No C 124/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 21.5.90 
b) At the end of point 19 add: 
'A clear indication of the pieces from which the 
Done at Brussels, 28 March 1990. 
1. Introduction 
According to the Commission 
This is a proposal, under Article 43 of the Treaty, 
which provides (inter alia) for: 
a) The approximation of the Rules governing animal 
health in intra-Community trade in fresh poultry 
meat and fresh meat of domestic birds (including 
hens, turkeys, guinea fowl, ducks, geese) and reared 
game birds. 
b) The application of a number of animal health stan­
dards to fresh poultry meat and fresh meat of reared 
game birds imported into the Community in order 
to safeguard human and animal health. 
c) 'Other use' for treated fresh meat from a banned 
holding or area, provided it bears a special mark. 
d) The improvement of information on the health sta­
tus of birds, the meat of which is intended for 
movement to another Member State. meat originates must be made for cut and packaged 
game meat'. 
(This is an additional safeguard.) 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alberto MASPRONE 
e) Independent on-the-spot inspections by the Com­
mission. 
f) Measures for applying the (proposed) Regulation 
shall be taken within the prescribed procedures and 
in consultation with the Standing Veterinary Com­
mittee (SVC). 
g) The commencement of the proposed Regulation, 
with effect from 1 November 1990. 
2. The actions proposed include: 
a) The promotion of measures (shortly) for the control 
of contagious diseases in the Community, including 
Newcastle disease (2) and avian influenza. 
b) A study on the potential risk of transmitting New­
castle disease through fresh poultry meat originating 
from vaccinated poultry. 
c) Veterinary checks in intra-Community trade, with 
a view to the completing of the Internal Market. Opinion on the Commission's proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on animal health 
conditions governing intra-Community trade and imports from third countries of fresh 
poultry meat and fresh meat of reared game birds (l) 
(90/C 124/05) 
On 14 November 1989 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 Com­
mittee's work on the subject adopted its Opinion on 9 March 1990. The Rapporteur was 
Mr Murphy. 
At its 275th plenary session (meeting of 28 March 1990) the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following Opinion unanimously. 
(!) OJ No C 327, 30. 12. 1989, p. 72. (2) COM (89) 507 final. 
21. 5. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 124/13 
d) Veterinary checks on the operation of health rules 
in third countries, including spot inspections by the 
Commission. 
e) Guidelines for veterinary checks on products from 
third countries. 
f) Restricting the import of fresh meat to third 
countries free from avian influenza and Newcastle 
disease. 
g) A review of the operation of the (proposed) Regu­
lation before 31 December 1991. 
3. General comments 
a) By virtue of the Commission's explanatory memora-
dum (^ on the proposed Regulation, this cannot be 
urgent business. It is unlikely that the proposed 
'study' on which the proposals for the 'control 
measures' would be supported could be completed 
within six months. And, the 'studies' which must 
logically and necessarily precede the development 
of the 'control measures' have not been completed. 
b) Moreover, the Committee has not adopted any 
Opinion in favour of weakening Community health 
safeguards in the completing of the Internal Market. 
On the contrary, the Committee adopted Opinions 
to strengthen animal health measures as recently as 
19 December 1989, subsequent to the presentation 
of the present proposal. 
c) In these circumstances further consideration of the 
proposal should be deferred—for the present—to 
permit of informed consideration of it. This would 
not result in any real delay in the commencement 
of the proposed Regulation as it could be considered 
at the same time as the pending proposals for con­
trol measures to combat Newcastle disease. 
d) The Committee fully appreciates the Commission 
initiatives which aim to facilitate intra-Community 
trade while assuring at the same time a high and 
adequate level of safeguards and protection of pub­
lic health and animal health. 
e) Independent checks by the Commission could be an 
important safeguard, as Rules on the water content 
of frozen poultry (for example) have not been uni-
formally enforced in Member States. The Com­
mission is rightly concerned with the potential risk 
of transmitting Newcastle disease through fresh 
poultry meat originating from vaccinated poultry. 
These are significant factors in disease control. f) The Commission's proposal, dated 20 October 
1989 (2) for all practival purposes, appears to be a 
secondary or complementary measure to the (then 
pending) primary proposal for the control of con­
tagious animal diseases in the Community, (New­
castle disease and avian influenza in particular). 
Newcastle disease is a group 1 disease which affects 
poultry and feathered game. It is regarded by the 
Commission as one which poses a serious threat to 
the Community economy. It is described as a group 
1 disease in their Strategy Paper on 'Realisation of 
the free Internal Market in live animal, animal 
products and products of animal origin'. Effective 
control measures are needed to combat the threat 
of these diseases to the economy of local enterprises 
and to the Community as a whole. 
g) Article 36 of the Treaty underpins the need for 
safeguards to protect the health and life of humans 
and animals, which are not arbitrary or disguised 
restrictions on trade between Member States, as 
follows: 
'The provisions of Articles 30 to 34 shall not 
preclude prohibitions or restrictions on imports, 
exports of goods in transit justified on grounds 
of public morality, public policy or public secur­
ity, the protection of health and life of humans, 
animals or plants, the protection of national 
treasures possessing artistic, historic or archaeo­
logical value, or the protection of industrial 
and commercial property. Such prohibitions or 
restrictions shall not, however, constitute a 
means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised 
restriction on trade between Member States'. (3) 
When goods, products and animals move within the 
Internal Market, they should move as safe commodities. 
h) Adequate and safe public health and animal health 
standards within the Community and the means of 
achieving and servicing them are matters of increas­
ing public concern and awareness. In completing 
the Internal Market a two-fold aim must be accomo­
dated, namely, high and safe health standards to 
ensure that when goods (including animals and ani­
mal products) move, they move as safe commodi­
ties. There should be clear rules governing the treat­
ment, handling and disposal of unfit and/or con­
taminated meat. And the same conditions must also 
apply to imports from third countries. Moreover, 
the 'control measures' which are needed to remove 
the 'threat to the Community economy' through 
Newcastle disease have not yet been developed or 
(') Explanatory memorandum, paragraph 3, 2nd sentence, 
COM(89) 507 final. (2) COM(89) 507 final. 
(3) NB: Article 36 has been modified by Article 100A. 
No C 124/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 5. 90 
adopted. And the 'studies' which must logically and 
necessarily precede the preparation of the 'control 
measures' have not been completed. (They were 
then expressed as intended studies on 20 October 
1989 by the Commission.) 
i) The proposed Regulation when taken at face value, 
in the absence of the Commission's (future) pro­
posals on undisclosed measures for the control of 
Newcastle disease in the Community, could operate 
to weaken existing health safeguards already 
endorsed by the Committee. 
j) In the Committee's Opinion of 14 December 
1988 (J), concerning veterinary checks in intra-Com-
munity trade with a view to the completion of the 
Internal Market, it was endorsed (and must be 
repeated) inter alia, as follows: 
'The Regulations gloss over too many practical 
problems in regard to health control. In the 
absence so far of decisions on the Community 
strategy for animal health control in the Single 
European Market or on the measures necessary 
to implement this strategy, proposals for move­
ment control are premature'. 
The present proposal merits a similar comment in view 
of the presumption that an informed assessment could 
be made as to the scope and impact of the undisclosed 
measures for the control of Newcastle disease (and 
other avian diseases) within the Internal Market, as if 
they had already been adopted, as Legislation. 
k) Moreover, the proposed Regulation depends for its 
proper and effective implementation on a number 
of other proposals on which the Committee has 
given Opinions. Some of these have not yet been 
adopted (and none have been published as Legis­
lation). Accordingly, the scope and impact of pend­
ing Community Legislation, which underpins this 
proposal relates, has not yet fully emerged (2). 
(!) OJ No C 56, 6. 3. 1989, p. 20, point 1.4. 
(2) OJNoC 194,31.7. 1988. This includes Rules on animal health conditions govern­
ing intra-Community trade and imports from third 
countries of poultry and hatching eggs. 
1) This proposal should be considered in conjunction 
with the pending proposals for control measures 
for the serious avian diseases. And any pending 
proposal to replace Directive 71/118/EEC with a 
'Regulation on poultrymeat hygiene' should, if at 
all possible, be considered at the same time. 
m) There is a continuing need for rapid intervention to 
control the spread of newly significant diseases or 
emerging virulent forms of existing contagious dis­
eases of avian species. The SVC could be given 
appropriate functions in this regard. 
4. Specific comments on the proposal 
None, for the present. 
5. Conclusions 
It would be imprudent (and would be seen to be so) to 
attempt to offer any specific comments on this proposal 
for a Regulation until the impact which the unpublished 
proposals for control measures on Newcastle disease 
on it can be assessed. Moreover, the present proposal 
appears to be a consequential or supplementary meas­
ure to the pending proposal on Newcastle disease. 
Accordingly, the Committee reserves the right to pre­
pare a supplementary Opinion on this proposal when 
the pending control measures affecting avian diseases 
(Newcastle disease in particular) emerge, following the 
conclusion of studies which have been undertaken by 
the Commission. The Committee expects that full 
account will be taken of the General Comments made 
in this Opinion. 
Done at Brussels, 28 March 1990. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alberto MASPRONE