1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of26June1990
onanimalhealthconditionsgoverningthemovementandimportfromthirdcountriesofequidae
(90/426/EEC)
(OJ L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 42)
Corrected by:
►C1Corrigendum, OJ L 296, 27.10.1990, p. 66 (90/426/EEC)
▼B
COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of26June1990
on animal health conditions governing the movement and import
fromthirdcountriesofequidae
(90/426/EEC)
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 proposal 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 equidae, being live animals, are included in the list of
products in Annex II to the Treaty;
Whereas in order to ensure the rational development of equidae
production, thereby increasing productivity in that sector, rulesgoverning the movement of equidae between Member States must belaid down at Community level;
Whereas the breeding and rearing of equidae and in particular of horses
is generally included in the farming sector; whereas it constitutes asource of income for part of the farming population;
Whereas disparities as regards animal health conditions in the Member
States should be eliminated in order to encourage intra-Communitytrade in equidae;
Whereas, in order to encourage the harmonious development of intra-
Community trade, a Community system should be laid down to governimports from third countries;
Whereas the conditions for the movement on national territory of
equidae bearing an identification document should also be regulated;
Whereas, in order to be the subject of trade, equidae must satisfy
certain animal health requirements, so as to avoid the spreading ofcontagious diseases; whereas it appears in particular appropriate toprovide for a possible regionalization of restrictive measures;
Whereas transport conditions should be laid down for the same reason;Whereas, to ensure that those requirements are satisfied provision must
be made for the issue by an official veterinarian of a health certificateto accompany the equidae to their place of destination;
Whereas the organization of and the follow-up to the checks to be
carried out by the Member State of destination and the safeguardmeasures to be implemented should be fixed within the framework ofrules to be laid down for veterinary checks in intra-Community trade inlive animals in view of the completion of the internal market;
Whereas provision should be made for the possibility of checks by the
Commission; whereas these checks should be carried out in cooperation
with the competent national authorities;
Whereas defining Community provisions applicable to imports from
third countries requires a list to be drawn up of third countries or parts
of third countries from which equidae may be imported;
Whereas the choice of these countries must be based on criteria of a
general nature such as the state of health of the livestock, the organiza-1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 327, 30. 12. 1989, p. 61.
(2) OJ No C 149, 18. 6. 1990.
(3) OJ No C 62, 12. 3. 1990, p. 46.
▼B
tion and powers of the veterinary services and the health regulations in
force;
Whereas, in addition, imports of equidae should not be authorized from
countries infected withcontagious or infectious animal diseases wh ichpresent a risk to Community livestock or which have been free from
such infection for too short a period; whereas such considerations are
also valid for imports from third countries in which vaccination againstsuchdiseases is carried out;
Whereas the general conditions applicable to imports from third coun-
tries must be supplemented by special conditions drawn up on the basisof the health situation in each of them; whereas the technical natureand the diversity of the criteria on which these special conditionsdepend require for their definition recourse to a flexible and rapid
Community procedure in which the Commission and the Member
States cooperate closely;
Whereas the presentation of a common standard form of certificate
upon import of equidae constitutes an effective means of verifying
that the Community rules are being applied; whereas such rules mayinclude special provisions which may vary according to the thirdcountry concerned, and whereas this must be taken into account indrawing up the standard forms of certificates;
Whereas official Community veterinarians should be responsible for
verifying that the requirements of this Directive are observed, particu-larly in third countries;
Whereas the checks carried out upon importation must cover the origin
and the state of health of the equidae;
Whereas the Member States must be allowed, on the arrival of equidae
in the territory of the Community and during transit to their place ofdestination, to take all measures, including slaughter and disposal,
required for the purpose of safeguarding the health of humans and
animals;
Whereas the general rules applicable to the checks to be carried out on
importation must be defined within an overall context;
Whereas every Member State must have the right to place an
immediate prohibition on imports from a third country when such
imports may be dangerous for animal health; whereas in such a casecoordination of the attitudes of the Member States with regard to thatthird country must be assured without delay, without prejudice topossible amendments to the list of countries authorized to export to
the Community;
Whereas the provisions of this Directive should be revised in connec-
tion with the completion of the internal market;
Whereas provision should be made for a procedure establishing close
and effective cooperation between the Commission and the Member
State within the Standing Veterinary Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
CHAPTER 1
General provisions
Article 1
This Directive lays down animal health conditions for the movement
between Member States and import from third countries of liveequidae.1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 3
▼B
Article 2
For the purposes of this Directive:
(a) ‘holding’ means an agricultural or training establishment, a stable
or, generally speaking, any premises or facilities in which equidaeare habitually kept or bred, for whatever use;
(b) ‘equidae’ means wild or domesticated animals of the equine
(including zebras) or asinine species or the offspring of crossings
of those species;
(c) ‘registered equidae’ means any equidae registered as defined in
Directive 90/427/EEC(
1), identified by means of an identification
document issued by the breeding authority or any other competentauthority of the country where the animal originated whichmanages the studbook or register for that breed of animal or anyinternational association or organization which manages horses forcompetition or racing;
(d) ‘equidae for slaughter’ means equidae intended to be transported
either directly or after transit through a market or an approved
marshalling centre to the slaughterhouse for slaughter;
(e) ‘equidae for breeding and production’ means equidae other than
those mentioned in (c) and (d);
(f) ‘Member State or third country free from African horse sickness’
means any Member State or third country in which there has been
no clinical, serological (in unvaccinated equidae) or epidemiolo-gical evidence of African horse sickness on the territoryconcerned in the previous two years and in which there have beenno vaccinations against the disease during the previous 12 months;
(g) ‘compulsorily notifiable diseases’ means the diseases listed in
Annex A;
(h) ‘official veterinarian’ means the veterinarian designated by the
competent central authority of a Member State or of a thirdcountry;
(i) ‘temporary admission’ means the status of a registered animal
originating in a third country and admitted into Community terri-
tory for a period of less than 90 days to be fixed by the
Commission in accordance withth e procedure laid down in Article24, depending on the health situation in the country of origin.
CHAPTER II
Rulesforthemovementofequidae
Article 3
Member States shall authorize the movement of equidae registered in
their territory or send equidae to another Member State only wherethey satisfy the conditions laid down in Articles 4 and 5.
However, the competent authorities in Member States of destination
may grant general or limited exemption in respect of movement of
equidae which:
— are being ridden or taken, for sporting or recreational purposes,
along roads situated near internal borders of the Community,
— are taking part in cultural or similar events or in activities organized
by authorized local bodies situated near internal borders of theCommunity,
— are intended solely for temporary pasturing or work near internal
borders of the Community.
Member States making use of such authorization shall inform the
Commission of the content of the exemptions granted.1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 4
(1) OJ No L 224, 18. 8. 1990, p. 55.
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Article 4
1. Equidae must show no clinical sign of disease at inspection.
Inspection must be carried out in the 48 hours prior to their embarka-
tion or loading. In the case of registered equidae, however, thisinspection shall, without prejudice to Article 6, be required for intra-Community trade only.
2. Without prejudice to the requirements of paragraph 5 regarding
compulsorily notifiable diseases, the official veterinarian must, at the
time of inspection, be satisfied that there are no grounds — in parti-cular on the basis of declarations by the owner or breeder — forconcluding that the equidae have been in contact with equidae sufferingfrom an infectious or contagious disease during the 15 days immedi-ately preceding inspection.
3. The equidae must not be intended for slaughter under a national
programme of contagious or infectious disease eradication.
4. The equidae must be identified in the following manner:
(i) in the case of registered horses, by means of an identification docu-
ment, as provided for in Directive 90/427/EEC(
1), which must
certify in particular that Article 5 (5) and (6) have been compliedwith. The offical veterinarian will have to suspend the validity of
this document for the period of the prohibitions provided for in
paragraph 5 or in Article 5. The document should, following theslaughter of the registered horse, be returned to the authority whichissued it. The procedure for the implementation of this point shallbe adopted by the Commission in accordance with the procedurelaid down in Article 24;
(ii) for equidae for breeding and production, identification by a method
to be established by the Commission in accordance with the proce-dure laid down in Article 24.
Until such time as this method is in use, the officially approved
national identification methods shall remain applicable, providedthat they are notified to the Commission and the other MemberStates within three months of the date on which this Directive is
adopted.
5. In addition to the requirements laid down in Article 5, the
equidae must not come from a holding which has been the subject ofone of the following prohibition orders:
(a) if all the animals of species susceptible to the disease located on
the holding have not been slaughtered, the period of prohibitionconcerning the holding of origin must be at least:
— six months in the case of equidae suspected of having
contracted dourine, beginning on the date of the last actual orpossible contact witha sick animal. However, in th e case of astallion, the prohibition shall apply until the animal is castrated,
— six months in the case of glanders or equine encephalomyelitis,
beginning on the day on which the equidae suffering from the
disease in question are slaughtered,
— in the case of infectious anaemia, until the date on which, the
infected animals having been slaughtered, the remaininganimals have shown a negative reaction to two Coggins testscarried out three months apart,
— six months in the case of vesicular stomatitis,— one month from the last recorded case, in the case of rabies,— 15 days from the last recorded case, in the case of anthrax;
(b) if all the animals of species susceptible to the disease located on
the holding have been slaughtered and the premises disinfected,the period of prohibition shall be 30 days, beginning on the dayon which the animals were destroyed and the premises disinfected,1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 5
(1) OJ No L 224, 18. 8. 1990, p. 55.
▼B
except in the case of anthrax, where the period of prohibition is 15
days.
The competent authorities may derogate from these prohibition
measures for hippodromes and racecourses, and shall notify the
Commission of the nature of any derogations granted.
6. Where a Member State draws up or has drawn up a voluntary or
compulsory control programme for a disease to which equidae are
susceptible, it may present the programme to the Commission, withinsix months of notification of this Directive outlining in particular:
— the distribution of the disease on its territory,
— the reasons for the programme, taking into consideration the signif-
icance of the disease and its cost/benefit advantages,
— the geographical area in which the programme will be imple-
mented,
— the status categories to be applied to establishments, the standards
which must be attained for each species and the test procedures to
be used,
— the programme monitoring procedures,
— the action to be taken if, for any reason, a holding loses its status,— the measures to be taken if the results of the tests carried out in
accordance with the provisions of the programme are positive,
— the non-discriminatory nature of trade in the territory of the
Member State concerned withrespect to intra-Community trade.
The Commission shall examine the programmes presented by the
Member States. Where appropriate it shall approve them in accordance
withth e procedure laid down in Article 24. Any additional guarantees,general or specific, which may be required in intra-Community trademay be defined in accordance withth e same procedure. Suchguaran-tees must not exceed those required by the Member State in its own
territory.
Programmes submitted by Member States may be amended or supple-
mented in accordance withth e procedure laid down in Article 25.
Amendments or additions to programmes which have already beenapproved or to guarantees which have been defined in accordancewith the second subparagraph may be approved under the same proce-dure.
Article 5
1. A Member State which is not free of African horse sickness
within the meaning of Article 2 (f) may dispatch equidae from thatpart of its territory which is considered to be infected within themeaning of paragraph 2 of this Article only under the conditions set
out in paragraph3 of th is Article.
2. (a) A part of the territory of a Member State shall be considered to
be infected withAfrican h orse sickness if:
— clinical, serological (in unvaccinated animals) and/or epide-
miological evidence has revealed the presence of Africanhorse sickness in the past two years,
— vaccination against African horse sickness has been carried
out in the past 12 months.
(b) The part of the territory considered to be infected with African
horse sickness must comprise as a minimum:
— a protection zone witha radius of at least 100 km around
any centre of infection,
— a surveillance zone of at least 50 km extending beyond the
protection zone, in which no vaccination has been carried
out in the last 12 months.
(c) The zones referred to in (b) must be clearly defined and take
account of the geographical, ecological and epizootic factorsconnected withth is epizootic disease.1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 6
▼B
(d) All vaccinated equidae found in the protection zone must be
registered and identified at the time of vaccination by a clear,indelible mark, recognizable in accordance withth e procedure
laid down in Article 24.
The identification document and/or health certificate shall carry
a clear reference to suchvaccination.
(e) Equidae and their movements within the zones referred to in (b)
must be subject to proper veterinary control under the responsi-bility of the competent central authority. Only equidae meetingthe requirements laid down in paragraph 3 may leave the zones
referred to in (b).
3. A Member State may dispatchfrom th e territory referred to in
paragraph 2 (b) only equidae which meet the following requirements:
(a) they must be dispatched only during certain periods of the year,
having regard to the activity of vector insects, to be determined inaccordance withth e procedure laid down in Article 25;
(b) they must show no clinical symptom of African horse sickness on
the day of the inspection referred to in Article 4 (1);
(c) if they have not been vaccinated against African horse sickness,
they must have undergone and reacted negatively to a complementfixation test for African horse sickness as described in Annex D, ontwo occasions, withan interval of between 21 and 30 days betweenthe two tests, the second of which must have been carried outduring the 10 days prior to dispatch,
— if they have been vaccinated, they must not have undergone
vaccination during the previous two months and must have
undergone the fixation test described in Annex D at the afore-mentioned intervals without having recorded an increase in theantibody count. Under the procedure laid down in Article 24,the Commission may, following the opinion of the ScientificVeterinary Committee, recognize other monitoring methods;
(d) they must have been kept in a quarantine station for a minimum
period of 40 days prior to despatch;
(e) they must have been protected from vector insects during the
period of quarantine and during transportation from the quarantinestation to the place of despatch.
4. On a transitional basis and pending the introduction of Commu-
nity measures to harmonize rules for controlling and measures tocombat African horse sickness, to be decided on by the Council actingbefore 1 July 1991 by a qualified majority on a proposal from theCommission, the Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure
laid down in Article 25, determine the limits of the infected territory
in accordance with ►
C1paragraph2 (b) ◄before 1 November 1990.
5. The Commission may, acting in accordance with the procedure
laid down in Article 25, amend the decision taken in accordance with
paragraph 4, in the light of epidemiological circumstances.
6. The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from
the Commission based on a report on experience acquired, shall if
necessary review this Article within a period of two years.
Article 6
Member States which implement an alternative control system
providing guarantees equivalent to those laid down in Article 4 (5) asregards movements within their territory of equidae and registeredequidae, in particular by means of the identification document, maygrant one another derogations from the provisions of the second
sentence of Article 4 (1) and the second indent of Article 8 (1) on a
reciprocal basis.
They shall notify the Commission thereof.1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 7
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Article 7
1. The equidae must be transported, as soon as possible, from the
holding of origin either directly or via an approved market or marshal-
ling centre as defined in Article 3 (6) of Directive 64/432/EEC to theplace of destination in vehicles or containers which have been regularlycleansed and disinfected witha disinfectant at intervals to be fixed bythe Member State of dispatch. The vehicles must be designed in such away that equidae droppings, litter or fodder cannot escape from the
vehicle during transportation. Transportation must be effected in such
a way that the health and well-being of the equidae can be protectedeffectively.
2. The Member State of destination may, on a general or restricted
basis, grant a derogation from some of the requirements of Article 4 (5)
for any animal bearing a special mark indicating that it is scheduled for
slaughter, provided that the health certificate mentions such derogation.
In the case of granting such a derogation equidae for slaughter must be
transported directly to the designated slaughterhouse and be slaughteredwithin five days of arrival at the slaughterhouse.
3. The official veterinarian must record the identification number or
identification document number of the slaughtered animal and forwardto the competent authority of the place of dispatch, at the latter'srequest, an attestation to the effect that the animal has been slaugh-tered.
Article 8
1. Member States shall ensure that:
— registered equidae which leave their holdings are accompanied by
the identification document laid down in Article 4 (4) together —if they are intended for intra-Community trade — with the attesta-
tion provided for in Annex B,
— equidae for breeding, production and slaughter are, during their
transportion, accompanied by a health certificate complying withAnnex C to this Directive.
The certificate, or in the case of an identification document, the form
containing the health particulars, must, without prejudice to Article 6,
be drawn up during the 48 hours preceding their embarkation or else no
later than the last working day prior to it, in at least one of the officiallanguages of the Member States of dispatch and destination. The dura-tion of validity of the certificate is 10 days. The certificate must consistof a single sheet.
2. Imports of equidae other than registered equidae may be covered
by a single health certificate per consignment rather than by the indivi-dual certificate referred to in the second indent of paragraph 1.
Article 9
The rules on checks and safeguard measures applicable to intra-
Community trade in equidae shall be adopted by the Council under itsDecision on veterinary checks applicable to intra-Community trade in
live animals with a view to the completion of the internal market.
Article 10
Veterinary experts from the Commission may, to the extent necessary
to ensure uniform application of this Directive and in cooperation withthe competent national authorities, carry out on-the-spot inspections.The Commission shall inform the Member States of the outcome of
suchinspections.
The Member States in whose territory an inspection is carried out shall
give the experts all the assistance necessary to carry out their task.
General arrangements for the application of this Article shall be
adopted in accordance withth e procedure laid down in Article 24.1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 8
▼B
CHAPTER III
Rulesforimportsfromthirdcountries
Article 11
1. Equidae imported into the Community must satisfy the conditions
laid down in Articles 12 to 16.
2. Until the date of entry into force of the decisions adopted
pursuant to Articles 12 to 16, the Member States shall apply to imports
of equidae from third countries conditions at least equivalent to thoseresulting from the application of Chapter II.
Article 12
1. In order to be imported, the equidae must come from a third
country or part of a third country appearing on a list included in aseparate column to be added to the list drawn up in accordance withArticle 3 of Directive 72/462/EEC.
2. The procedures and criteria for the preparation, modification and
publication of the list of third countries or parts of third countries
provided for in Article 3 of Directive 72/462/EEC shall apply to thelist applicable to imports of equidae.
Article 13
1. The equidae must come from third countries:(a) free from African horse sickness;
(b) which have been free for two years from Venezuelan equine ence-
phalomyelitis (VEE);
(c) which have been free for six months from dourine and glanders.
2. The Commission may, in accordance with the procedure laid
down in Article 24:
(a) decide that the provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply to only a part
of the territory of a third country.
In the event that the African horse sickness requirements apply on
a regional basis, at the very least the measures laid down in Article5 (2) and (3) must be complied with;
(b) require additional guarantees for diseases alien to the Community.
Article 14
Before the day of loading for transportation to the Member State of
destination, the equidae must have remained without interruption inthe territory or part of the territory of a third country or, in the eventof regionalization, in the part of the territory defined pursuant toArticle 13 (2) (a) for a period to be determined in the decisions to beadopted pursuant to Article 15.
They must come from a holding placed under veterinary supervision.
Article 15
Importation of equidae from the territory of a third country or part
thereof as defined in accordance with Article 13 (2) (a) on the list
drawn up in accordance with Article 12 (1) shall be authorized only ifthe equidae, over and above the requirements of Article 13:
(a) comply with the animal health requirements adopted, with refer-
ence to the species in question and the categories of equidae, inaccordance withth e procedure laid down in Article 24 for imports
of equidae from that country.
The reference basis for fixing animal health conditions in accor-
dance with paragraph 1 shall be the standards laid down inArticles 4 and 5; and1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 9
▼B
(b) in the case of a third country not free of vesicular stomatitis or
viral arteritis for at least six months, the equidae must meet thefollowing requirements:
(i) they must come from a holding which has been free of vesi-
cular stomatitis for at least six months and they must havereacted negatively to a serological test prior to dispatch;
(ii) in the case of viral arteritis, male equidae must — notwith-
standing Article 19 (ii) — have reacted negatively to aserological test or to a virus isolation test or to any other testrecognized in accordance withth e procedure laid down in
Article 24 which would guarantee freedom from the virus.
In accordance withth e procedure laid down in Article 24, and
following the opinion of the Scientific Veterinary Committee,
the Commission may define the categories of male equidae to
which this requirement shall apply.
Article 16
1. The equidae must be identified in accordance with Article 4 (4)
and accompanied by a certificate drawn up by an official veterinarian
of the exporting third country. This certificate must:
(a) be issued on the day of loading of the animals for dispatch to the
Member State of destination or, in the case of registered horses, onthe last working day before embarkation;
(b) be drawn up in at least one of the official languages of the Member
States of destination and one of those of the Member State in
which the import inspection is carried out;
(c) accompany the animals in the original;(d) attest that the animals satisfy the requirements of this Directive and
those laid down pursuant to this Directive with regard to importa-
tion from third countries;
(e) consist of a single sheet;(f) be made out for a single consignee or, in the case of animals for
slaughter, for a consignment, provided the animals are properlymarked and identified.
Member States shall inform the Commission if they make use of
this option.
2. The certificate must be drawn up on a form complying with a
model established in accordance with the procedure laid down inArticle 24.
Article 17
Checks shall be carried out on the spot by veterinary experts of the
Member States and the Commission to verify whether the provisionsof this Directive, and in particular those of Article 12 (2), are beingapplied in practice.
Should checks carried out within the terms of this Article bring to light
serious facts as against an approved holding, the Commission shall
immediately inform the Member States and forthwith adopt a decision
provisionally suspending the approval. The final decision shall be takenaccording to the procedure provided for in Article 25.
The experts from the Member States who are to be entrusted with these
checks shall be appointed by the Commission, acting on a proposalfrom the Member States.
These checks shall be made on behalf of the Community, which shall
bear the cost of any expenditure incurred in this connection.
The frequency of and the procedure for these checks shall be deter-
mined in accordance withth e procedure laid down in Article 24.1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 10
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Article 18
1. Immediately upon arrival in the Member State of destination,
equidae for slaughter shall be taken to a slaughterhouse, either directly
or after transition through a market or a marshalling centre, and, inaccordance with animal health requirements, be slaughtered within aperiod of time specified in the decisions to be adopted pursuant toArticle 15.
2. Without prejudice to any special conditions which may be
adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 24, thecompetent authority of the Member State of destination may, on animalhealth grounds, designate the slaughterhouse to which such equidaemust be taken.
Article 19
The Commission, acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 24:
(i) may decide that imports from a third country or part of a third
country are to be confined to particular species or categories;
(ii) shall, notwithstanding Article 15, establish the special conditions
for the temporary entry into Community territory of registeredequidae or equidae intended for special uses or their re-entry intoCommunity territory after being temporarily exported;
(iii) shall determine the conditions for converting temporary entry into
permanent entry.
Article 20
1. The general procedures applicable during checks to be carried out
in third countries or during checks on imported equidae from third
countries shall be determined by the Council not later than 31
December 1990.
Pending implementation of the decision referred to in the first subpar-
agraph, the national rules shall remain in force, in compliance with thegeneral rules of the Treaty.
2. Equidae may not be imported if, during the import checks
prescribed in paragraph1, it is found th at:
— the equidae do not come from the territory of a third country or part
thereof as defined pursuant to Article 13 (2) (a) included in the listdrawn up in accordance withArticle 12 (1),
— the equidae are, or are suspected of being, infected with or contami-
nated by an infectious or contagious disease,
— the conditions laid down in this Directive have not been complied
with by the exporting third country,
— the certificate accompanying the animals does not comply with the
conditions set out in Article 17,
— the equidae have been treated with substances prohibited under
Community rules.
3. Without prejudice to any special conditions which may be
adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 24, the
competent authority of the Member State of destination may, on animal
health grounds or where permission has not been given for animalsrefused entry pursuant to paragraph1 to be sent back, designate th eslaughterhouse to which such equidae must be taken.
Article 21
1. Without prejudice to Article 13, if an infectious or contagious
animal disease likely to endanger the health of livestock of one of theMember States breaks out or spreads in a third country or if any otherreason connected with animal health justifies it, the Member Stateconcerned shall prohibit the importation of animals of the speciescovered by this Directive, whether imported directly or indirectly1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 11
▼B
through another Member State, from either the whole of the third
country or part of its territory.
2. Measures taken by the Member States under paragraph 1, and
notice of the withdrawal of such measures, must be communicatedimmediately to the other Member States and the Commission, togetherwith the reasons therefor.
The Standing Veterinary Committee shall meet as soon as possible
after the communication referred to in the first subparagraph and shalldecide, in accordance withth e procedure laid down in Article 25,
whether these measures should be amended, in particular in order to
ensure their coordination with measures adopted by the other MemberStates, or withdrawn.
If the situation referred to in paragraph 1 arises and if it appears neces-
sary that other Member States should also apply the measures taken
pursuant to that paragraph, amended where necessary in accordancewith the preceding subparagraph, appropriate measures shall beadopted under the procedure laid down in Article 25.
3. Resumption of importation from the third country concerned shall
be authorized in accordance with the same procedure.
CHAPTER IV
Finalprovisions
Article 22
The provisions of this Directive, and in particular those contained in
the second sentence of Article 4 (1) and in Articles 6, 8 and 21, shall
be re-examined before 1 January 1993 in the framework of the propo-
sals relating to the completion of the internal market, on which theCouncil will decide by a qualified majority.
Article 23
The Annexes to this Directive shall be amended by the Commission in
accordance withth e procedure provided for in Article 25.
Article 24
1. Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to be followed,
the chairman shall refer the matter without delay to the Standing Veter-inary Committee set up by Directive 68/361/EEC(
1), hereinafter
referred to as the ‘Committee’, either on his own initiative or at the
request of the representative of a Member State.
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the
Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Committee shall
deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairmanmay lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinionshall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of theTreaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopton a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of
the Member States within the Committee shall be weighted in the
manner set out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.
3. The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in
accordance with the opinion of the Committee.
4. If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion
of the Committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shallwithout delay submit to the Council a proposal relating to the measures
to be taken. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.
If, within three months of the date of referral to the Council, the
Council has not acted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by the1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 12
(1) OJ No L 255, 18. 10. 1968, p. 23.
▼B
Commission except where the Council has decided against the
measures by a simple majority.
Article 25
1. Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to be followed,
the chairman shall refer the matter without delay to the Committee
either on his own initiative or at the request of the representative of a
Member State.
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the
Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Committee shalldeliver its opinion on the draft within two days. The opinion shall bedelivered by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty inthe case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a
proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the
Member States within the Committee shall be weighted in the mannerset out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.
3. The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in
accordance with the opinion of the Committee.
4. If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion
of the Committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shall
without delay submit to the Council a proposal relating to the measures
to be taken. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.
If, within 15 days of the date of referral to the Council, the Council has
not acted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by the Commissionexcept where the Council has decided against the measures by a simplemajority.
Article 26
Article 34 of Directive 72/462/EEC shall apply to the requirements set
out in Chapter III of this Directive.
Article 27
Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and admin-
istrative provisions necessary to comply withth is Directive no later
than 1 January 1992. They shall forthwith inform the Commission
thereof.
Article 28
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 13
▼B
ANNEX A
COMPULSORILYNOTIFIABLEDISEASES
The following diseases are compulsorily notifiable:
— Dourine
— Glanders— Equine encephalomyelitis (of all types, including VEE)— Infectious anaemia— Rabies
— Anthrax
— African horse sickness— Vesicular stomatitis1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 14
▼B
ANNEX B
HEALTHINFORMATION (a)
I, the undersigned, certify(b) that the equidae described above meet the
following requirements:
(a) they have been examined today and show no clinical sign of disease;
(b) they are not intended for slaughter under a national programme of conta-
gious or infectious disease eradication;
(c) they do not come from the territory or part of the territory of a Member
State/third country which is the subject of restrictions for reasons of African
horse sickness;
(d) they have not been obtained from a holding which was subject to prohibi-
tion for animal health reasons, nor had contact with equidae from a holding
which was subject to prohibition for animal health reasons for the periods of
time set out in Article 4 (6) of Directive 90/426/EEC;
(e) to the best of my knowledge, they have not been in contact with equidae
suffering from an infectious or contagious disease during the period prior
to embarkation as laid down in Article 4 (2).
1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 15
(a) Not required where there is a bilateral agreement in accordance with Article 6.
(b) Valid for 10 days.
▼B
ANNEX C
MODEL
1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 16
▼B
1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 17
▼B
ANNEX D
AFRICANHORSESICKNESS
DIAGNOSIS
Complementfixationtest
The antigen is prepared from the brains of one-month-old mice inoculated intra-
cerebrally with a neurotropic strain of the virus. This can be done using the
following method of Bourdin. The brains are frozen and then ground in Veronal
buffer at the rate of 10 brains for 12 ml buffer. The resulting suspension is
centrifuged for one hour at 10000 rpm at 4 ºC. The supernatant constitutes the
antigen. It is used preferably without further modification but may be inacti-
vated withbeta-propiolactone. Inactivation may be effected by adding 0,1 ml
of a 3 % solution of beta-propiolactone in distilled water to each0,9 ml of
antigen and shaking the mixture for three hours at room temperature in a venti-
lated cabinet and for 18 hours at 4 ºC. One may also use Casals method (Casals
J. (1949):Pro Soc Exptl Bici Med, 70.339).
In the absence of an international standard serum, the antigen should be titrated
against a locally-prepared positive control serum.
Sera should be heated for 30 minutes at 60 ºC. To avoid anticomplementary
effects, sera should be separated from the blood as soon as possible, in parti-
cular sera from asses. Positive and negative control sera should be used in the
test.
One may use either a macro-technique or a micro-technique. In both cases, the
final point is represented by 50 % haemolysis.
To one volume of doubling dilutions of serum, add one volume antigen as indi-
cated by titration so that there are two units. Mix and leave for 15 minutes at
room temperature. Add two volumes of complement containing five units, mix,
cover the plates and leave for 18 hours at 4 ºC. The complement should be
titrated in the presence of antigen to take into account all anticomplementary
effects. After leaving the plates for a further 15 minutes at room temperature,
add one volume of sensitized sheep erythrocytes diluted to 3 %. Mix and incu-
bate at 37 ºC for 30 minutes, mixing again after 15 minutes of incubation. If
plates are used, centrifuge the plates for five minutes at 1500 rpm at 4 ºC.1990L0426 — EN — 04.07.1990 — 000.001 — 18