WRITTEN QUESTION E-0648/01 by Isidoro Sánchez García (ELDR) to the Commission. Mad-cow crisis and the countries applying for EU membership.
Date: 2001-03-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: accession to the European Union, animal disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, health legislation, national implementing measure

C 340 E/58

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.12.2001

Reply

(13 July 2001)

As the Honourable MEP is probably aware, the IGC at level of Heads of State and government adopted at
Nice a declaration on the future of the Union. This declaration calls for a vast public debate under the
auspices of the Swedish and Belgian presidencies, in cooperation with the Commission and involving the
European Parliament. This debate was formally launched on 7 March 2001 by the Prime Ministers of
Sweden, and Belgium and the Presidents of the European Parliament and the European Commission.

As far as the next steps are concerned, the declaration on the future of the Union adopted at Nice states
that, following a report to be drawn up for the European Council in G(cid:246)teborg in June 2001, the European
Council,
in its meeting in Laeken/Brussels in December 2001, will agree on a declaration containing
appropriate initiatives for the continuation of the process. In these circumstances, the Honourable MEP can
easily understand why the Council cannot add anything new at this time on the specific content of the
procedure as such procedure will have to be defined. In any event, the final step of this process will be an
IGC in application of Article 48 of the TEU.

(2001/C 340 E/066)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0648/01

by Isidoro SÆnchez Garc(cid:237)a (ELDR) to the Commission

(6 March 2001)

Subject: Mad-cow crisis and the countries applying for EU membership

The mad-cow crisis within the European Union has created such alarm amongst the general public that the
Commission has drawn up a plan to deal with the problems arising in the beefcattle and animalfeed sector
by means of reforms to certain Council regulations.

In view of the fact that some of the applicant countries are due to join the European Union in the near
future, has the Commission devised any strategic plan to ensure that mad-cow disease does not spread to
them?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(11 June 2001)

The candidate countries are obliged to transpose and implement the Community legislation relating to
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) before accession. The Commission wishes to see this legislation
implemented as quickly as possible. To this end, it plans to hold bilateral technical meetings with applicant
countries to identify any difficulties concerning the implementation of the acquis as regards BSE.

The Community has encouraged the applicant countries to take over the new agricultural acquis, which
includes the protective measures to be implemented by the applicant countries to prevent the spreading of
BSE. These include the ban of meat and bone meal for all food producing animals, appropriate treatment
of high-risk animal waste, removal of specified risk material and epidemiological surveillance.

The recent opinions of the Scientific Steering Committee on the geographical BSE risk in Cyprus, the
Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia have shown that for these countries
there is a risk that BSE is present in their domestic cattle herds. This reinforces the need for early
transposition and implementation of the BSE acquis.