WRITTEN QUESTION E-4146/00 by Marianne Thyssen (PPE-DE) to the Council. Financing of compulsory BSE tests for cattle aged over 30 months.
Date: 2001-01-16
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: State aid, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, co-financing, common agricultural policy, control of State aid, food inspection, health legislation, restriction on competition

C 235 E/80

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.8.2001

(2001/C 235 E/085)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4146/00

by Marianne Thyssen (PPE-DE) to the Council

(16 January 2001)

Subject: Financing of compulsory BSE tests for cattle aged over 30 months

On 19 December 2000, the Agriculture Council is reported to have decided that no European Union funds
will be used to help pay for the compulsory tests for all cattle aged over 30 months which are allowed to
enter the food chain in order to exclude BSE-contaminated meat from the food chain. The same applies to
the cost of the ban on incorporating meat waste in animal feed.

Does not the Council fear that if arrangements for financing these measures are left entirely to Member
States, discrepancies in the approaches adopted may distort competition and divert certain trade flows?
Would it not be appropriate, therefore, to adopt rules on this subject which are applicable to all Member
States?

Reply

(14 May 2001)

The Council is aware of the difficulties that the introduction of different financing systems in this area may
cause.

The Council did not take any decision on the financing of the tests at its meeting on 19 December 2000.
However, at its previous meeting, on 4 December, it took note of the Commission proposal requiring
rapid BSE-detection testing for bovine animals aged over 30 months entering the food chain.

At that meeting the Council underlined the need for financial resources ensuring Community cofinancing
for the implementation of these tests, on the understanding that all the decisions taken on BSE would have
to comply with the financial perspective agreed on by the European Council in Berlin.

The Commission subsequently adopted Regulation (EC) No 2777/2000, which provides for cofinancing up
to a maximum of € 15 per test.

The Commission has also adapted two Decisions on testing (2000/764 and 2000/773) to apply from 1 July
2001. The Honourable Member is asked to apply directly to the Commission if she wishes to know their
content in detail.

In the context of the proposal on the health rules concerning animal by-products not intended for human
consumption which it sent to the Council on 19 October 2000, the Commission stated in Article 36 that
it will (cid:145)prepare a report on the financial support in Member States for the processing and disposal of the
animal by-products, accompanied by appropriate proposals(cid:146). The Council will certainly give the highest
priority to examining the Commission proposals when it receives them.

The Commission also undertook, at the Council meeting on 29 January 2001, to present a report to the
next meeting of the Agriculture Council on national aids taken to finance BSE measures, with a view to
ensuring the proper functioning of the internal market. That report was presented at the Council meeting
on 12 February 2001.