Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on:

- the 'Proposal for a Council Directive laying down the principles governing the organization of veterinary checks on products entering the Community from third countries`, and - the 'Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directives 71/118/EEC, 72/462/EEC, 85/73/EEC, 91/67/EEC, 91/492/EEC, 91/493/EEC, 92/45/EEC and 92/118/EEC as regards the organization of veterinary checks on products entering the Community from third countries` () (97/C 66/12)

On 14 June 1996, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Articles 43 and 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposals.

The Section for Agriculture and Fisheries which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 5 November 1996. The rapporteur was Mr Scully.

At its 340th Plenary Session (meeting of 27 November 1996), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 107 votes to one with six abstentions.

1. The Committee notes that the Commission proposal lays down the principles of EU policy in respect of veterinary checks on products of animal origin entering the Community from third countries and, in particular, that:

- consignments from third countries cannot enter the Community without having undergone the required veterinary checks;

- consignments are subject to veterinary checks by staff of the competent authority, acting under the responsibility of the official veterinarian, to ensure compliance with the relevant human and animal health requirements;

- veterinary checks must be conducted at approved border inspection posts in the immediate vicinity of the point of entry into the Community;

- consignments must be accompanied by a veterinary certificate or veterinary document or other document depending on the product in question, its destination, etc.

- products which have been shown to satisfy the Community rules by virtue of the checks may circulate freely within the EU.

2. Whilst welcoming the Commission proposal, the Committee feels that, without explicitly referring to customs rules, the directives should clarify responsibility and the relationship between the respective activities of the customs and veterinary authorities. It should require cooperation between the two authorities rather than, as at present, assigning exclusive responsibility for the supervision of free zones, free warehouses or customs warehouses to the customs authorities.

3. The Committee is of the opinion that:

- the identity check should not be conducted separately but should form part of the physical check;

- rules should be introduced to ensure that products arriving at the Community border which do not have the Community as their final destination leave the EU after transit;

- locating border inspection posts in 'an area which is designated or approved by the customs authorities` could give rise to major operational problems and additional costs for the Member States if this new provision makes it necessary to relocate existing operational facilities, given the considerable adaptation which these have already undergone and which has been acknowledged by the Community organs;

- information on the veterinary safety of consignments from third countries should not be communicated via the ANIMO network since this is exclusively concerned with intra-Community trade. Provision has for some time been made for a corresponding EU system, SHIFT, in respect of imports from third-countries.

4. The Committee agrees that the texts should be clarified and their presentation improved; it would repeat its call for rapid consolidation of the existing rules to make the texts clearer and more comprehensible to users.

Brussels, 27 November 1996.

The President of the Economic and Social Committee

Tom JENKINS

() OJ No C 245, 23. 8. 1996, p. 24.