WRITTEN QUESTION E-2613/99 by Horst Schnellhardt (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Pharmaceuticals for veterinary medicine.
Date: 2000-01-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU policy, veterinary drug

3.10.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 280 E/81

What stage has the procedure reached?

What are the specific reasons prompting the Commission to tighten up the intervention criteria?

Is the Commission aware that in climatically unfavourable regions (cid:129) coastal areas, for example (cid:129) the
intervention criteria can only be satisfied at considerable technical cost, and hence with significantly higher
production costs?

Is the Commission aware that if the criteria are made more stringent farmers in the regions described will
have to suffer permanent disadvantages and losses of income, even though their product is in no way
inferior?

Is the Commission planning a regionally graduated approach or a hardship scheme to compensate for
climatic disadvantages?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(7 February 2000)

The Commission(cid:146)s purpose in launching a debate on the minimum quality of cereals offered for
intervention was to bring cereal stocks more into line with (particularly export) demand. Discussion
started in October 1999 and is currently continuing.

It should be borne in mind that the moisture content limit (currently 14,5 %) is set with a view to ensuring
satisfactory intervention storage over a relatively long period. Dispensations up to 15 % have been granted
during the last few marketing years.

The open domestic and export markets generally require lower moisture content, so that toxins do not
build up and jeopardise quality.

The market accepts higher moisture content only for immediate use, or at a discount to offset the cost of
drying. There are no grounds for proceeding differently with regard to intervention, which (cid:129) it must be
remembered (cid:129) is not in itself a market but just a publicly-funded intermediate stage.

Regardless of region or harvest weather conditions, producers can sell their cereals provided that they
satisfy the market(cid:146)s quality criteria (cid:129) if need be by drying to reduce moisture content. Climatic risk is
inherent in all forms of crop production and has to be taken into account.

(2000/C 280 E/084)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2613/99

by Horst Schnellhardt (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Pharmaceuticals for veterinary medicine

(12 January 2000)

In the legislative procedure for the adoption of a European Parliament and Council regulation on
pharmaceuticals for rare illnesses, the text now available represents a satisfactory result for all parties
concerned. As far as human medicine is concerned, the regulation creates a framework which will
considerably facilitate the fight against rare diseases. The EU has closed a gap with the USA and Japan
which were able to adopt similar legislation at a much earlier date.

In my opinion, however, similar conditions need to be created in other areas of pharmaceutical science; in
I believe,
particular in veterinary medicine. A number of veterinary pharmaceutical products have,

C 280 E/82

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

3.10.2000

disappeared from the market in recent years. As a result, specific preventive or therapeutic use is now
possible only under certain conditions. This situation has arisen for purely economic reasons. In my
opinion, the development of the veterinary pharmaceutical market in Europe is critical and it can be
compared with the situation of orphan drugs in human medicine.

1.

Does the Commission share this assessment of the veterinary pharmaceutical market?

2.

Does the Commission intend to take any legislative initiative? What action may be expected?

3. What are the Commission(cid:146)s reasons for not taking any legislative initiatives?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(22 February 2000)

The Commission recognizes that there are certain similarities between the problems of availability of
medicines in both human and veterinary markets and in many ways the lack of availability of veterinary
medicines to treat (cid:145)minor species(cid:146) mirrors the availability of human medicines to treat patients with (cid:145)rare
diseases(cid:146). In both these parts of the markets, research, development and marketing of the necessary
medicinal products is hampered by the absence of potential profits and hence by the unwillingness of the
pharmaceutical industry to invest.

In the particular case of veterinary medicines, the problem is aggravated by the existence of different target
animal species for which additional scientific data must be generated. Additionally, in the case of food
producing animals, the evaluation of residue data requires significant supplementary investment from
industry. Currently no incentives are available.

The Commission is currently working on a proposal to amend Council Regulation (EEC) 2377/90 of
26 June 1990 laying down a Community procedure for the establishment of maximum residue limits of
veterinary medicinal products in foodstuffs of animal origin (1) and Council Directive 81/851/EEC of
28 September 1981 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to veterinary
medicinal products (2),
in order to solve the problem of the existing lack of veterinary medicines for
minor species and for certain indications (minor uses). This proposal will be sent as soon as possible to the
Council and the Parliament.

Additional legislation regarding the particular case of horses foresees an appropriate mechanism for the
separation of equidae intended for slaughter for human consumption which are subject to the medication
rules for food producing animals, and those equidae which are specifically marked either to definitively
exclude them from the food chain or to allow their slaughter under the condition that any such treatment
is recorded in the special section of a (cid:145)horse passport(cid:146) and that a general withdrawal period of six months
is observed.

Finally, in the context of a general evaluation of the veterinary medicines approval system, the Commission
has recently contracted a third party to perform the evaluation of the entire system of authorisation and
supervision of medicinal products in the Community. Based on this evaluation, a proposal for a new
system will be submitted to the Council and Parliament in 2001.

(1) OJ L 224, 18.8.1990.
(2) OJ L 317, 6.11.1981.