No C 168/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 10. 7. 90 
— Third indent 
Add 'and other materials and equipment including the 
means of transport that can be disinfected'. 
Article 7 (1) 
Omit 'directly' as there are other examples of threats than 
the geographical ones implied here. 
Article 7 (3) 
— Third line 
Insert before vaccination the words 'buffer zone' to 
make for greater clarity. 
Add at the end of 7 (3): 
'All payments shall be made as quickly as possible.' 
CHAPTER 3 
Article 16 
Add two further indents: 
'— the establishment of training programmes for 
stockmen on livestock production systems which 
provide for the protection of the animal and for the 
early identification of health and welfare problems 
which may arise, — the establishment of training programmes for the 
drivers of vehicles on the measures needed to 
protect the animals and for the early identification 
of health and welfare problems which may arise.' 
These indents would be in keeping with the previously 
expressed opinions of the Section. 
Article 19 
In view of consumer concern and because of the effects 
upon the liberalization of trade, consideration should be 
given for Community participation to help national 
programmes for the eradication of bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy. 
Article 47 
— Last paragraph 
Omit 'utmost' as it implies that the Commission has a 
grading system for taking account of the opinions of the 
Standing Veterinary Committee. 
Done at Brussels, 25 April 1990. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alberto MASPRONE 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 77/93/EEC on protective 
measures against the introduction into the Member States of organisms harmful to plants or plant 
products (*) 
(90/C 168/06) 
On 6 February 1990 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under 
Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the abovementioned 
proposal. 
The Section for Agriculture and Fisheries, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's 
work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 5 April 1990. The rapporteur was Mr Rolao 
Goncalves. 
At its 276th plenary session (meeting of 25 April 1990) the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following opinion unanimously: 
1. Introduction 
1.1. The need to boost productivity and improve the 
quality of farm produce is leading farmers to purchase non-
native instead of native plant varieties and species. 
1.2. The plantules and seeds thus exported from one 
part of the world to another may (either directly or as a 
(!) OJ No C 31, 9. 2. 1990, p. 8. carrier) introduce harmful organisms not found in the 
region of destination. Such organisms may cause epi-
phytotic diseases with damaging economic and social 
consequences, and these may be aggravated by the change 
in ecological or crop-growing conditions. 
1.3. Community strategy in this area has hitherto 
focused on prevention. This takes the form of border 
checks and quarantine measures at Member States' 
frontiers, and involves harmonization of inspection 
10. 7. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 168/7 
methods and mutual recognition of plant health certifi­
cates. Directive 77/93/EEC and its subsequent (almost 20) 
amendments form the legal framework. 
1.4. The establishment of a genuine single market by the 
start of 1993 rests on the abolition of physical frontiers and 
the removal of barriers to the free movement of goods. As 
this will mean the end of frontier controls, a new strategy is 
called for, designed to: 
— retain the present arrangements, with some adjust­
ments, for imports from third countries, either by 
retaining checks at the Community's external borders 
or by systems of mutual recognition on the basis of 
bilateral agreements, 
— replace current national risk-assessment systems with 
Community-wide health standards applicable both to 
intra-Community trade and to Member States' domes­
tic trade. 
2. Principles underlying the proposal 
2.1. The proposal forms part of a package of measures 
to amend the legal framework in the light of the new plant-
health strategy. It aims to correct any undesirable effects 
which could result from misapplication of the general 
measures being adopted within the Community, i.e. the 
possibility that organisms harmful to plants could be 
transferred from one Member State to another in the course 
of trade. 
2.2. The proposal adds two essential components to 
Community legislation by: 
— establishing a system of Community financial assistance 
to help Member States receiving infested or infected 
plants and propagating material to clear up the problem 
quickly or receive compensation, 
— setting up a system requiring Member States which 
export material containing harmful organisms to refund 
the costs incurred under the financial assistance system. 
3. General comments 
3.1. The Committee recognizes that the proposal will 
help ensure that the new system does not lead to a 
deterioration in plant health within the Community 
through the introduction or propagation of new harmful agents. The Committee therefore approves the Commis­
sion proposal, subject to the comments and recommend­
ations which follow. 
3.2. The Committee considers that the legal basis of the 
proposal (Article 43 of the EEC Treaty) is unsound, and 
that it should instead be Article 100a. It is clear from both 
the explanatory memorandum and the preamble that the 
proposal is a necessary legislative move towards the 
completion of the internal market in 1992. If it were not for 
the internal market, the proposal would not be necessary, 
as it is not needed for the implementation of the common 
agricultural policy. 
3.3. The Committee also considers that in cases such as 
the present, where uniform criteria are vital to prevent 
defective interpretations in the national law of Member 
States, a Regulation would be a more appropriate 
instrument than a Directive. 
3.4. The Committee is surprised that the Commission 
has overlooked the need to compensate injured farmers. 
The proposal concentrates solely on the effect on Member 
States. The Committee urges the Commission to conduct 
an early review of this aspect of the problem, without 
prejudice to its position vis-a-vis Member States. In the 
Committee's view, farmers suffering material or financial 
losses as a result of official checks or eradication measures 
should be fully indemnified for this. 
3.5. Once the present package of measures tailored to 
the internal market has been adopted, the Committee 
strongly urges rapid publication of a consolidated version 
of Directive 77/93/EEC with all its amendments and any 
future updatings. The successive amendments, some of 
which overlap, make the legislation extremely complex at 
the moment. 
3.6. The Committee also feels it important that the 
Commission should consider granting financial and 
technical assistance (as it does in parallel areas of animal 
health in the fight against certain epizootic diseases) to 
campaigns to stamp out certain epiphytotic diseases which 
are on the increase in the Community and frequently cause 
serious damage. 
4. Specific comments 
4.1. Article 1 
— Insertion of Article 19b 
Given that there is insufficient experience to be able to 
budget accurately, the Committee is wary of the phrase 
'appropriations available for that purpose in the Com­
munity budget'. The Committee has always advocated 
No C 168/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 10. 7. 90 
budgetary rigour and always will, but it considers that in 
order to cater for exceptional or emergency situations 
which could endanger human, animal or plant health, one 
should not lay down prior budgetary restrictions. The 
Committee therefore proposes deletion of the words 'and 
within the limits of appropriations available for that 
purpose in the Community budget'. 
4.2. Article 1 
— Insertion of Article 19c 
4.2.1. Paragraph 1 
The words 'or are not endemic' or 'or have been eradicated 
or are in the process of being eradicated in the Member 
State' should be inserted in the third line, after the words 
'not known to occur'. 
4.2.2. Paragraph 2 — first indent 
The Committee feels that the reference to 'growing 
medium' should appear in the first indent rather than (as at 
present) in the second. It would also be preferable to 
expand it to read 'soil or other growing • medium'. 
'Wrapping and packaging material' should also be 
mentioned. 
In its opinion of 20 December 1989 (!), the Committee 
reserved its right to give an additional opinion after it had 
examined other draft instruments referred to in this 
proposal by the Commission. One of these instruments is 
COM(89) 492 final on health rules for products of animal 
origin. The latter contains a chapter giving detailed 
requirements for the construction of establishments and 
cold stores. These rules are designed to keep the finished 
product in a sound state bacteriologically. A number 
therefore do not apply for producing fat for further refining 
since the refining process sterilizes the fat. On the other 
(!) OJ No C 62, 12. 3. 1990, p. 25. 4.2.3. Paragraph 2 — second indent 
By the same token, the Committee considers that in the 
interests of clarity mention should be made of 'containers 
and other transportation material'. 
4.3. Article 1 
— Insertion of Article 19d (2) 
The Committee suggests that the second sentence be 
amended to read as follows: 'For the purposes of this 
provision, inadequate examinations or inspections, or 
failure to carry them out when they are required, may, in 
the absence of proof to the contrary, be taken to indicate 
presumption of negligence.' This is less stark than the 
present wording. 
Done at Brussels, 25 April 1990. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alberto MASPRONE 
hand, it is essential that the fat be kept clean bacteriologi­
cally after refining, refining being treatment by steam and/ 
or vacuum. 
This could best be achieved by adding a Chapter III, as 
follows: 
'Requirements for the preparation of melted animal fat, 
greaves and by-products for further refining for human 
consumption 
1. Centres for the collection of raw materials and further 
transport to processing establishments shall satisfy the 
general requirements: 1, 2 (a), (g) and (h), 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Opinion on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) laying down health rules for the 
production and placing on the market of melted animal fat, greaves and by-products of rendering 
for human consumption 
(90/C 168/07) 
On 27 February 1990 the Economic and Social Committee, acting under the third paragraph of 
Article 20 of its Rules of Procedure, decided to draw up an additional opinion on the 
abovementioned proposal. 
The Section for Agriculture and Fisheries, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's 
work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 5 April 1990. The rapporteur was Mr Gardner. 
At its 276th plenary session (meeting of 25 April 1990) the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted unanimously the following additional opinion: