Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the 'Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive amending Diretive 64/432/EEC on health problems affecting intra-Community trade in bovine animals and swine'
Date: 1999-12-08
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: cattle, exchange of information, health control, intra-EU trade, swine, veterinary legislation

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 51/31

3.5.
A comprehensive international databank should also
be developed on fish health, coordinating all the information
available from industry, the competent national laboratories
and bodies, concerning diseases, pathogens and parasites, with
a view to restoring public confidence and managing the risks
satisfactorily.

Lastly, the requirement for the immediate slaughter,
3.6.
for marketing purposes, of all fish on infected farms seems
justified in order to stop the disease spreading. However, the

slaughter, gutting and destruction of the waste must all be
subject to strict veterinary supervision.

3.7.
A three-yearly report on the situation and distribution
of the disease should be submitted to the ESC and to the
European Parliament. The report should also detail any
forms of antimicrobial resistance, as indicated in the ESC’s
own-initiative opinion on resistance to antibiotics. (1)

(1) OJ C 407, 28.12.1998.

Brussels, 8 December 1999.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Beatrice RANGONI MACHIAVELLI

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a European Parliament and
Council Directive amending Directive 64/432/EEC on health problems affecting intra-Community
trade in bovine animals and swine’

(2000/C 51/10)

On 18 November 1999 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under
Articles 37 and 152 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned
proposal.

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was responsible for
preparing the Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 16 November 1999. The
rapporteur was Mr Leif E. Nielsen.

At its 368th plenary session (meeting of 8 December 1999) the Economic and Social Committee adopted
the following opinion by 114 votes to one, with three abstentions.

1. Background

animals to humans. All Member States have not yet qualified
as free, or officially free, from these two diseases in accordance
with the Directive’s provisions.

Directive 64/432/EEC on health problems affecting
1.1.
intra-Community trade in bovine animals and swine (1) has
been amended over 30 times, most recently by Directive
98/99/EC. (2) The Directive covers a range of serious contagious
animal diseases. The many amendments reflect the complexity
of the matter and the considerable animal health problems
generated by free movement of live animals within the EU.
The contagious animal diseases include tuberculosis and
brucellosis — zoonoses comparable with diseases such as
salmonella, listeria and E. coli which can be transmitted from

a

introduced

Directive 95/25/EC (3)

derogation
1.2.
exempting beef cattle from individual tuberculosis and brucel-
losis tests in trade between Member States with the same
health status. However, under Directive 98/99/EC, the Council
decided to set in motion a complete updating of the provisions
of the original Directive 64/432/EEC as from 1 July 1999.
These amendments repeal the derogation and allow more
Member States to apply for recognition as being officially free
of tuberculosis and brucellosis. Unless the animals concerned

(1) OJ 121, 29.7.64.
(2) OJ L 358, 31.12.98, p.107.

(3) OJ L 243, 11.10.95, p.16.

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come from a Member State which is either officially tubercu-
losis- and brucellosis-free or operates a recognised monitoring
system, tests must therefore be carried out on the individual
animal prior to export, including to Member States with the
same health status.

1.3.
However, it subsequently proved that in some of the
Member States concerned it would in practice not be feasible
to comply with the individual test requirement by the set
deadline.

1.4.
At the request of the relevant Member States, the
Commission is now proposing to restrict application of the
Directive 95/25/EC provisions until the end of 2000. At the
same time the procedural rules enabling the Commission to
adopt
further transitional measures in consultation with
the Standing Veterinary Committee are to be updated. The
proposed new committee procedure would involve the Euro-
pean Parliament formally overseeing the Commission’s use of
its powers to adopt such transitional measures. Lastly, a
number of technical provisions are designed to clarify the rules
concerning tuberculosis testing and the system of identifying
animals from Member States which are officially disease free.

The proposal concerns both agricultural policy and
1.5.
public health and is founded on Articles 37 and 152 of the
Treaty. Hence the procedure set out in Article 251 of the
Treaty relating to the common decisionmaking procedure is
applicable.

2. General comments

2.1.
The ESC has repeatedly stressed the need for top level
EU harmonisation of veterinary matters and for keeping
derogations to a strict minimum. The outbreaks of swine fever
in recent years have provided ample proof of the serious
consequences that can result from failure to pay sufficient
attention and monitor contagious animal diseases properly.

2.2.
In the run-up to EU enlargement, it is also vital that
the current Member States are united in their support for this
aim, with the attendant practical implications for all parties
involved. Enlargement will bring in its wake an increased risk
of diseases spreading over wider areas. FAO, the UN food and
agriculture organisation, has already in the present situation
warned of the greater risks inherent in long distance transport,
new transport routes to and from non-EU countries, increased
contacts with countries where conditions are unstable and the
continuing concentration of livestock in certain EU areas.

2.3.
Against this background the ESC urges the Member
States to act as speedily as possible to introduce the requisite
measures to qualify as tuberculosis- and brucellosis-free, and
subsequently for official status. In this connection, the ESC
assumes as a matter of course that the Commission will do its
utmost to help. The eradication of these diseases will also
make it possible to step up action to bring other zoonoses
under control.

2.4.
In its capacity as representative of the interests most
tangibly affected by the EU’s decisions, the ESC finds it justified
to call on the authorities involved to ensure that the decisions
proposed can in practice be implemented by the set deadline.
If the EU is to be seen as trustworthy and credible, deadlines
must be realistic and be fully respected by both the EU
institutions and national authorities.

2.5.
In the present case, the earlier deadlines were extended
only after six months of non-compliance. Further, it is only
now pointed out
the 1 July 1999 deadline would
inevitably have caused serious disturbances to trade.

that

2.6.
One cause of the problem is apparently that certain
Member States only involve their central veterinary authorities
in the decisionmaking procedure and fail
to consult the
decentralised veterinary expertise and administrative bodies
which are in a position to provide a more objective assessment
of the practical circumstances, and are also willing to take on
the tasks of practical
implementation and monitoring of
compliance. The lack of transparency of the rules, as a result
of the constant changes, has no doubt aggravated the situation.

2.7.
However, the ESC recognises the need for flexibility in
the special circumstances and feels able to endorse the
implementation of the derogation provisions, subject to the
above reservations. One key condition must also be that
application presupposes
the importer
country, that animals are not used as productive livestock, that
there is no possibility of infecting disease-free herds and that
they may under no circumstances be imported into Member
States or regions with a higher disease-free status.

the agreement of

2.8.
The proposal to authorise the Commission, in consul-
tation with the Standing Veterinary Committee, to adopt
further transitional arrangements for up to three years, unless
the European Parliament finds in the specific case that the
Commission has exceeded its powers,
is questionable and
raises a number of issues of principle. Hence it should not be
automatically endorsed in connection with a matter of urgency.

2.9.
The common decisionmaking procedure is lengthy and
inappropriate in practical situations like the present one. The
ESC therefore fully understands the Commission’s wish for a
more streamlined and efficient procedure. However in the case
in point, the problems were blamed, as already mentioned, on

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failure to study and think out properly the basis for the Council
Decision of December 1998 — which does not as such justify
adoption of a new committee procedure. That would also set
a precedent in other spheres and further complication of the
committee procedures should be avoided. Future restrictions
on further transitional arrangements, especially where repeated
and relating to the accession of new member countries, is
another issue.

Brussels, 8 December 1999.

3. Special comments

3.1.
The title of Directive 64/432/EEC and its Danish
translation should be revised at an appropriate juncture and,
for instance, aligned with the English version, which refers to
animal health, as opposed to veterinary policy, problems.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Beatrice RANGONI MACHIAVELLI

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on ‘Health and safety in the workplace —
Application of Community measures and new risks’

(2000/C 51/11)

On 29 April 1999, the Economic and Social Committee, acting under Rule 23(3) of its Rules of Procedure,
decided to draw up an opinion on ‘Health and safety in the workplace — Application of Community
measures and new risks’.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 12 November 1999. The rapporteur was
Mr Beirnaert.

At its 368th plenary session (meeting of 8 December) the Economic and Social Committee adopted the
following opinion by 118 votes to one, with one abstention.

1.

Introduction

The important

issue of health and safety in the
1.1.
workplace has recently been the subject of a number of
European-level
initiatives, all of which provide food for
thought:

— the European Parliament debates on the report compiled
by the Advisory Committee for Health, Hygiene and Safety
at Work, and the Commission’s mid-term report on the
Community programme concerning safety, hygiene and
health at work (1996-2000). These were included in the
report submitted by Ms Ojala on 1 February 1999 (1);

— the recent study by the European Agency for Safety and
Health at Work, known as the Bilbao Agency, on the
Economic impact of occupational safety and health in the
Member States of the European Union;

— the conference organised by the Commission and the
Bilbao Agency on the Changing World of Work (19-21
October 1998) and the conference organised by the
Finnish presidency and the Agency on Safety, Health and
Employability (27-29 September 1999);

(1) EP 228.815/final.

— the conference on Occupational Health and Safety Manage-
ment Systems, held in Dortmund on 18-19 March 1999.