31.8.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC223/19
3.17.Annex1,SectionIIf 'Workingsurfacesmustbesmooth,easilycleanable
andtheymustnotallowaccumulation ofpatho­
genicmicro-organisms orfooddebris.Theymust
Changeto: bemadeofnon-toxicmaterials.'
DoneatBrussels,26May1992.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
MichaelGEUENICH
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilRegulation (EEC)layingdownprovisions withregard
topossession ofandtradeinspecimensofspeciesofwildfaunaandflora(*)
(92/C223/06)
On14January1992theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomic andSocialCommittee ,
underArticle100AoftheTreatyestablishing theEuropeanEconomic Community ,onthe
abovementioned proposal .
TheSectionforProtection oftheEnvironment ,PublicHealthandConsumer Affairs,which
wasresponsible forpreparingtheCommittee 'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon
5May1992.TheRapporteur wasMrRoseingrave .
Atits297thPlenarySession (meetingof26May1992)theEconomic andSocialCommittee
unanimously adoptedthefollowingOpinionunanimously .
1.Introduction
1.1.Since1984,tradeinendangered speciesofwild
floraandfaunahasbeenregulated byCouncilRegu­
lation(EEC)No3626/82.
1.1.1.Onthebasisof(i)8years'experience on
controloftradeundertheaboveRegulation and(ii)
thechangeinstatusundergone bymanyspecies,the
Councilhasproposed aRegulation layingdownpro­
visionswithregardtopossession ofandtradeinspeci­
mensofspeciesofwildfaunaandflora(2).
1.2.TheproposedRegulation extendstheprovisions
oftheCITESConvention (3)(1973)(i)toovercome
limitations anddeficiencies impedingcurrentnature
conservation action,(ii)toupdateandadapttheexist­
ingRegulation inthelightofnewtechnicalandscien­tificinformation and(iii)toharmonize conditions in
regardtocompletion andfunctioning oftheinternal
market .Morestrictmeasures takenincertaincountries
mustbeincorporated intoEClegislation before1993.
1.3.TheproposedRegulation setsoutCommunity
framework legislation onthetradeinfloraandfauna
butisnevertheless acomprehensive andcomplicated
document .Thisistoallowarapidandflexibleresponse
bytheCommission andtheenforcement authorities in
theMemberStatesandtoavoidtheproliferation of
piecemeal legislation addressedtotheproblemsposed
byindividual species.TheCommission isassistedbya
committee whichoffersadviceasaresultofwhichthe
Commission canamendtheAnnexes whichliststhe
levelofregulation whichappliestoaparticular species.
Inoutline,theRegulation listsspeciesinoneoffive
Annexes .
1.4.Annexes
1.4.1.AnnexAregulates possession andforbids
commercial tradein
—CITESIspecies(asapprovedbytheCommission ):(1)OJNoC26,3.2.1992,p.1.
(2)Doc.COM(91 )448final.
(3)CITES=Convention onInternational TradeinEndangered
Species—OJNoL384,31.12.1982.

NoC223/20 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 31.8.92
•specieswhichlooklikeabove,
•allanimalsexceptlisteddomestics .•tradedspeciesthreatened withextinction ,
•speciescongeneric withabove,
•species(mainlyindigenous toEC)benefitingfrom
protection underotherEClegislation .Importdeclaration ,exportpermitorevidenceof
legalacquisition arerequired .
1.4.5.AnnexEregulatespossession andtradeof Importpermits,exportpermits,CITEScertificates
arerequired .
—speciesindigenous toaMemberStateandrequiring
particularprotection therein.
2.Generalobservations
2.1.TheCommittee recognises thattheremaybe
considerable socio-economic andconservation benefits
accruingfromregulatedtradeincertainspeciesor
infraspecific taxonomic designations .Theproposal
addressesthemechanism bywhichregulation istobe
achieved .1.4.2.AnnexBregulatespossession andcommercial
tradein
—CITESIIspecies(ifnotinA,andapproved bythe
Commission ):
•CITESI(ifnotinA),
•speciesthreatened locallyorrareglobally,
•specieswhichsupportspeciesinAorB,
•specieswhichlooklikespeciesinAorB,
•specieswhosetradeisregulated byotherEC
legislation ,
•'fragilespecies',
•ecologicalthreats.
Importpermits,exportpermits,orevidenceof
acquisition inaccordance withlegislation are
required .
1.4.3.AnnexCregulatespossession andtradeof
—CITESIII(ifnotinAorBandagreedbyCom­
mission),
—CITESII(notinAorB).2.2.TheCommittee approvestheCommission 's
proposal .Furthermore itendorses theneedto
implement thenewRegulation andtoensureitsuni­
formapplication withintheEC,soasadequately to
protectspeciesofwildfaunaandflorafromtheadverse
affectsofcurrentlevelsofandfutureincreases intrade
ontheir'conservation status'.Itendorsesparticularly
theuniformapplication ofcommercial legislation and
theavoidance ofdifferentinterpretations ofCITESin
differentMemberStates,tobemajorobjectives ofthe
Regulation ,inthelightoftheeffectivefunctioning of
theinternalmarket .However ,theCommittee 's
approvalissubjecttoseveralqualifications .
2.3.TheRegulation isanambitious andhighlytech­
nicaldocument .Oncarefulreadingitappearstocon­
tainloopholeswhichmayinsomesituations beexploit­
edbutgiventhefactthatitisframework legislation
thesedifficulties maybemoreapparentthanreal,
especially ifprotective criteriaarelaiddownandare
strictlyanduniformly adheredto.
Importdeclaration ,exportpermitorevidenceoflegal
acquisition arerequired .
1.4.4.AnnexDregulatespossession andtradeof:2.4.TheRegulation should,inlinewiththeCITES
Agreement ,berestrictedtotrade.Ageneralbanon
merepossession byindividuals appearstobedifficult
toenforce .TheCommittee therefore recommends that
theprovisions onpossession andtransportwithinthe
Community applyonlywheretradeisinvolved .The
proposedrestrictions dealingwithimportandexport
shouldremain.
—CITESIII(notinC):
•speciesnotinA,BorConwhichthepursuitof
tradecouldadverselyimpact,2.5.ThegeneralapproachadoptedintheRegulation
istobesupportedbutsomeoftheprocedures appear

31.8.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC223/21
tobecumbersome andundulybureaucratic .TheCom­
mitteeurgestheCommission toensurethattheRegu­
lationfunctionsboth(1)asaninstrument (a)tomonitor
and(b)tofacilitatelegitimate tradeand(2)asadeter­
renttotheillegaltradeinotherspecies.3.4.Articles11and12(Derogations )
3.4.1.Thepositionregarding methodsofidentifi­
cationandcertification ofindividual specimens needs
tobeclarified .
3.Specificobservations
3.1.Article3(Scope)3.5.Article21(Placesofentry,exitandtransit)
3.5.1.Giventhatthelegislative framework fora
morestrictlycontrolled tradeistobeintroduced ,the
Committee wondershowthisistobepoliced.The
resources oftheMember Statesarelimited.Customs
officialswhoseresponsibilities maydecreasewiththe
removalofinternalbordersmightberedeployed to
scrutinizeandmonitortrade.Sinceinternalscrutiny
willbeless,moreresponsibilities willfalluponofficials
ataccesspointstoEC.Thecompetent performance
ofthesenewresponsibilities willrequireadequatein­
servicetrainingprogrammes .TheCommittee welcomes
thetrainingcoursesforinspectors setupbyDGXXI
butnotesthesizeandcomplexity ofthetasktobe
carriedout.Evensomeprofessional biologistswould
notbecompetent toidentifyreadilyallspecieslistedin
theAnnexestotheRegulations .Thisisparticularly
important inthedetectionofspecieswhichmaybe
importedunderfalselabels.3.1.1.TheCommittee notesthatArticle3,2c(ii)
p.26mightbeinvokedtoprotecthabitatsifaparticular
endangered animal/planthasanabsoluterequirement
foraspecificintegralbioticcomponent ofthehabitat.
3.1.2.TheCommittee doesnotconsideritappropri­
atetoplacespecieswhichareactuallythreatened by
tradeexploitation inthesamecategoryasthousands
ofcommonspecies.Clearcriteriashouldbeestablished
definingthespeciestowhichtheRegulation istoapply.
3.2.Article4(Introduction intoEC)3.6.Article23(Monitoring ofcompliance )
3.6.1.Itisnotclearifthereisamechanism within
theapplication oftheRegulation totakeaccountof
agreements withcertaintradebodiesregardingcom­
pliancewithotherlegislation .Forexample,thisRegu­
lationmaytakeeffectfrom1993butthefurtradersare
notexpectedtocomplywiththeRegulation onthe
importation offursuntil1995(1).3.2.1.Theprinciplethatanexportlicencefroma
non-ECcountrydoesnotguarantee animportlicence
totheECisanimportant one.ThustheECassumes
responsibility forcontrolling its'consumption 'ofspeci­
esandmaynegotiateexportquotaswithexporting
countries inthelightoftheconservation statusofthe
speciesinquestion .TheCommission mightconsiderit
appropriate tobringsuchconcernstoawiderinter­
nationalforumsuchasCITEStoavoidundueprolifer­
ationofapparently contradictory classifications .3.7.Article26(Sanctions )
3.3.Article8(Rejectionofapplication forpermitsand
certificates )3.7.1.TheCommittee recognises thatfortheCom­
missiontoincludedetailsofpenaltiesintheRegulation
wouldbeamajorinnovation inCommunity law.
Nevertheless theCommittee considers thattheCom­
missionshouldencourage MemberStatestoimpose
sanctionsappropriate totheinfringement accordingto
scalesandcriteriawhichwilldiscourage illegaltrade
whichmaytakeplacebecausecertainStatesapplyan
insufficiently dissuasive sentencing system.
3.7.2.TheCommission mightwishtoconsider
whethertheRegulation mightbemodifiedtomakethe3.3.1.Theeffectiveharmonization ofcontrolsacross
theECisanimportant aimoftheRegulation ,butitis
notentirelyclearhowwellthisobjectivewillbeachiev­
edinpractice .ThisArticledealswithrejectionof
applications byaMemberStateunderconditions where
apparently theapplication wouldhavebeengranted
elsewhere .Thisimpliesthatmorestrictcriteriamay
applydefactointhatState.Sucheventsaretobe
reportedtotheCommission butitisunclearwhether
theCommission hasanychoiceotherthantheauthority
toinsistthatthemorestrictconditions inoneMember
Stateberelaxedtocomplywiththoseimplemented
bytheothers,andtobeconsistent withtheuniform
application ofcommercial legislation .(')CouncilRegulation (EEC)No3254/91—OJNoL308,
9.11.1991.

NoC223/22 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 31.8.92
3.9.2.Thecomposition oftheAnnexescouldfurther
beclarifiedbytheinclusionofthevernacular namesin
eachCommunity languageversionoftheRegulation
[asisthecaseintheAppendices toCouncilRegulation
(EEC)No3626/82].Itwouldbetheresponsibility of
eachnationalbodytoprovidethelistofvernacular
namesasappropriate .Itisrecognised thatthelatinised
scientificnameshavepriority .
3.9.3.CurrentlythereislegitimatetradebetweenEC
andotherStatesinanumberofspeciesconsidered to
bepestsintheStateoforiginandtowhich,insome
cases,otherCommunity legislation applies.Someof
thesespecies,e.g.themuskrat(Ondratazibethicus),are
currentlylistedinAnnexB.Otherspeciesareincluded
whichinthecountryoforiginaresubjecttocullingto
controlnumbersandarecurrentlytradedintheEC
(e.g.fivespeciesofMacropodid marsupials ).Toprotect
thisexistingtradeandgiventhatforsuchspeciesan
adverseeffectontradeisnotimminentoranticipated ,
itmightbeappropriate toconsidertheformulation
ofanotherAnnextoinclude'harvested'species.This
Annexwouldinclude,interalia,someofthespecies
currently covered byAnnexB[Article3,
paragraph 2(d)].ThisAnnexshouldalsoincludegame
species,thetakingandpossession ofwhicharepermit­
tedunderregulations withinCommunity countries .
SpeciesassignedtothisnewAnnexwouldbesubject
totraderegulations ascurrentlyappliedtospeciesin
AnnexesCandD,i.e.animportdeclaration andan
exportpermitorevidenceoflegalacquisition would
berequired .ThusAnnexesAandBwouldbemore
comparable withtheCITESAppendices 1and2.The
importregulations forthespeciesinthenewAnnex
wouldbemoreappropriate totheirconservation status
andshouldcauselessdelaytotheimportandtrade
withintheCommunity oflegally-acquired specimens .
Theprinciplesrelatingtotheintroduction ofspecimens
toEC(Article4)wouldnotbeaffectedbythischange
andspeciescouldberemovedfromthenewAnnexif
necessary .shippingagentslegallyresponsible inregardtothe
import,exportorre-exportofspecimenstoandfrom
theEC,andthusintroduce anothercheckonillegal
movement offloraandfauna.Otherwise theauthorities
maytakepossession ofacargodisowned bythecon­
signeeforwhichnoonecanbeheldresponsible .This
clearlyisunsatisfactory .
3.8.Article28(ScientificReviewGroup)
3.8.1.Considerable newresponsibility isvestedin
theScientificReviewGroup(Article28).However ,the
Committee regretsthattheCommission hasnotbeen
morepreciseastothecomposition ofthisgroupand
thequalifications ofitsmembers .Itisnotclearhow
anappellantmayraiseissuesofprotection ortrade
withaviewtoreclassification ofaspeciesbetween
Annexes .TheCommittee exhortstheCommission to
establishprocedures andfacilitiessuchthatthisbody
maintains anefficientnetworkwith(1)otherscientific
bodiessuchasthescientificexpertsofCITESand(2)
commercial communities toensurearapidresponseat
alltimes,and,wherenecessary ,toavailofadviceand
information .
3.8.2.Article 29(Committee )
TheEconomic andSocialCommittee isinagreement
withtheproposalfortheestablishment oftheCom­
mitteecomposed ofrepresentatives oftheMember
Statesreferredtointhisarticle.
3.9.Annexes
3.9.1.Theannexesareamostimportant sectionof
theregulation .Theallocation/reallocation ofspeciesto
aparticular annexistheresponsibility oftheCom­
missionasadvisedbytheScientificReviewGroup.It
isacceptedthatallspeciesaretobelistedaccordingto
thecriteriasetoutintheRegulation sothattrademay
beregulatedand/ormonitored .Itislessclear,however,
whichcriterionappliestoeachspecies.Inthecurrent
draft(*),onlytheCITESlisting,whereappropriate ,
isindicated .TheSectionconsiders itappropriate to
indicateinthecaseofeachtaxonlisted,theArticle(and
paragraph )underwhichitisincludedintheAnnex.3.10.Finally,theCommission mightendeavour to
ensurethatallMemberStateswhohavenotdoneso,
shouldratifyCITES. (i)Doc.COM(91 )448final—SYN370.
DoneatBrussels,26May1992.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
MichaelGEUENICH