Commission Regulation (EC) No 2777/2000 of 18 December 2000 adopting exceptional support measures for the beef market
Date: 2000-12-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: agricultural guidance, beef, extra-EU trade, intra-EU trade, market support, veterinary inspection

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2777/2000

of 18 December 2000

adopting exceptional support measures for the beef market

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

ments which would apply in the case of slaughter for
human consumption.

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to the Council Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999
of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in
beef and veal (1), and in particular Article 38(2),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

The Community beef market is currently going through
a deep crisis due to a lack of consumer confidence in
beef created by the appearance of new cases of bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Consumption as well
as production have recently fallen to unprecedented
levels followed by substantial reduction of producer
prices. It is estimated that the crisis is likely to continue
still for some time. In such circumstances, Article 38(1)
of Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 provides for excep-
tional market support measures to be taken with a view
to re-balancing the market. One of
those measures
should be a scheme whereby animals which otherwise
would produce heavy surpluses on the market are with-
drawn from meat production through a purchasing
scheme with subsequent destruction of the animals.

lays

Commission Decision 2000/764/EC (2)
down
specific rules for testing for BSE of animals above 30
months and in particular the approved methods for such
testing. In accordance with that Decision, at the latest
from 1 July 2001 all animals above 30 months subject
to normal slaughter for human consumption must be
tested for BSE. Until then, it is appropriate to concen-
trate the withdrawal of animals from the market as
referred to above to animals of
that age which at
slaughter are not tested for BSE and only allow for
human consumption in the Community and in third
countries meat from animals which have been tested
negatively.

In order to seek a quick improvement of
the beef
market, voluntary testing of animals above 30 months
should be encouraged in the meantime. Provisions
should therefore be adopted providing for Community
co-financing of the tests required while guaranteeing
that no double payment are made from the Community
budget.

In order to take off the market such animals which in
real terms would reduce the output otherwise intended
for consumption, it is essential that animals for destruc-
tion comply with all veterinary requirements before
slaughter including such ante mortem inspection require-

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 21.
(2) OJ L 305, 6.12.2000, p. 35.

(5) Where the market situation so requires, it is appropriate
to allow the purchase scheme to be extended to Member
States which operate testing of all animals above 30
months or of a substantial percentage of such animals.

(6) Where the market situation so permits, it is appropriate
to allow for the possibility to stop the application of the
purchase scheme in a Member State which can provide
evidence that sufficient testing capacity for BSE is avail-
able for the normal production of the animals concerned
in that Member State.

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

(12)

In order to ensure the proper functioning of the scheme
appropriate provisions should be laid down with regard
to the organisation of purchases and deliveries of
animals.

The purchase price per animal should be fixed by
Member States at such level which will ensure that the
objective of the measure is met. In fixing that price,
account should in particular be taken of the current
representative market price and the weight of
the
animal.

In view of the large number of animals expected to be
purchased under the scheme it would be appropriate to
share the expenditures between the Community and the
Member States. The Community co-financing sould be
limited to 70 % of the purchase expenditures, while the
rest of the purchase expenditures as well as all other
costs related to the scheme should be financed by the
national authorities.

The provisions regarding the slaughter premium referred
to in Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 apply
to animals slaughtered under this scheme.

In order to improve the control of the animals and their
products before, during and after slaughter, special
provisions should be laid down, in particular with regard
to separation and handling of such products.

The market situation in Member States with particularly
low risk of BSE has not deteriorated to the same extent
as in the rest of the Community. The purchase for
destruction scheme need not therefore be obligatory in
those Member States provided that all products from
animals not tested for BSE remain in the Member State
concerned.

(13) With a view to providing for an effective monitoring of
the scheme, Member States should on a weekly basis
provide the Commission with the necessary relevant
information.

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(14)

(15)

Provision should be made for Commission experts to
check compliance with the conditions as specified.

The Management Committee for Beef and Veal has not
given an opinion within the time limit set by its
President,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

This Regulation shall apply in all Member States with the
exception of United Kingdom where Article 2(1) only shall
apply.

Article 2

1. Meat from bovine animals aged more than 30 months
and slaughtered in the Community after 1 January 2001 can
only be released for human consumption in the Community or
for export to third countries if tested negatively for bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) by an approved rapid test as
referred to in Annex IV(A) of Commission Decision 98/
272/EC (1).

The Community shall co-finance the tests referred to in
2.
paragraph 1. The financial participation by the Community
shall be at the rate of 100 % of the costs (VAT excluded) of the
purchase of
test-kits and reagents up to a maximum of
EUR 15 per test in respect of tests carried out on animals
slaughtered before the entry into force of the obligatory testing
program as provided for in Article 1(3) of Decision 2000/
764/EC, and in any case before 1 July 2001.

Excluded from this co-financing are tests performed on:

In addition and by way of derogation from the require-
2.
ment in paragraph 1 of not having been tested, bovine animals
referred to in Article 1(1) of Decision 2000/764/EC shall be
purchased for destruction only where the Member State
ensures that such animals are examined in conformity with the
provisions of the said Article 1(1) and where the test results are
negative.

Following the procedure provided for in Article 43 of
3.
it may be decided that the
Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999,
purchase scheme provided for in paragraph 1 is also applicable
to animals having been subject to a test referred to in Article
2(1) giving a negative result, if the market situation so requires,
in the Member State where the testing is done in a generalised
way or to a substantial extent.

4. Member States who can demonstrate to the satisfaction
of
the Commission that sufficient capacity is available for
testing as referred to in Article 2(1) of the normal slaughter
throughput of animals above 30 months of age may be author-
ised by the Commission, following the procedure for in Article
43 of Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999, to stop the application
of the purchase scheme provided for in paragraph 1 unless a
decision as referred to in paragraph 3 is taken.

5. Member States shall
indicate the slaughter houses at
which the animals shall be taken for slaughter. In doing so, the
Member State shall as far as possible seek to minimise the
geographical distance for the animals to be transported.

Article 4

1.
The prices to be paid by the Member State to producers
or their agents for animals referred to in Article 3(1) shall be
calculated on the basis of:

— animals which are referred to in Article 1(1) of Decision

(a) the weight of the carcase as defined in Article 2(1)(a) of

2000/764/EC,

Council Regulation (EEC) No 1208/81 (3) and

— animals which benefit

from the purchase scheme as

provided for in Article 3(3) of this Regulation.

Member States shall take the necessary measures to avoid any
double payment from the Community budget.

Article 3

1.
A Member State shall purchase, in view of its slaughter
and full destruction without being subject to a test as referred
to in Article 2(1), any animal aged more than 30 months
offered to it by any producer or his agent.

The animal must:

(a) during a period of at least 6 months prior to its sale, have
been present on one or several holdings located in the
Member State concerned;

(b) comply with the relevant veterinary legislation, in particular
to
the provisions laid down in Annex I, Chapter VI,
Council Directive 64/433/EEC (2), allowing them to be
passed as fit for slaughter for human consumption.

(b) the price per kg deadweight fixed by the Member State.
However, the basic price applicable under this scheme shall
be the average of
the market prices for the category
concerned recorded in week Nos 45, 46, 47 and 48 of the
year 2000.

In determining weekly prices, the Member State shall take as
far as possible into acocunt the current market price where
representative prices are available for the relevant categories
and carcase qualities. Account should equally be taken of the
traditional price hierarchy between categories and classes in the
Member State concerned.

In all circumstances, the prices shall be fixed at levels which
guaranteees a proper functioning of the destruction scheme.
However:

— any fixing of average prices per category below the above-

mentioned basic price, and

— any fixing of average prices per category exceeding the

abovementioned basic price by more than 5 %,

can only be made upon prior approval from the Commission.

(1) OJ L 122, 24.4.1998, p. 59.
(2) OJ 121, 29.7.1964, p. 2012/64.

(3) OJ L 123, 7.5.1981, p. 3.

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Member States shall no later than Wednesday of each week
inform the producers of the purchase prices to be applied in
the following week.

The payment for the animal shall be made as soon as possible
after slaughter.

2.
For each fully destroyed animal the Community shall
co-finance the expenditure incurred under paragraph 1 at a flat
rate calculated on the basis of the basic prices, the average
weight per category and a co-finaning rate of 70 % to be
financed by the Community leaving 30 % to be financed by the
national authorities. The flat rate amounts are fixed in Annex I.

the Member States shall
No later than 1 October 2001,
communicate to the Commission the total purchase expendi-
tures. The community co-financing shall be limited to 70 % of
this total amount.

An advance equal to 80 % of the Community contribution may
be provided after the animal concerned has been slaughtered
and rendered in accordance with Article 5.

Except for the Community co-financing fixed above, all costs
of the operations from the offer for slaughter of the animal
until its full destruction shall be financed by national authori-
ties.

The provisions regarding the slaughter premium referred
3.
to in Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 and Chapter
V of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2342/1999 (1) shall
apply to animals slaughtered under the present Regulation.
These costs shall not be deemed to be incurred under the
present Regulation.

Article 5

1.
Slaughterhouses slaughtering animals which are intended
for destruction under this scheme shall be organised and oper-
ated in such a way as to ensure that:

— all animals and animal products which are intended for
times be
human or animal consumption shall at all
completely separated from animals and products slaugh-
tered and produced under this scheme, and

— where it is necessary for bovine animals to be slaughtered
under the scheme to be held in lairage, they shall be kept
separate from bovine animals which it
is intended to
slaughter for human or animal consumption,

2.
The carcases, after having been appropriately slashed shall
together with all other parts of the animals be permanently
stained. They shall
rendered and fully
subsequently be
destroyed by way of incineration or any other appropriate
means.

3. Where specified risk material are not removed, the entire
carcase shall be treated as specified risk material.

4.
No parts of the animals may be used for human food or
animal feed, or in cosmetic or medical products or medical
devices. By way of derogation from paragraphs 2 and 3 hides
do not have to be stained or destroyed provided that they are
treated in such a way that they can only be used for leather

production. Fatty material attached to the internal side of the
hide must be removed and destroyed. Member States shall
ensure that such hides are stored and treated separate from
other hides.

5. Member States shall carry out the necessary adminis-
trative checks and effective on-the-spot supervision of all
operations to verify that all relevant products have been
rendered and fully destroyed.

Article 6

1. Without prejudice to the provisions of Decision 98/
272/EC and Decision 2000/764/EC, and by way of derogation
from the provisions of Article 2(1), the Member States listed in
Annex II may allow the slaughtering for human consumption
of bovine animals over 30 months of age, without the exam-
ination for BSE referred to in Article 2(1).

2. Member States making use of the derogation referred to
in paragraph 1 shall ensure that the following products, origin-
ating from such animals which have been slaughtered for
human consumption after the entering into force of this Regu-
lation, are dispatched to other Member States or exported to
third countries only if the animals concerned are tested nega-
tively, by a test referred to in Article 2(1):

— ‘fresh meat’ as defined by Directive 64/433/EEC,
— ‘minced meat’ and ‘meat preparations’ as defined by Council

Directive 94/65/EC (2),

— ‘meat products’ as defined by Council Directive 77/

99/EEC (3).

3.
The meat and products referred to in paragraph 2 origin-
ating from animals not having been tested by a test referred to
in Article 2(1) shall be marked with a national mark, which
cannot be confused with the Community health mark and in
particular is not oval.

Article 7

Member States shall adopt all measures necessary to ensure
proper application of this scheme and full compliance with the
provisions of this Regulation.

Member States shall as soon as possible establish a detailed
report of the controls which they have taken under this Article
and communicate this to the Commission.

Article 8

For animals aged more than 30 months. Member States shall
on Wednesday of each week in respect of the preceding week
notify the Commission of:

— the number of animals under each category referred to in
Article 3(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1208/81 having been
offered for slaughter and destruction,

— the number of slaughtered animals for human consumption
under each category having been tested and the total
weight per category as well as the outcome of the tests,

(1) OJ L 281, 4.11.1999, p. 30.

(2) OJ L 368, 31.12.1994, p. 10.
(3) OJ L 26, 31.1.1977, p. 85.

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— the number of slaughtered animals for destruction under
each category having been tested and the total weight per
category as well as the outcome of the tests,

— the number of slaughtered animals under each category
having not been tested and the total weight per category,
— the price offered to producers under each category and,

where available, under each class,
— the number of animals rendered,
— the number of animals fully destroyed,
— any other information permitting an efficient monitoring of

the operations.

Article 9

Without prejudice of Article 9 of Council Regulation (EC) No
accompanied where
1258/1999 (1), Commission experts
appropriate by experts from Member States shall carry out

on-the-spot checks to verify compliance with all the provisions
of this Regulation.

Article 10

The measures taken under this Regulation shall be considered
to be intervention measures within the meaning of Article 1(2)
of Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999.

Article 11

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

It shall be applicable from 1 January 2001 until 30 June 2001
at the latest.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 18 December 2000.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 103.

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ANNEX I

Community financing per animal (1) (2) (EUR/head)

Cows

Heifers

Steers

544

363

364

292

280

472

285

294

553

418

393

281

272

384

727

444

442

520

536

674

421

561

593

385

501

543

306

402

ANNEX II

List of countries referred to in Article 6

—

—

—

—

—

713

543

—

698

—

644

—

—

510

Belgium

Denmark

Germany

Greece

Spain

France

Ireland

Italy

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Austria

Portugal

Finland

Sweden

Austria

Sweden

Finland

(1) Bulls offered under the scheme shall be Community financed with the rate for cows.
(2) Where no specific financing amounts are provided, steers offered under the scheme shall be Community financed with the rate of

heifers.