on the exercise of the delegation conferred on the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

on the exercise of the delegation conferred on the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97

1. Introduction and legal basis

Article 22b(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council (hereinafter 'the Bovine Identification Regulation') requires the Commission to present to the European Parliament and to the Council a report on the exercise of the delegation conferred on the Commission by that Regulation. The report is to be drawn up not later than nine months before the end of the five-year period of the delegation, starting from 17 July 2014. The delegation of power is to be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period.

2. Exercise of the delegation

Article 22b(2) of the Bovine Identification Regulation applies to the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission by Articles 4(1), 4(3), 4(5), 4a(2), 5, 6(2), 7(1), 7(2), 7(6), 13(6), 14 and 15a of that Regulation.

More specifically:

(a) Article 4(1) of the Bovine Identification Regulation empowers the Commission to add the means of identification to the list set out in Annex I, whilst ensuring their operability, in order to ensure the adaptation to technical progress for means of identification. In this respect, there is currently no technological development reported regarding new means of identification of bovine animals. Therefore, further technical progress needs to be reported before proceeding with the preparation of a delegated act in relation to new means of identification of bovine animals;

(b) Article 4(3) of the Bovine Identification Regulation empowers the Commission to adopt the requirements for the means of identification set out in Annex I, and the transitional measures required for the introduction of a particular means of identification. On the basis of the predecessor to this empowerment, former Article 10(a), the Commission has adopted the requirements for the conventional ear tags by Regulation (EC) No 911/2004. Since the Bovine Identification Regulation is to be amended by Regulation (EU) 2016/429 by deleting the Articles 1 to 10, the requirements for the electronic means of identification shall be adopted by the Commission in accordance with empowerments conferred on the Commission by the Articles 118(1)(a) and 120(2)(c) of the Animal Health Law;

(c) Article 4(5) of the Bovine Identification Regulation empowers the Commission to adopt the requirements for the alternative means of identification applied to bovine animals intended for cultural and sporting events, other than fairs and exhibitions, including transitional measures required for their introduction. On the basis of the predecessor to this empowerment, former Article 4(1), the Commission has adopted such requirements by Regulation (EC) No 644/2005;

(d) Article 4a(2) of the Bovine Identification Regulation empowers the Commission to determine the special circumstances under which Member States may extend the maximum periods for the application of the means of identification. By way of Decisions 2004/764/EC and 2006/28/EC, specific requirements have been adopted for bovine animals kept in nature reserves in the Netherlands and for calves of suckler cows that are not used for milk production (before the Bovine Identification Regulation was amended by Regulation (EU) No 653/2014). At this stage, no additional circumstances have been discussed which would require the adoption of specific requirements by way of a delegated act;

(e) Articles 5 and 6(2) of the Bovine Identification Regulation empowers the Commission to lay down rules concerning the data to be exchanged between computerised databases of Member States and the information from the computerised database to be included in the animal passport, including transitional measures. Since the Bovine Identification Regulation is to be amended by Regulation (EU) 2016/4293 by deleting the Articles 1 to 10, those rules shall be adopted by the Commission in accordance with empowerments conferred on the Commission by the Articles 118(1)(b) and 118(1)(c) of the Animal Health Law;

(f) Articles 7(1) of the Bovine Identification Regulation empowers the Commission to determine the exceptional circumstances in which Member States may extend the maximum time period within which keepers of bovine animals are obliged to report to the competent authority all movements to and from the holding and all births and deaths of animals of the holding. On the basis of the predecessor to this empowerment, former Article 7(1), the Commission has adopted such requirements by way of Regulation (EC) No 911/20042;

(g) Article 7(2) of the Bovine Identification Regulation empowers the Commission to list the Member States or part of Member States where special rules for seasonal grazing shall apply, including the time period, specific obligations of the keepers, and rules on the holding registration and registration of movements of such bovine animals. Since the Commission has adopted those rules by Decision 2001/672/EC, no additional circumstances have been discussed which would require the adoption of specific requirements by way of a delegated act;

(h) Article 7(6) of the Bovine Identification Regulation empowers the Commission to lay down the rules on the information to be included in the holding register. On the basis of the predecessor to this empowerment, former Article 10(c), the Commission has adopted such requirements by Regulation (EC) No 911/20042;

(i) Article 13(6) of the Bovine Identification Regulation empowers the Commission to determine simplified origin labelling provisions for cases of very short stay of an animal in the Member State or third country of birth or of slaughter, to avoid unnecessary repetition. On the basis of the predecessor to this empowerment, former Article 19, the Commission has laid down such rules in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1825/2000;

(j) Article 14 of the Bovine Identification Regulation empowers the Commission to lay down equivalent rules to those for minced meat, for the labelling of beef trimmings and cut beef. On the basis of the predecessor to this empowerment, former Article 19, the Commission has adopted such requirements by way of Regulation (EC) No 1825/20009;

(k) Article 15a of the Bovine Identification Regulation empowers the Commission to set up definitions and requirements applicable to terms or categories of terms that may be voluntarily put on the label by operators. Since the simplification of the voluntary labelling by Regulation (EU) No 653/20147 amending the Bovine Identification Regulation, there were no circumstances indicating a need to regulate such definitions and requirements by way of a delegated act.

3. Conclusion