WRITTEN QUESTION E-3306/01

by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(28 November 2001)

Subject: Swedish law on the marking of dogs for identification

At the beginning of 2001, a new law on the marking of dogs for identification entered into force in Sweden. The question is, however, whether the provisions requiring ID-marking and registration are valid. The law gives Swedish police the right to take custody of unmarked dogs if they constitute or it is feared that they may constitute a danger to others. In October 2001, more than 58 000 dog owners took their dogs to veterinary surgeons to have them marked with identification.

However, national technical regulations prescribing methods of marking and registration must be notified to the Commission for its approval, pending which the regulations may not be applied. As the Swedish authorities and the government could not agree whether the dog marking regulations required EU approval or not, they were not notified to the Commission until early January 2001. As the Commission is working on another proposal relating to the marking of animals, the freeze on the Swedish regulations was extended to at least twelve months. That being the case, the Swedish Board of Trade considers that the regulations have no legal force. The Swedish Government, however, considers that the law on the marking of dogs should be fully applied immediately and that the entire debate is based on a misunderstanding by the Commission.

Does the Commission consider that the Swedish law on the marking of dogs has legal force at the present time, and that the Swedish courts should apply it?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(2 April 2002)

The Commission would inform the Honourable Member that the Swedish Government gave notification of a draft general administrative order on the marking and registration of dogs (notification 2001/5/S) and the rules for its implementation (notification 2001/9/S) on 11 January 2001 and 12 January 2001 respectively.

Given that the Commission has submitted to Parliament and the Council a proposal for a regulation on the animal-health requirements applicable to non-commercial movement of pet animals(1), these Swedish drafts are blocked as provided for in Article 9(4) of Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations(2).

This blocking procedure is intended to ensure that the adoption of notified draft legislation does not adversely affect the legislative process of harmonisation at Community level.

The Swedish authorities were therefore obliged to postpone the adoption of the two notified drafts until 11 January 2002 and 14 January 2002 respectively. Given that the Community's activities had not been completed by these dates, the standstill obligations lapse and the Swedish authorities are thus able to finalise at national level the legislation whose adoption had been postponed, and move on to adopting the technical regulation.

The Commission therefore considers that the Swedish Government could not adopt the drafts in question before these dates without infringing its obligations under Community law, particularly the procedure laid down in Directive 98/34/EC.

(1) OJ C 29 E, 30.1.2001.

(2) OJ L 204, 21.7.1998.