WRITTEN QUESTION P-3805/00 by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission. BSE in Germany.
Date: 2000-11-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Germany, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, health risk, veterinary inspection

6.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 163 E/213

Article 4 and/or all other elements at its disposal concerning compliance with Article 1, that the Directive
on the protection of animals during transport was not complied with.(cid:146)

In this connection, can the Commission explain:

1. Who has the power to communicate (cid:145)other elements(cid:146) to the competent authority?

2.

Is it to be regarded as unlawful assumption of authority for an animal transport inspector responsible
for carrying out transport checks to enter his own comments on the control copy T5?

If so, can the Commission guarantee that (cid:145)other elements(cid:146) are in fact communicated effectively to the
competent authorities by other means than entry on the control copy T5?

(1) OJ L 82, 19.3.1998, p. 19.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(15 January 2001)

Article 5(3) of Regulation (EC) No 615/98 applies to live bovine animals covered by an export declaration
for the purpose of receiving an export refund. If, during the animals(cid:146) transportation to their first unloading
is established that Council Directive 91/628/EEC of
in the third country of
19 November 1991 on the protection of animals during transport and amending Directives 90/425/EEC
and 91/496/EEC (1) was not complied with, the export refund is not payable.

final destination,

it

The Commission would like to comment as follows in answer to the questions raised:

1. Responsibility for applying the Community provisions on export refunds rests with the national
bodies which each Member State has designated for that purpose. In accordance with their managerial
autonomy, it is for the national bodies which have been assigned the task of assessing compliance
with the rules to determine who is entitled to pass (cid:145)all other elements(cid:146) on to the competent authority.

2. Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 615/98 stipulates that certifying compliance with the requirements
of paragraph 2 is a matter for the official veterinarian at the exit point. Such certification is to be
recorded on the document constituting evidence of exit from the customs territory of the Community
(either in Section J of the control copy T5 or in the most appropriate place on the national
document).

Article 5(3) of Regulation (EC) No 615/98 stipulates that the refund (cid:145)shall not be paid (cid:133) for animals for
which the competent authority considers, in the light of (cid:133) all other elements at its disposal (cid:133)(cid:146) that the
Directive on the protection of animals during transport was not complied with. The comments of an
inspector who is responsible for checking a consignment of animals may constitute (cid:145)all other elements(cid:146)
within the meaning of Article 5(3).

(1) OJ L 340, 11.12.1991.

(2001/C 163 E/249)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3805/00

by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission

(29 November 2000)

Subject: BSE in Germany

On 23 November 2000 the Portuguese authorities confirmed that a Friesian dairy cow born in the
Hanover area on 23 September 1995 and imported into the island of San Miguel on 27 October 1998
was infected by BSE.

The scientific evidence currently available shows that the incubation period for BSE in cattle is between
four and five years. It is therefore clear that the animal concerned was infected in Germany and not on the
Azores.

C 163 E/214

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2001

It might also be pointed out that, according to the German authorities, that country is BSE-free and no
case of the disease has ever been recorded.

This case demonstrates that the guarantees given by the German authorities are completely unfounded.

We have been witnessing a growing and increasingly worrying renationalisation of
agricultural policy.

the common

Health checks continue to be carried out by the national authorities, and Community inspections have
proved generally incapable of analysing the credibility of the various national systems with any degree of
accuracy.

As a rule, the European Union has declared an embargo on countries with the most cases of BSE. The
question arises as to whether such action is preventing the spread of this terrible disease, or whether it
merely penalises those countries which have been most rigorous in monitoring and combating it.

Can the Commission say:

(a) when BSE tests on cattle will be made compulsory in all the Member States?

(b) which animals will be subject to such tests?

(c)

to what extent experts from the Commission or from international bodies whose independence is
guaranteed will monitor these tests?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(9 January 2001)

Recently bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has been detected in three cows born in Germany, one
of which had been exported to the Azores in October 1998. In its opinion of 6 July 2000 on the
geographical risk of BSE it had been established by the scientific committee advising the Commission on
BSE related matters that in Germany BSE is likely to exist in the domestic cattle population despite the fact
that no BSE case was yet identified. Therefore Germany was assessed by this opinion to be in category III
(BSE likely but not confirmed). The discoveries did not come as a surprise, therefore, to the Commission.

Community legislation on BSE surveillance, which includes the requirement to examine all suspect animals
and a minimum number of samples from animals with certain clinical signs each year, has been in place
since May 1998. The practical implementation in the Member States has been assessed by a series of
inspections carried out by the Food and Veterinary Office of the Commission. The inspection reports can
be consulted on the Commission web-site.

In the light of recent developments in the BSE situation, the Commission has, among other measures,
extended the BSE testing to all bovine animals over 30 months entering the human food chain. Bovine
animals over 30 months of age, which die on farms, shall also be tested at random.

Only tests appropriately evaluated and approved can be used in the above testing programme. Sampling
and testing must be carried out in accordance with established methods and protocols. The testing will
again be monitored by the Food and Veterinary Office by regular inspections in all Member States. The
results of the testing shall be reported regularly to the Commission.

(2001/C 163 E/250)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3824/00

by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Commission

(29 November 2000)

Subject: The failure of certain states to implement the Hague Convention

Would the Commission please assure Parliament that it will investigate as a matter of urgency evidence
that states such as Monaco have failed to implement the spirit and aim of the Hague Convention, with
specific reference to cases of parental access to children where one parent is a resident in one of these
states and the other a citizen of a Member States, and will it agree to provide Parliament with regular
progress reports on this issue?