31. 12. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities l^oCoB^Bor 
Opinion on the proposal foraCouncil Reflation (EEC) laving down the health conditions 
for the production and the placing on the market oflive bivalve n^oHuscs 
(90BC^^2B13) 
On l^Eebruaryl990 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, 
under Articlel98 of theTreatyestablishing the European Economic Community,onthe 
abovementioned proposal 
The Section for Agriculture and Eisheries, which was responsible for preparing the Commits 
tees worsen the subject, adopted its Opinion on^Septemberl990.The Rapporteur was 
^IrEerrazdaSilva. 
At its 279th plenary session (meetingof 19 September 1990), theEconomic andSocial 
committee unanimously adopted the following Opinion. 
1. Introduction 
1.1. This internal marketproposalslaysdownhealth 
conditions for the production and marketingof live 
bivalve molluscs. 
1.2. It also defines the obligations to be met by the 
sector and the competent authorities, in order to ensure 
that the final product is safe for human consumption. 
1.^. The committee approves the proposal subject 
to the following comments. 
2. Ceneral comments 
2.1. The committee has reservations about the pro^ 
posed timescale.The proposal is part ofapackage of 
interlinked legislative measuresinthe health field, some 
of which are still at the drafting stage. 
2.2. The Committee would first stress the difficulty 
of making a proper assessment of aproposal which 
refers to other Regulations yet to be adopted. 
2B^. The Committee refers back to the comments 
made in the committee Opinions) on the proposal for 
a council Regulation (EEC^) layingdown thehealth 
conditions for the production andthe placing onthe 
market of fishery products(^). Live bivalve molluscs for 
processing will also have tomeet the requirements of 
this Regulation. 
2.^. Oiven that the proposal takes the form of a 
Regulation, the committee has serious reservations 
about the feasibility of the proposed implementing date 
ofl]anuary 199^ member States must first adapt their national legislation and carry outthe measures specified 
in the present proposal and in the other proposed 
Regulation referred to above. Accordingly,theCom^ 
mittee considers it necessary to setalater deadline. 
2Bo. The Committee notes that the Commission, 
mindful of the problems that could arise from the 
implementation of the Regulation, also plants to issue 
further legislation to regulate the granting of deroD 
gations. 
2.^. Phe importance ofthe derogation arrangements 
is such that they should be mentioned in the body of 
the proposed Regulation, and not just in the preamble. 
2.7. The Committee considers that these derogation 
arrangements are very important.The current situation 
in the fishing industry means that derogations will 
be vitaltoallowtheindustrytomake the necessary 
changes. 
2.8. f^owever,one may question thefeasibility of 
the proposed Council L^ecision(^) on the conditions for 
granting temporary and limited derogations. 
2.9. C^uite apart from the fact that the derogations 
will have to be granted onaplantbyplant basis, A^em^ 
ber States will also face problems because ofthe limited 
time available for establishing which plants do notmeet 
the required conditions and are therefore eligible fora 
derogation. 
2.10. If the proposed time schedule is retained, 
requests for derogation will have to be submitted byl 
January 1992^ this is practically impossible. 
2.11. Moreover, it could lead to unfair competition. 
In practice, not all plants will be inspected immediately, 
(!) CES 1037/90. 
(2) Commission proposal COM(89) 645 final. (3) Commission proposal COM(89) 670 final. 
No C 332/52 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 12. 90 
granted a derogation and registered. This could give 
some firms a competitive edge simply because they were 
inspected sooner. 
2.12. The Committee stresses that the microbiologi­
cal quality of molluscs depends to a large extent on the 
state of the waters where they are harvested. Positive 
environmental measures by the Member States are thus 
of fundamental importance. 
2.13. However, it should also be stressed that the 
classification of harvesting waters and areas (chapter I 
of the Annex) could be altered by external and other 
factors. Accordingly, alongside the extreme step of clos­
ing a harvesting area, there should also be provision to 
downgrade its classification. 
2.14. Given the limited number of staff, the Commit­
tee would query the feasibility of the provisions in 
Article 9 for on-the-spot inspections in third countries. 
These inspections are designed in particular to check 
whether production and marketing conditions can be 
deemed equivalent to those of the Community. 
2.15. The Committee considers that the Standing 
Veterinary Committee (SVC) has been given too much 
power in respect of matters which would warrant 
inclusion in the Regulation itself and institutional super­
vision. 
2.16. In view of their impact on future legislation and 
on consumers in general, the Commission proposals to 
be implemented under Articles 14-16 should be referred 
to the Economic and Social Committee. 
3. Specific Comments 
3.1. Article 2(3) 
Amend to read: 'natural or artificial seawater or estuary 
water'. 
3.2. Article 5(1) (b) 
The stipulation that 'the inspection and monitoring .. 
shall be carried out regularly' seems too imprecise. The 
Committee proposes the addition of the words 'and 
frequently'. 
Done at Brussels, 19 September 1990. 3.3. Article 5(2) (b) 
Amend the second paragraph to read: 'shall close or 
change the classification of the harvesting area ...'. 
3.4. Article 17 
In the light of the comments made above, the Commit­
tee considers that this Regulation cannot enter into 
force on 1 January 1993. 
4. Annexes 
4.1. Chapter IV, point 111, 7 
The presence of more than one batch for the complete 
period of purification involves no risk provided that 
each batch is clearly identified. 
The following new wording is proposed: 
'Further batches of molluscs should not be added 
to a purification tank once the period of purification 
has commenced.' 
4.2. Chapter IV, point 111, 12 
Amend 'must regularly keep record' to read 'must keep 
frequent record'. 
4.3. Chapter V, point 4 
Amend to read 'compounds or substances'. 
4.4. Chapter VI, point 1 
Amend to read 'periodic and frequent supervision'. 
4.5. Chapter VI, point 1(a) (page 31, fifth line) 
In the interests of clarity, amend to read 'likely vari­
ations, including slight variations,...'. 
4.6. Chapter VII, point 1 
Amend the beginning of this point to read: 'Live bivalve 
molluscs leaving expedition centres ...'. 
4.7. Chapter X, point 1 
The Committee suggests that a reference be made to 
EEC Directive 396/89 on indications or marks identify­
ing the lot to which a foodstuff belongs, which has now 
entered into force. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alberto MASPRONE