WRITTEN QUESTION E-1943/00

by Avril Doyle (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(16 June 2000)

Subject: Eradication of tuberculosis in bovine animals

Denmark, Germany, the provinces of Bolzano and Trento in Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland and Sweden have all successfully eradicated tuberculosis (see answer to Written Question E-1068/00(1)). Ireland continues to have problems, despite its ERAD scheme and an investment of over720 million over approximately forty years.

Would the Commission give its views as to why countries have differing rates of success in eradicating the disease and suggest what more could be done in Ireland to increase its rate of success?

(1) OJ C 374 E, 28.12.2000, p. 206.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(15 September 2000)

Member States or regions thereof which have eradicated bovine tuberculosis and continue maintaining their officially free status have been applying the instruments provided in Directive 64/432/EEC of 26 June 1964, on animal health problems affecting intra-Community trade in bovine animals and swine(1), supplemented by national measures to control the conditions for production and placing on the national market of live bovine animals.

Since the adoption of Council Directive 77/391/EEC of 17 May 1977 introducing Community measures for the eradication of brucellosis, tuberculosis and leucosis in cattle(2) and establishing a programme for the accelerated eradication of bovine tuberculosis, the Community provides significant financial contributions to the national eradication schemes.

For the control and eradication of bovine tuberculosis, Ireland has at its disposal the same instruments as other Member States. To this end Ireland submits each year a disease eradication programme. However, the programmes carried out in Ireland received Commission approval for financial contribution only in 1991, 1994 and 1995. The disease evolution in Ireland since 1995 indicates that such programmes have not yielded the expected success. It appears from expert evaluations that the presence of the disease in wildlife, notably badgers, the fragmented structure of animal husbandry and the frequency of movements in cattle are the most important factors in the persistence of the disease.

For the year 2000 Ireland presented a further programme which was approved by Commission Decision 2000/5/EC of 30 November 1999 approving the programmes for the eradication and monitoring of animal diseases presented for the year 2000 by the Member States(3) for Community financial contribution.

Within the framework of the white paper on food safety(4), the Commission established a task force to monitor and to reinforce the eradication of certain animal diseases, in particular those of real or potential zoonotic nature. The subgroup on bovine tuberculosis of that task force, which consists of experts from both affected and officially free Member States, analyses and evaluates the disease situation in and the control measures applied by affected Member States. The expert group may recommend disease eradication measures exceeding those laid down in Directive 64/432/EEC. The second meeting of this subgroup took place in Dublin in June 2000. The recommendations of that subgroup were discussed with the Member States during a meeting of the task force in July 2000 in Brussels. At this meeting the Member States agreed to the Commission proposal to give priority to the eradication of bovine tuberculosis and to continue to provide assistance to the national programmes.

(1) OJ B 121 of 29.7.1964.

(2) OJ L 145, 13.6.1977.

(3) OJ L 3, 6.1.2000.

(4) COM(1999) 719 final.