experts who may he called upon to give such
opinions. It shall determine, after consulting with the Member States,
the general rules of implementation, in particular as regards the proce-dure to be followed in giving suchopinions.
Article 7
1. Countries of destination may grant to one or more exporting
countries general authorisations or authorisations restricted to specific
cases for the introduction into their territory of fresh meat, in deroga-tion from Article 3 (a) does not come from animals which have stayedin the territory of the Community for at least twenty-one days immedi-ately prior to slaughter or since birth in the case of animals less thantwenty-one days old.1972L0461 — EN — 29.12.1977 — 005.001 — 4
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2. When a country of destination grants a general authorisation, in
accordance with paragraph 1, it shall immediately inform the MemberStates and the Commission.
3. When a country of destination grants one of the authorisations
provided for in paragraph 1, a corresponding authorisation should be
obtained, in cases of transit, from the countries of transit concerned.
Article 8
1. Without prejudice to ►
C2Articles 3, 4 and 7 ◄, a Member
State may, if there is a danger that animal diseases may be spread by
the introduction into its territory of fresh meat from another MemberState, take the following measures:
(a) In the event of an outbreak of an epizootic disease in the other
Member State, it may temporarily prohibit or restrict the introduc-tion of meat from the affected areas of that Member State;
(b) If an epizootic disease becomes widespread or if there is an
outbreak of another serious contagious or infections animal disease,it may temporarily prohibit or restrict the introduction of meat fromthe entire territory of that State.
2. Each Member State must notify the other Member States and the
Commission without delay of the outbreak in its territory of anydisease referred to in paragraph 1 and of the measures it has taken to
control it. It must also notify them without delay of the disappearance
of the disease.
3. Measures taken by a Member State under paragraph1, and th eir
repeal, must be communicated without delay to the other MemberStates and to the Commission together with the precise reasons forsuchmeasures.
It may be decided, according to the procedure laid down in
►
C2Article 9 ◄, that these measures should be amended, mainly to
ensure coordination with those adopted by the other Member States, orabolished.
4. If the situation provided for in paragraph 1 arises and if it seems
necessary for other Member States also to apply the measures takenpursuant to the said paragraph, together with any amendments madein accordance with paragraph 3, the appropriate provisions shall be
adopted according to the procedure defined in Article 8.
5.►
C2Article 9 ◄of the Directive on health problems affecting
intra-Community trade in freshmeat is h ereby repealed.
Article 9
1. Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to be followed,
matters shall be referred by the Chairman, either on his own initiative
or at the request of a Member State, to the Standing Veterinary
Committee (hereinafter called ‘the Committee’) set up by the CouncilDecision of 15 October 1968.
2. Within the Committee the votes of the Member States shall be
weighted as provided in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty. The Chairmanshall not vote.
3. The representative of the Commission shall submit a draft of the
measures to be adopted. The Committee shall deliver its Opinion onthe measures within two days. Opinions shall be delivered by amajority of ►
M1forty-one ◄votes.
4. The Commission shall adopt measures which shall apply immedi-
ately, where they are in accordance with the Opinion of the Committee.However, if these measures are not in accordance with the Opinion ofthe Committee or if the Committee does not give an Opinion, the1972L0461 — EN — 29.12.1977 — 005.001 — 5
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Commission shall forthwith submit a proposal to the Council
concerning the measures to be taken. The Council shall adopt themeasures by a qualified majority.
If after fifteen days from the date on which it was informed, the
Council has not adopted the measures, the Commission shall adopt theproposed measures and shall implement them immediately, unless theCouncil has decided against the said measures by a simple majority.
Article 10
►
C2Article 9 ◄shall apply for ►M3102 months ◄from the date
on which the Committee was first informed, either pursuant to
►C2Article 9 (1) ◄or on the basis of any similar regulation.
Article 11
Until Community provisions relating to importaion of freshmeat from
third countries are implemented, national provisions relating to freshmeat imported from those countries shall not be more favourable thanthose resulting from this Directive.
Article 12
The Member States shall bring into force the measures necessary to
comply with this Directive before 1 January 1974 and shall forthwithinform the Commission thereof.
Article 13
Until 31 December 1982, Ireland and the United Kingdom in respect of
Northern Ireland, shall be authorized to retain for imports of freshmeat, their national rules relating to protection against foot-and-mouth
disease while complying with the general provisions of the Treaty.
Until►
M531 December 1978 ◄, Denmark, Ireland and the United
Kingdom shall be authorized to retain, for imports of fresh meat, theirnational rules relating to protection against swine fever, whilecomplying with the general provisions of the Treaty.
Article 14
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1972L0461 — EN — 29.12.1977 — 005.001 — 6
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