ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(79)257
Vol.1979/0100

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(79)257 final.
Brussels,21May1979
PROPOSAL FORA
COUNCILREGULATION (EEC)
onexceptional foodaidtotheRepublic
ofMaltaintheformofpigmeat
(submittedtotheCouncilbytheCommission )
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C0M(79)257final.

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
I. AID REQUESTED
On15December 1978theRepublic ofMalta submitted arequest tothe
Commission forexceptional food aidintheform of9000tonnes offrozen
pigraeat to "besupplied over atwo-year period ,including 1000tonnes 1
to "bedelivered immediately .Thereason forthis request wastheAfrican
swine fever epidemic that had "broken outinMalta leaving theMaltese
authorities noalternative huttoslaughter pigs systematically *
II.PRESENT SITUATIONS
Thestudy ofthehealth ofpigs inMalta carried outbytheMaltese
authorities inconjunction with therelevant Commission departments showed
that theonly solution was toslaughter allpigs andthen build upa
fresh stock ofhealthy animals once therequisite disinfection anddisease
eradication measures hadbeen taken .In1978 ,before theepidemic ,Malta
hadatotal ofapproximately 80000pigs .Ofthese ,J6000were slaughtered
in1978 andtheremaining 4000 "by1February 1979 *
III .MEASURES ALREADY PLANTED ByTHE COMMUNITY ;
Inview ofthegravity ofthesituation (accentuated bythefact that 10$
ofthecattle ontheisland recently hadtobeslaughtered because ofthe
outbreak offoot-and-mouth disease )andbearing inmind that thedrastic
eradication measures adopted bytheMaltese Government will also protect
Community pigherds (especially inItaly ),thedisease being highly
contagious ,theCommission hasdrawn upaproposal with aview togranting
Malta upto5000000EUAover three years (including 2500000EUAin1979 )
insupport ofthecountry 'semergency programme .This programme ,which will
cost atotal ofapproximately 10000000EUA (50$tobecovered byMalta ),
oomprises asetofstrict measures !

1.Disease eradication measures ;slaughter ofallpigs ,destruction of
allcontaminated meat anddisinfection ofpiggeries andmeat storage
premises .
2.Preventive measures :veterinary inspection ofimports ,banonthe
introduction ofanylive pigs during asix-mcnth period ,with theexception
ofbreeders onthe island ofComino .
3.Restocking measures sgradual restocking with breeders onComino ,
renovation ofpig-breeding establishments followed tythereconstitution
ofahealthy pigherd using thebreeders onComino ,andstrict health -
protection supervision throughout this period (2hto3years ).
IV.ESTIMATED FOOD AID REQUIREMENTS :
These measures ,though substantial ,will only partially alleviate themost
harmful andserious effects oftheepidemic .Thelack ofpigmeat forlocal
consumption will beaparticularly acute problem ,especially during the
period following theslaughter ofallpigs until such time asafresh herd
hasbeen built upandpigmeat isonce again fitforhuman consumption .
In1973 Malta produced 5600tonnes ofpigmeat andlocal consumption was
also 5600tonnes .Before theoutbreak oftheepidemic ,therefore ,Malta
wasself-sufficient inpigmeat ,imports andexports being minimal .Beef ,
theonly possible substitute ,isnotasatisfactory alternative asthe
cattle population hasitself been decimated bydisease andbeef production
isinadequate anyway ,even under normal circumstances .
Restocking ofpigfarms isbound tobeasomewhat lengthy process inview of
thegestation period ofthebreeders andthetime required tofatten
animals .Itwill therefore bethirteen months after restocking starts
before pigmeat will beavailable forconsumption inMalta .
Inanyevent areturn toproduction onanysignificant scale cannot be

"beexpected before August I98O .Onthebasis ofstatistics forprevious
years ,pigmeat requirements fortheentire period from 1January 1979
to1August I98O canbeestimated at8400tonnes .
V. COMMISSION PROPOSAL S
Inthelight oftheforegoing andthegravity ofthesituation ,and
bearing inmind theother measures recommended tytheCommission tohelp
theRepublic ofMalta overcome this disaster ,theCommission proposes
that Malta begranted exceptional food aidintheform of2500tonnes of
frozen pigneat ,corresponding toroughly 30$ofthecountry 'srequirements ,
tobedelivered totheport ofunloading .Asrequested tytheMaltese
authorities ,aninitial quantity of1000tonnes will besupplied assoon
aspossible andtheremaining 1500tonnes will bedelivered sometime
around mid-year .This meat will beintended forsale onthelooal market
andtheproceeds will beused ,inline with thewishes oftheMaltese
Government andinaccordance with arrangements tobeagreed with the
Commission ,forthePurPoses oftheprogramme toreconstitute thepigherd
onthe island .
CONCLUSION ;
The Commission therefore proposes that the Council :
(i)grant theRepublic ofMalta exceptional food aidintheform of
2300tonnes ofpigmeat ,tobedelivered intwoinstalments ;an
initial instalment of1000tonnes tobesupplied assoon as
possible andasecond instalment of1500tonnes tobesuppied in
mid-1 979 ?
(ii)decide tofinance refrigerated transportation oftheaidtothe
port ofunloading ;
(iii)adopt therelevant legal text

PROPOSAL FORA
COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)
onexceptional food aidtotheRepublic ofMalta
inthefbrm_of pigmeat «.«._»
THECOUNCIL OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard totheTreaty establishing theEuropean Economic Community ,
and inparticular Articles 43and 235thereof ,
Having regard totheproposal from theCommission ,
Having regard totheopinion oftheEuropean Parliament ,
Whereas theRepublic ofMalta has submitted arequest totheCommunity for
exceptional food aidintheform ofpigmeat ;
Whereas such aid isrequired tythat country particularly onaccount ofthe
swine fever epidemic that hasrecently decimated itspigherds ;
Whereas theCommunity hastaken steps toprovide financial assistance for
theprogramme toeradicate African swine fever inMalta ?
Whereas exceptional food aidintheform ofpigmeat canbeconsidered an
essential adjunct toCommunity financial assistance toMalta ;

Whereas ,inview ofthe circumstances giving rise tothegranting of
thefood aidinquestion ,this operation cannot hecarried outuntil
action has "been taken toslaughter pigs ,destroy pigmeat anddecontaminate
farms ,slaughterhouses andmeat storage premises onMaltese territory ;
Whereas thepigaeat tohesupplied bywayofaidmust "bemobilized on
theCommunity market ,asstocks areavailable within theCommunity;'
Whereas themeat inquestion must hebought andtransported ascheaply
aspossible ;whereas provision must bemade foratendering procedure
inorder toachieve that aim ;
Whereas this food aidisofanexceptional nature ;whereas theregulations on
thecommon organization ofthemarkets inthepigmeat sector donotprovide
fortendering procedures ;whereas therecipient country should therefore
make itsownarrangements ,inaccordance with theconditions tobelaid
down bytheCommission ,formobilizing andtransporting thesupplies in
question ;

Whereas implementation ofthis operation would ,appear tobeconducive
tofurthering theaims oftheCommunity ;
Whereas theTreaty does notprovide thenecessary powers ofaction for
this purpose ,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION *
Artide 1
Exceptional food aidconsisting of2500tonnes ofpigmeat ,intheform of
carcases orsemi–carcases ,without heads ,feet orflare fatandofa
quality nohigher than class IIontheCommunity scale fortheclassification
ofpigcarcases ,shall begranted totheRepublic ofMalta forconsumption
bythelocal population .
.1
Article 2
Theexceptional food aidspecified inthepreceding Article shall be
mobilized bytherecipient country ontheCommunity market inaccordance
with thetendering procedure .TheCommission shall laydown appropriate
conditions forthetendering procedure andfortheuseoftheaidtythe
recipient country .

Article 3
Thefoodaidoperation may"beimplemented assoonasthenecessary health
measures havebeentakeninMaltainrespectof:
–theslaughter ofpigs,
–thedestruction ofalltypesofpigmeatandofallpigmeat-based
productswiththeexception ofpreserves insterilized tins,
–thecleaning ,disinfection ,disinsectization andderatization offarms
andallplaceslikelytohavebeencontaminated bypigs,pigjneator
pigmeat-based products.
Article 4
Norefundshallbepayableinrespectofthegoodssupplied bywayof
foodaidunderthisRegulation .
Article 5
TheCommunity shallcoverthecostofrefrigerated transportation of
thefoodaidtotheportofunloading *

Article 6
This Regulation shall enter into fore© onthethird dayfollowxng its
publication intheOfficial Journal oftheEuropean Cossnranities *
This Regulation shall "bebinding initsentirety enddirectly applicable
inall Member Stat as»
Done at
For the Couneil
i:
The President

1.Numbersofrelevant budgetheadings ;
Title9,Chapter$2("Foodaid"),Article923*
Title6,Chapter66,Article660.
2.Titlesofbudgetheadings :
"Foodaidinotherproducts".
"Refunds bnpigmeat". --
3.Legal "basis
CouncilRegulation .
4°Description ,objective and.justification ofoperation :
Thepurposeofthisexceptional aidforMaltaintheformof2500tonnes
offrozenpigmeatistohelpthiscountryovercomethedisastrous
situation thathasarisenasaresultoftheAfricanswinefeverepidemic
currently afflicting thisisland.Asallpigshavehadtobeslaughtered ,
theproduction ofpigmeat,whichisintendedsolelyforlocalconsumption ,
willbehaltedcompleted forthewholeof1979andpartofI98O.Pigmeat
istobesuppliedtoMaltaintheformofcarcases .
5.Financial implications inEUA:
Thetotalcostoftheoperation canbeestimated at4*2million EUA
brokendownasfollows :
1.Costofthemeat:
(marketprice+freezing +deliveryfob+effeotofdualrate)t
2500t11226x1.24#1*-3826000EUA
2.Costofrefrigerated transport :
2500tx140EUA/t»350000EUA
Total 4176000EUA
■approx.4«2million EUA
I.Effectofdualexchangerate

Thisamountwill "bechargedasfollows:
.Theamountoftherefundwill "bechargedto.article660entitled Refundson
Pigmeat"
Itwillbecalculated asfollows :
2500tx150x1.248= "468000EUA
»approi.0.5million EUA
Thecostofthepigmeatattheworldpriceandthecostofrefrigerated
transportwillbechargedtoArtiole923oftheBudget(Otherproduots).
Itwillbecalculated asfollows :
2500tx1076x1.248"- 3358000EUA
2500tx140EUA/t« 350000EUA
TotalChapter92: 3708000EUA
«approx.3*7million EUA
Giventheurgencyofthematter,therelevant budgetheadings willbeprovided
bywayoftransfer,insidetheappropriations agreedbythebudgetaryauthority
for1979.
6.Control :
Controlovertheoperation willbeexercised inaccordance withtheprovisions
inforce,inparticular Article82oftheFinancial Regulation of
21December 1977applicable tothegeneralbudgetoftheEuropean Communities .
Delivery ofthepigmeatwillbesubjecttoverification bytherelevant
Commission departments soastoascertain thatallnecessary healthprecautions
havebeentakenandthatthefoodaidisusedasintended .
1.Effectofdualexchangerate.