Council Directive 97/79/EC of 18 December 1997 amending Directives 71/118/EEC, 72/462/EEC, 85/73/EEC, 91/67/EEC, 91/492/EEC, 91/493/EEC, 92/45/EEC and 92/118/EEC as regards the organisation of veterinary checks on products entering the Community from third countries
Date: 1997-12-18
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: animal product, aquaculture, fishery product, import policy, live animal, veterinary inspection

30.1.98

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

L 24/31

COUNCIL  DIRECTIVE  97/79/EC

of  18  December  1997

amending  Directives  71/118/EEC,  72/462/EEC,  85/73/EEC,  91/67/EEC,
91/492/EEC,  91/493/EEC,  92/45/EEC  and  92/118/EEC  as  regards  the
organisation  of  veterinary  checks  on  products  entering  the  Community  from  third  countries

THE  COUNCIL  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  UNION,

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European
Community,  and  in  particular  Article  43  thereof,

Having  regard  to  the  proposal  from  the  Commission (1),

Having  regard 
Parliament (2),

to 

the  opinion  of 

the  European

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (3),

Whereas  for  the  sake  of  clarity  and  rationality,  Council
Directive  90/675/EEC, 
the  principles
governing  the  organisation  of  veterinary  checks  on
products 
third
countries (4),  has  been  repealed  and  replaced  by  Directive
97/78/EC (5);

the  Community 

laying  down 

entering 

from 

Whereas  the  replacement  of  Directive  90/675/EEC  by
Directive  97/78/EC  has  consequences  for  the  existing
texts  of  the  following  Council  Directives:

— Directive  71/118/EEC  of  15  February  1971  on  health
problems  affecting  the  production  and  placing  on  the
market  of  fresh  poultrymeat (6),

— Directive 72/462/EEC of 12 December 1972 on health
and  veterinary  inspection  problems  upon  importation
of  bovine,  ovine,  caprine  animals  and  swine,  fresh
meat  or  meat  products  from  third  countries (7),

— Directive  85/73/EEC  of  29  January  1985  on  the
inspections  and  controls

financing  of  veterinary 

(1) OJ  C  258,  23.8.1997,  p.  7.
(2) OJ  C  85,  17.3.1997,  p.  76.
(3) OJ  C  66,  3.3.1997,  p.  43.
(4) OJ  L  373,  31.12.1990,  p.  1.  Directive  as  last  amended  by

Directive  96/43/EC  (OJ  L  162,  1.7.1996,  p.  1).

(5) See  page  9  of  this  Official  Journal.
(6) OJ  L  55,  8.3.1971,  p.  23.  Directive  as  last  amended  by

covered  by  Directives  89/662/EEC,  90/425/EEC,
90/675/EEC 
and
consolidated) (8),

91/496/EEC 

(amended 

and 

— Directive  91/67/EEC  of  28  January  1991  concerning
the animal health conditions governing the placing on
the  market  of  aquaculture  animals  and  products (9),

— Directive  91/492/EEC  of  15  July  1991  laying  down
the  health  conditions  for  the  production  and  the
placing  on  the  market  of  live  bivalve  molluscs (10),

— Directive  91/493/EEC  of  22  July  1991  laying  down
the  health  conditions  for  the  production  and  the
placing  on  the  market  of  fishery  products (11),

— Directive  92/45/EEC  of  16  June  1992  on  public
health  and  animal  health  problems  relating  to  the
killing of wild game and the placing on the market of
wild-game meat (12),

— Directive  92/118/EEC  of  17  December  1992  laying
down  animal  health  and  public  health  requirements
governing  trade  in  and  imports  into  the  Community
of  products  not  subject  to  the  said  requirements  laid
down  in  specific  Community  rules  referred  to  in
Annex  A(I)  to  Directive  89/662/EEC  and,  as  regards
pathogens,  to  Directive  90/425/EEC (13);

Whereas  for  that  reason,  those  Directives  should  be
brought  into  line  with  the  text  of  Directive  97/78/EC,

(8) OJ  L  32,  5.2.1985,  p.  14.  Directive  as  last  amended  by

Directive  96/43/EC  (OJ  L  162,  1.7.1996,  p.  1).

(9) OJ  L  46,  19.2.1991,  p.  1.  Directive  as  last  amended  by

Directive  95/22/EC  (OJ  L  243,  11.10.1995,  p.  1).

(10) OJ  L  268,  24.9.1991,  p.  1.  Directive  as  last  amended  by

Directive  97/61/EC  (OJ  L  295,  29.10.1997,  p.  35).

(11) OJ  L  268,  24.9.1991,  p.  15.  Directive  as  amended  by

Directive  96/23/EC  (OJ  L  125,  23.5.1996,  p.  10).

(12) OJ  L  268,  14.9.1992,  p.  35.  Directive  as  amended  by

Directive  96/23/EC  (OJ  L  125,  23.5.1996,  p.  10).

Directive  96/23/EC  (OJ  L  125,  23.5.1996,  p.  10).

(7) OJ  L  302,  31.12.1972,  p.  28.  Directive  as  last  amended  by

(13) OJ  L  62,  15.3.1993,  p.  49.  Directive  as  last  amended  by

Directive  96/91/EC  (OJ  L  13,  16.1.1997,  p.  27).

Decision  96/90/EC  (OJ  L  13,  16.1.1997,  p.  24).

L 24/32

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

30.1.98

HAS  ADOPTED  THIS  DIRECTIVE:

(a) Article  17(2)  shall  be  deleted;

Article  1

Directive  71/118/EEC 

1.
follows:

is  hereby  amended  as

(a)

(b)

in  Article  14b(2)(a),  the  second  sentence  shall  be
deleted;

in  Article  17,  the  second  subparagraph  shall  be
deleted.

Directive  72/462/EEC 

2.
follows:

is  hereby  amended  as

(a)

in  Article  31a,  ‘Article  17  of  Directive  90/675/EEC’
shall  be  replaced  by 
‘Article  18  of  Directive
97/78/EC’;

(b)

the  second  paragraph  of  Article  19  shall  be  deleted.

Directive  92/118/EEC 

8.
follows:

is  hereby  amended  as

(a)

in 
the  second  subparagraph  of  Article  12(1),
‘Article  8(2)  of  Directive  90/675/EEC’  shall  be
replaced  by  ‘Article  4(4)(b)  of  Directive  97/78/EC’;

(b) Article  12(2)  shall  be  deleted.

Article  2

1. Member  States  shall  adopt  and  publish  the  laws,
regulations  and  administrative  provisions  necessary  to
comply with this Directive before 1 July 1999. They shall
forthwith  inform  the  Commission  thereof.

(b) Article  31  shall  be  deleted.

They  shall  apply  those  provisions  as  from  1  July  1999.

3.
In Article 3(1) of Directive 85/73/EC, ‘Article 20 of
Directive 90/675/EEC’ shall be replaced by ‘Article 23 of
Directive  98/78/EC’.

4.

Directive  91/67/EEC  is  hereby  amended  as  follows:

(a) Article  23  shall  be  replaced  by  the  following:

‘Article  23

The  principles  and  rules  laid  down  in  Directives
91/496/EEC  and  97/78/EC 
shall  apply,  with
particular  reference  to  the  organisation  of  and
follow-up  to  the  checks  to  be  carried  out  by  the
Member  States  and  the  safeguard  measures  to  be
implemented.’;

(b) Article  24  shall  be  deleted.

When  Member  States  adopt  these  provisions,  they  shall
contain  a  reference  to  this  Directive  or  shall  be
accompanied  by  such  reference  at  the  time  of  their
official  publication.  The  procedure  for  making  such
reference  shall  be  adopted  by  Member  States.

States 

the
shall 
2. Member 
Commission  the  text  of  the  main  provisions  of  domestic
law  which  they  adopt  in  the  field  governed  by  this
Directive.

communicate 

to 

Article  3

This  Directive  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  20th  day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of
the  European  Communities.

The  second  subparagraph  of  Article  10(2)  of

5.
Directive  91/492/EEC  shall  be  deleted.

Article  4

Directive  91/493/EEC 

6.
follows:

is  hereby  amended  as

This  Directive  is  addressed  to  the  Member  States.

(a)

the 

second 

in 
subparagraph  of  Article  10,
‘Article  18(3)  of  Directive  90/675/EEC’  shall  be
replaced  by  ‘Article  19(2)  of  Directive  97/78/EC’;

Done  at  Brussels,  18  December  1997.

(b) Article  12(2)  shall  be  deleted.

7.

Directive  92/45/EEC  is  hereby  amended  as  follows:

For  the  Council

The  President

F.  BODEN