WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1388/97 by Daniel FÉRET to the Commission. Implementation of BSE eradication measures
Date: 1997-04-10
Institutions: European Parliament, FERET
Subjects: EU aid, United Kingdom, animal disease, beef, cattle, export refund, infectious disease, public health, use of aid













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91997E1388

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1388/97 by Daniel FÉRET to the Commission. Implementation of BSE eradication measures  


Official Journal C 373 , 09/12/1997 P. 0116 





WRITTEN QUESTION P-1388/97 by Daniel Féret (NI) to the Commission (10 April 1997)Subject: Implementation of BSE eradication measuresLetter of amendment No 1 increased the amount entered against heading B1-210 in the 1997 budget by ECU 700 million in order to help the UK implement measures to eradicate BSE.Will the Commission state how that expenditure has been committed and what sums have so far been paid to the UK from the EU budget in support of action to combat BSE?Will it also detail how those monies have been used by the UK authorities? Are UK measures financed under the above budget heading sufficiently in keeping with the purpose of the appropriations allocated to the UK?Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (6 May 1997)Budget heading B1-210 does not relate to measures to eradicate bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) but to export refunds on beef and veal. No increase in the budget heading was made in letter of amendment No 1/1997.In that letter of amendment, the Commission proposed an increase of ECU 1.402 million in Chapter B1-21 (beef/veal) to take account of the costs of the emergency measures covering beef and veal proposed in July 1996 (ECU 1.381 million) and those resulting from the prices fixed for 1996/97 (ECU 21 million).As regards the financing of measures to eradicate BSE in the United Kingdom, the Community contribution from the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund is limited to 70% of amounts paid as compensation for the market value of animals slaughtered under the slaughter programmes decided by the Council in April 1996 and implemented by the United Kingdom.The following expenditure was either incurred in 1996 or 1997 or is provided for in the 1997 budget:>TABLE>The United Kingdom's practical difficulties in setting up the programme for the destruction of carcases of animals over 30 months old slaughtered under the measures adopted following the outbreak of the BSE crisis have brought about delays in its implementation, and the selective slaughter programme is also behind schedule. As a result, some appropriations for the 1996 financial year have been carried over to 1997.The aim of these measures is to prevent any risk of humans coming into contact with the BSE agent by withdrawing from the food chain carcases of slaughtered animals over 30 months old and reducing the number of future cases of BSE by slaughtering animals which may have been fed contaminated feed (selective slaughter). Inspections have been conducted in the United Kingdom to monitor the proper application of these measures. Problems were identified in the case of the slaughter programme for animals over 30 months old as mentioned above. Most of these have been solved satisfactorily. Selective slaughter has just started and it is still too early to make any statement on its implementation.