Amended proposal for a European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products (1) (97/C 100/09) COM(97) 103 final - 96/0228(COD) and 96/0229(COD)

(Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 189a (2) of the EC Treaty on 7 March 1997)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 100A thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 189b of the Treaty,

Whereas recent events in the beef sector have heightened public concerns about health issues in this sector; whereas these concerns might lead to unilateral actions giving rise to problems related to the functioning of the single market; whereas in order to avoid such problems and to restore consumer confidence in beef and beef products it is essential, on the one hand, to establish a more efficient system on the identification and registration of bovine animals and to set up, on the other hand, a specific Community labelling system in the beef sector based on objective criteria;

Whereas Article 3 (1) (c) of Council Directive 90/425/EEC of 26 June 1990 concerning veterinary and zootechnical checks applicable in intra-Community trade in certain live animals and products with a view to the completion of the internal market (2), states that animals for intra-Community trade must be identified in accordance with the requirements of Community rules and be registered in such a way that the original or transit holding, centre or organization can be traced, and that before 1 January 1993 these identification and registration systems are to be extended to the movements of animals within the territory of each Member State;

Whereas Article 14 of Council Directive 91/496/EEC of 15 July 1991 laying down the principles governing the organization of veterinary checks on animals entering the Community from third countries and amending Directives 89/662/EEC, 90/425/EEC and 90/675/EEC (3), states that the identification and registration as provided for in Article 3 (1) (c) of Directive 90/425/EEC of such animals must, except in the case of animals for slaughter and registered equines, be carried out after the said checks have been made;

Whereas the management of certain Community aid schemes in the field of agriculture requires the individual identification of certain types of livestock; whereas the identification and registration systems must, therefore, be suitable for the application and control of such measures;

Whereas it is necessary to ensure the rapid and efficient exchange of information between Member States for the correct application of this Directive; whereas Community provisions have been established by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1468/81 of 19 May 1981 on mutual assistance between the administrative authorities of the Member States and the cooperation between the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application of the law on customs or agriculture matters (4) and by Council Directive 89/608/EEC of 21 November 1989 on mutual assistance between the administrative authorities of the Member States and cooperation between the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application of legislation on veterinary and zootechnical matters (5);

Whereas the current rules concerning the identification and the registration of bovine animals have been laid down in Council Directive 92/102/EEC of 27 November 1992 on the identification and registration of animals (6); whereas experience has shown that the implementation of this Directive for bovine animals has not been satisfactory and needs improvement; whereas it is therefore necessary to adopt a regulation for bovine animals in order to reinforce the provisions of the Directive;

Whereas for the acceptability of an improved identification system to be introduced it is essential not to impose excessive demands on the producer in terms of bureaucracy; whereas, similarly, care must be taken that the cost per animal remains low;

Whereas for the purpose of rapid and accurate tracing of animals for health reasons and the control of Community aid schemes each Member State should create a computerized data base which shall record the identity of the animal, all holdings on their territory and the movements of the animals;

Whereas steps must be taken to ensure that the technical conditions exist to guarantee perfect communication by the producer with the data base and a comprehensive use of data bases; whereas there must also be guarantees that when data are notified to the data base the probability of error does not exceed a certain level; whereas the introduction of data bases is meaningful under these conditions;

Whereas in order to permit movements of bovine animals to be traced animals must be identified by an eartag applied in each ear and accompanied by a passport throughout any movement; whereas the form and content of the mark and the requirements of the passport must be determined on a Community basis; whereas a passport must be issued for each animal to which an eartag has been allocated;

Whereas in the case of animals in which the eartag has become illegible or been lost a new mark must be applied; whereas a replacement tag shall bear the same code as the original eartag;

Whereas the Commission is examining on the basis of work performed by the JRC the feasibility of using electronic means for the identification of animals;

Whereas the keeper of animals must maintain an up-to-date register of the animals on their holdings; whereas the requirements of the register must be determined on a Community basis; whereas persons involved in the commerce of animals must keep records of their dealings; whereas the competent authority must have access to these records on request;

Whereas the improved system must not affect specific requirements contained in Commission Decision 89/153/EEC of 13 February 1989 concerning the correlation of samples taken for residue examination with animals and their farms of origin (7), or any relevant application rules established in accordance with Directive 91/496/EEC;

Whereas it is necessary to amend Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 of 27 November 1992 establishing an integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes (8);

Whereas in the context of the labelling system set up by this Regulation beef shall be taken to mean certain products referred to in Article 1 (1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 of 27 June 1968 on the common organization of the market in beef and veal (9);

Whereas such a labelling system transitionally should be facultative to operators and organizations marketing beef in the sense that operators and organizations wishing to label their beef shall do so in accordance with this Regulation; whereas at a later stage, the system should become compulsory; whereas in the meantime Member States should have the opportunity to have the option to make the system obligatory under certain circumstances;

Whereas the provisions of this Regulation should not undermine existing Community legislation in the fields of labelling and control of foodstuffs, protection of geographical indications and designations of origin, measures to promote and market quality beef and veal and rules governing health problems affecting intra-Community trade in meat and meat products;

Whereas an efficient labelling system depends on the possibility to trace back any labelled beef to the animal or animals of origin; whereas during the initial period the labelling arrangements of an operator or organization shall only be accepted once a specification has been submitted to and approved by the competent authority;

Whereas in order to properly identify the person responsible for the information indicated on the label, operators and organizations shall only be entitled to label beef provided that the label contains its name and logo; whereas it shall be specified what kind of information the label may contain;

Whereas operators and organizations importing beef from third countries into the Community may also wish to label their products according to this Regulation; whereas provisions should thus be made for imported beef to be included in the labelling system; whereas these provisions must ensure that labelling arrangements relating to imported beef be of equivalent reliability as those set up for Community beef;

Whereas with a view to guaranteeing the reliability of the labelling arrangements in place, it is necessary to oblige the Member States to carry out adequate and efficient control measures; whereas these controls shall be without prejudice to any controls which the Commission may carry out by analogy with Article 9 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Communities financial interests (10); whereas the competent authorities of the Member States shall be authorized to withdraw their approval of any specification in the event of irregularities,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Title I Identification and registration of bovine animals

Article 1

1. Each Member State shall establish a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals (hereinafter referred to as 'animals`), as defined in Article 2 of Council Directive 64/432/EEC of 26 June 1964 on animal health problems affecting intra-Community trade in bovine animals and swine (11), in accordance with the provisions of this Title.

2. The provisions of this Title shall apply without prejudice to any Community rules which may be established for disease eradication or control purposes and without prejudice to Directive 91/496/EEC and Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92. However, the provisions of Directive 92/102/EEC shall no longer apply, in so far as they relate specifically to bovine animals.

Article 2

For the purpose of this Title:

- holding shall mean any establishment, construction or any place in which animals covered by this Title are held, kept or handled, situated within the territory of the same Member State,

- keeper shall mean any natural or legal person responsible for animals, whether on a permanent or on a temporary basis, including during transportation or at a market,

- competent authority shall mean the authority in a Member State responsible for carrying out veterinary checks for implementing this Title or for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92.

Article 3

The system for the identification and registration of bovine animals shall comprise the following elements:

A. eartags to identify animals individually;

B. computerized databases;

C. animal passports;

D. individual registers kept on each holding.

The Commission and the competent authority of the Member State concerned shall have access to all information provided under this Title. They shall take the measures necessary to ensure appropriate accessibility to this data for all parties concerned, in particular to consumer organizations having a particular interest recognized by the Member State, as well as the protection of its confidentiality.

Article 4

1. All animals on a holding shall be identified by an eartag applied in each ear approved by the competent authority. The eartags shall bear the same unique identification code. The first two positions shall identify the Member State of the holding where the animal is first identified in accordance with the alpha-2 country code set down in Decision 93/317/EEC, followed by a numeric code which shall not exceed 12 characters, and which makes it possible to identify each animal individually together with the holding on which it was born.

2. The eartag shall be applied within 14 days following the birth of the animal and in any case before the animal leaves the holding on which it was born.

No animal may be moved from a holding unless it is identified in accordance with this Article.

3. Any animal imported from a third country which has passed the checks laid down by Directive 91/496/EEC and which remains within Community territory shall be identified on the holding of destination by an eartag complying with the provisions of this Article, within 14 days of undergoing the aforesaid checks, and, in any event, before leaving the holding. However, it is not necessary to identify the animal if the holding of destination is a slaughterhouse situated in the Member State where such checks are carried out and the animal is actually slaughtered within that 14-day period.

The original identification established by the third country shall be recorded in the computerized database provided for in Article 5 together with the identification code allocated to it by the Member State of destination.

4. Any animal from another Member State shall retain its original eartag.

5. No eartag may be removed or replaced without the permission of the competent authority. Where an eartag has become illegible or has been lost, a replacement tag bearing the same code shall be applied in accordance with this Article.

6. The eartags are allocated to the holding, distributed and applied to the animals in a manner determined by the competent authority.

7. Eartags which do not comply with the requirements as laid down in this Article, shall be replaced on 31 December 1999 at the latest.

8. Not later than 31 December 2000, the Commission shall decide, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 9, on the possibility of introducing electronic identification arrangements in the light of progress achieved in this field.

Article 5

The competent authority shall create a computerized database, which shall record at least:

I. For each animal:

1. the identification code;

2. the date of birth;

3. the sex;

4. the breed;

5. the identification code of its mother;

6. the holding number of birth;

7. identification numbers of all holdings where the animal has been kept;

8. dates of movements;

9. date of death or slaughter.

II. For each holding:

1. the identification number consisting of a code not exceeding 12 characters,

2. the name and address of the keeper.

III. The database shall have the following information available, at any time:

1. a list of all animals present on a holding at any time;

2. a list of all the movements of each animal commencing from the holding of birth.

The information shall be kept in the database until three consecutive years have elapsed after the death of the animal.

The database shall be fully operational and contain all relevant data on 31 December 1999 at the latest.

Article 6

1. The competent authority shall issue a passport for each animal to which an eartag has been allocated within seven days following the notification of its birth, or, in the case of animals imported from third countries, of the notification of its identification by the Member State concerned, as provided for under Article 4 (3). The competent authority may issue a passport to animals from another Member State under the same conditions. In such cases, the passport accompanying the animal on its arrival shall be surrendered to the competent authority which shall return it to the issuing Member State.

2. Whenever an animal is moved it shall be accompanied by its passport.

3. In the case of the death of an animal, the passport shall be returned by the keeper to the competent authority within three working days after the death of the animal. If the animal is sent to a slaughterhouse, the operator of the slaughterhouse shall be responsible for returning the passport to the competent authority.

4. In the case of animals exported to third countries the passport shall be surrendered by the last keeper to the competent authority at the place where the animal is exported.

Article 7

1. Each keeper of animals shall:

- keep an up-to-date register,

- report to the competent authority all movements to and from the holding and all births and deaths of animals on the holding, along with the dates of these events within three working days of the event occurring,

- complete the passport immediately on arrival and prior to departure of each animal from the holding and ensure that the passport accompanies the animal.

2. Each keeper shall supply the competent authority, upon request, with all information concerning the origin, identification and, where appropriate, the destination of animals which he has owned, kept, transported, marketed or slaughtered.

3. The register shall be in a format approved by the competent authority and be available on the holding and to the competent authority, upon request, for a minimum period to be determined by the competent authority but which may not be less than three years.

Article 8

Member States shall designate the competent authority responsible for ensuring compliance with this Title. They shall inform each other and the Commission of the identity of this authority.

Article 9

The Commission shall adopt detailed rules for the application of this Title in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70. These detailed rules shall cover in particular:

I. requirements for eartags;

II. requirements for the passport;

III. requirements for the register;

IV. minimum level of controls to be carried out;

V. application of penalties;

VI. transitional provisions for the start-up period of the system.

Article 10

Article 5 of Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 is completed by the following text:

'. . . and Regulation (EC) No . . .`.

Title II Labelling of beef and beef products

Article 11

1. A compulsory beef labelling system is put into place in the European Community.

2. Any label put on beef shall contain the information provided for in each of the following indents:

- region, third country or holding of birth,

- region, third country or holding where part or all of the fattening took place; the partial fattening having to be specified,

- region, third country or slaughterhouse where slaughter took place,

- identification number and the sex of the animal,

- method of fattening or other information in relation to feeding,

- information on the slaughtering, like the age at slaughter and the date of slaughter or the period during which the beef was matured.

In any event, the identification of the slaughterhouse and the date of slaughter must be indicated. In addition, every label must contain a reference number ensuring the link provided for in Article 15 (2), second sentence. This number may be the identification number of the animal concerned.

3. The compulsory beef labelling system shall be obligatory in all Member States after 31 December 1999 onwards.

4. Member States shall transmit to the Commission, by 1 May 1999, reports on the implementation of the labelling system for beef. The Commission shall transmit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the situation of the implementation of beef labelling systems in the different Member States.

5. Before 31 December 1999, the Commission shall adopt detailed rules for the application of a compulsory beef labelling system for the whole of the Community from this date, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27 of Regulation (EEC) No 805/68. These rules shall in particular cover the list of products concerned by the obligatory labelling as well as the conditions under which operators or organizations may decide to put other information on labels.

6. In accordance with the procedure of paragraph 5, the Commission shall adopt, before 31 December 1999, detailed rules for the application of obligatory labelling of beef imported from third countries, in accordance with the international obligations of the Community.

Article 12

1. Until 31 December 1999, Member States, where a sufficiently developed identification and registration system exists for bovine animals, may impose a compulsory labelling system for beef from animals born, fattened and slaughtered on their territory. This obligation must at least relate to the information provided for in each of the first three indents of Article 11 (2), as well as in the second subparagraph.

2. A compulsory system, as provided in paragraph 1, may not lead to any disruption of trade between the Member States.

3. The implementation arrangements applicable in the Member States, intending to apply the provisions of paragraph 1, shall require prior approval from the Commission.

Article 13

1. Articles 13 to 18 are applicable until 31 December 1999.

2. If an operator or an organization, as defined in Article 14, wishes to label beef in such a way as to provide information concerning the origin, certain characteristics or production conditions of the labelled meat or of the animal from which it derives, at the point of sale, it shall do so in accordance with this Title.

However, the present Title shall not concern:

- compulsory indications as referred to in Article 3 (1) of Council Directive 79/112/EEC with the exception of point 7,

- the indications that are protected in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 or (EEC) No 2082/92,

- the indications as referred to in Regulations (EEC) No 1208/81 and (EEC) No 1186/90,

- indications related to the health mark as foreseen in Directive 64/433/EEC and other similar indications provided for in the relevant veterinary legislation,

- labels containing only information which can be easily checked at the point of sale, such as, in particular, the indications of product weight or the name of the cut.

3. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the following shall continue to apply:

- Council Regulation No 26 of 4 April 1962 applying certain rules of competition to production of and trade in agricultural products (12),

- Council Directive 64/433/EEC of 26 June 1964 on health conditions for the production and marketing of fresh meat (13),

- Council Directive 79/112/EEC of 18 December 1978 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs for sale to the ultimate consumer (14),

- Council Directive 93/99/EEC of 29 October 1993 on additional measures concerning the official control of foodstuffs (15),

- Council Directive 94/65/EC of 14 December 1994 laying down the requirements for the production and placing on the market of minced meat and meat preparations (16),

- Council Regulation (EEC) No 1208/81 of 28 April 1981 on carcase classification (17),

- Council Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90 of 7 May 1990 on carcase classification (18),

- Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 of 14 July 1992 on protection of geographical indications and designations of origin (19),

- Council Regulation (EEC) No 2082/92 of 14 July 1992 on certificates of specific character for agricultural products and foodstuffs (20),

- Council Regulation (EEC) No 2067/92 of 30 June 1992 on the measures to promote and market quality beef and veal (21),

Article 14

For the purposes of this Title:

- beef means the products of CN codes 0201, 0202, 0206 10 95 and 0206 29 91,

- labelling means the attachment of a label to an individual piece or pieces of meat or to their packaging material, including the supply of information to the consumer at the point of sale,

- organization means a group of operators from the same or different parts of the beef trade.

Article 15

1. Each operator or organization shall submit a specification for approval to the competent authority of each Member State in which production or sale of the beef in question takes place. Such specification shall indicate:

- the information to be included on the label,

- the measures to be taken to ensure the accuracy of this information,

- the control system which will be applied at all stages of production and sale, including controls to be carried out by an independent body recognized by the competent authority, and to be nominated by the operator or the organization. These bodies shall comply with the criteria set out in European norm No EN/45011 not later than 1 July 1998,

- in the case of an organization, the measures which would be taken in relation to any member which failed to comply with the specification.

Member States may decide that the controls of the independent body can be replaced by controls of a competent authority.

The competent authority shall have at its disposal the qualified staff and resources necessary to carry out the necessary controls, and shall submit to the Commission its working plan as well as an activity report.

The costs of controls provided for under this Title shall be borne by the operator or organization using the labelling system.

2. The approval of any specification shall be subject to the assurance of the competent authority, obtained on the basis of a thorough examination of its components as referred to in paragraph 1, of the proper and reliable functioning of the labelling system envisaged and, in particular, of its control system. A competent authority shall refuse any specification which does not ensure a link between, on the one hand, the identification of the carcase, quarter, pieces of meat and, on the other hand, the individual animal, or where this is sufficient to enable the accuracy of the information on the label to be checked, the animals concerned.

Specifications which provide for labels containing misleading or insufficiently clear information shall also be refused.

3. Where the production and/or sale of beef takes place in two or more Member States, the competent authorities of the Member States concerned shall examine and approve the specifications submitted in so far as the elements contained therein relate to operations taking place within their respective territory. In this event, every Member State concerned shall recognize the approvals granted by any other Member State concerned.

If, within a period to be fixed in conformity with Article 19 counting from the date following the date of submission of the application, an approval has not been refused or given, or supplementary information has not been asked for, the specification shall be considered to be approved by the competent authority.

4. Where the competent authorities of all the Member States concerned approve the specification submitted, the operator or organization concerned shall be entitled to label beef, provided that the label contains its name or logo.

5. By way of derogation to the preceding paragraphs, the Commission, following the procedure referred to in Article 19, may provide for an accelerated or simplified procedure for approval in specific cases, in particular for beef in small retail packages or primary beef cuts in individual packages, labelled in a Member State, according to an approved specification and introduced into the territory of another Member State, where no information is added to the initial label.

6. Any entitlement shall apply without prejudice to Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 and to Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 2082/92.

Article 16

1. Where, in full or in part, the production of beef takes place in a third country, operators and organizations shall only be entitled to label beef according to this Title, if, in addition to the observance of the requirements set out in Article 15, they have obtained approval of their specifications by the competent authority designated to this end by each of the third countries concerned.

2. The validity within the Community of any approval granted by a third country shall be subject to prior notification by the third country to the Commission:

- of the competent authority which is designated,

- of the procedures and criteria to be followed by the competent authority when examining the specification,

- of each operator and organization to which the competent authority has granted approval of their specification.

The Commission shall transmit these notifications to the Member States.

Where, on the basis of the above notifications, the Commission arrives at the conclusion that the procedures and/or criteria applied in a third country are not equivalent to the standards set out in this Title, the Commission shall, after consultation with the third country concerned, decide that approvals granted by the third country concerned shall not be valid within the Community.

Article 17

1. A label shall not contain any information relating to the animal from which the beef originates other than that which appears in the following list:

- region, third country or holding of birth,

- region, third country or holding where part or all of the fattening took place; the partial fattening having to be specified,

- region, third country or slaughterhouse where slaughter took place,

- identification number and the sex of the animal,

- method of fattening or other information in relation to feeding,

- information on the slaughtering, like the age at slaughter and the date of slaughter or the period during which the beef was matured,

- any other information the operator or the organization wished to indicate and agreed by the competent authority concerned.

2. Where beef from different animals is mixed, the label shall contain only information which is common to all such beef.

3. Every label must contain a reference number ensuring the link provided for in Article 15 (2), second sentence. This number may be the identification number of the animal concerned.

Article 18

Without prejudice to any action taken by the organization itself or the control body provided for in Article 15, where it is shown that an operator or organization has failed to comply with the specification referred to in Article 15 (1), the Member State may impose penalties in proportion to the gravity of the breach, or withdraw its approval pursuant to Article 15 (2) or impose supplementary conditions to be respected in the case of maintenance of its approval.

Article 19

The Commission shall adopt detailed rules for the application of this Title and, where necessary, transitional measures in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 27 of Regulation (EEC) No 805/68. The detailed rules may cover, in particular, the information which may be contained on labels pursuant to Article 17. They may also extend the list of indications or labels referred to in Article 13 (1), second subparagraph.

Title III Common provisions

Article 20

Member States shall take all the necessary administrative and control measures to ensure compliance with the provisions of this Regulation. These measures shall be without prejudice to any controls which the Commission may carry out by analogy with Article 9 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95.

Any penalties imposed by the Member State shall be proportionate to the gravity of the breach. The penalties may involve, where justified, a restriction on movement of the animals to or from the keeper concerned.

Article 21

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

It shall be applicable as from the first day of the fourth month following the date of entry into force.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

(1) OJ No C 349, 20. 11. 1996, p. 10.

(2) OJ No L 224, 18. 8. 1990, p. 29. Directive as last amended by Directive 92/118/EEC (OJ No L 62, 15. 3. 1992, p. 49).

(3) OJ No L 268, 24. 9. 1991, p. 56. Directive as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden.

(4) OJ No L 144, 2. 6. 1981, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 945/87 (OJ No L 90, 2. 4. 1987, p. 3).

(5) OJ No L 351, 2. 12. 1989, p. 34.

(6) OJ No L 355, 5. 12. 1992, p. 32.

(7) OJ No L 59, 2. 3. 1989, p. 33.

(8) OJ No L 355, 5. 12. 1992, p. 1.

(9) OJ No L 148, 28. 6. 1968, p. 24.

(10) OJ No L 312, 23. 12. 1995, p. 1.

(11) OJ No 121, 29. 7. 1964, p. 1977/64.

(12) OJ No 30, 20. 4. 1962, p. 993/62. Regulation as last amended by Regulation No 49 (OJ No 53, 1. 7. 1962, p. 1571/62).

(13) OJ No 121, 29. 7. 1964, p. 2012/64.

(14) OJ No L 33, 8. 2. 1979, p. 1.

(15) OJ No L 290, 24. 11. 1993, p. 14.

(16) OJ No L 368, 31. 12. 1994, p. 10.

(17) OJ No L 123, 7. 5. 1981, p. 3.

(18) OJ No L 119, 11. 5. 1990, p. 32.

(19) OJ No L 208, 24. 7. 1992, p. 1.

(20) OJ No L 208, 24. 7. 1992, p. 9.

(21) OJ No L 215, 30. 7. 1992, p. 57.