WRITTEN QUESTION E-0654/01 by Jan Mulder (ELDR) to the Commission. Destruction of entire herds of cattle when one case of BSE is discovered on a farm.
Date: 2001-03-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: bovine spongiform encephalopathy, precautionary principle, slaughter of animals, veterinary legislation

C 350 E/26

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

11.12.2001

In October 2000, the Israeli government froze clearance revenue transfers to the Palestinian Authority. In
accordance with the commitments made under the above instrument, the Commission released € 27,5
million (€ 25 + interest) on 7 November 2000 from the facility.

In the light of the worsening situation in the Palestinian territories and the continued Israeli freeze of
revenue transfers, the Commission decided on 13 December 2000, to establish a new special cash facility
of € 90 million (cid:129) under budget line 47-100 (MEDA). A first tranche (€ 30 million) of the new instrument
(cid:129) which is subject to the same conditions as the first cash facility (cid:129) was disbursed on 23 January 2001.

Since December 2000, the situation on the ground has worsened, as has the economic and budgetary
situation of the Palestinian Authority, due the closure of the Palestinian territories by Israel. Since the
beginning of the crisis in October 2000, Palestinian economic activity has decreased by 50 %, the poverty
rate has increased from 21 % to 32 % and unemployment affects 38 % of the population. In addition, the
closure policy and the financial crisis have severely eroded the ability of the Palestinian Authority to
function as an institution.

Under these circumstances, and in order to deal with the needs of the Palestinian Authority in the longer
term, the Commission decided on 13 March 2001 to convert the remaining amount of up to € 60 million
of the special cash facility into direct budgetary aid. This decision is fully in line with the conclusions of
the General Affairs Council meeting of 26 February 2001, which stressed the need for the Union to play
an important role in a concerted international effort aiming at avoiding economic and institutional
collapse in the Palestinian territories, and to make full use of the funds available under the special cash
facility for this purpose.

The disbursement of this budgetary aid is subject to the adoption by the Palestinian Authority of an
austerity budget (cid:129) under close monitoring by the IMF (cid:129) and to the Palestinian commitment to take
measures, inter alia, to fight corruption and increase transparency and good governance. The disbursement
of budgetary aid will be done in the framework of a concerted effort with all international donors under
the auspices of the Ad hoc Liaison Committee.

(2001/C 350 E/025)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0654/01

by Jan Mulder (ELDR) to the Commission

(6 March 2001)

Subject: Destruction of entire herds of cattle when one case of BSE is discovered on a farm

To date, the European Commission has taken the position that it is for the individual Member States to
decide what to do if one case of BSE is discovered on a farm: destruction of the entire herd or destruction
of the cohort. The Member States actually apply both solutions.

Can the Commission indicate the scientific opinion (and the committee which delivered that opinion)

1.
on which it bases its position?

2. Why does the Commission not take the view that, where the Member States(cid:146) attitude is based on the
precautionary principle, that principle should apply uniformly throughout the European Union on the
grounds of the unity of the market?

Is the Commission prepared, where appropriate, to have an investigation carried out as a matter of

3.
urgency into the need to destroy entire herds on a farm where one case of BSE has been discovered?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(6 June 2001)

The present rules on the treatment of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) suspect and confirmed
cases are laid down in Commission Decisions 98/272/EC of 23 April 1998 on epidemio-surveillance for

11.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 350 E/27

transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and amending Decision 94/474/EC (1) and 2000/764 of
29 November 2000 on the testing of bovine animals
the presence of bovine spongiform
encephalopathy and amending Decision 98/272/EC on epidemio-surveillance for transmissible spongiform
encephalopathies (2)
(as amended). These decisions provide, apart from the rules for surveillance and
monitoring of
for the destruction of BSE-positive
animals. They do not impose any rules as regard the treatment of other animals in the herd.

transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE),

for

However, the Commission proposed in 1998 a Regulation of the Council and Parliament on transmissible
spongiform encephalopathies (3), providing inter alia for the measures to be taken after confirmation of
a BSE case. Following a Parliamentary amendment in first reading, whole-herd slaughter was added to the
two eradication measures proposed by the Commission, i.e. slaughter of birth/rearing cohorts and of off-
spring cohorts. The Parliament adopted an opinion in second reading on this proposal recently and it will
enter into force on 1 July 2001.

An opinion on BSE related culling of cattle was adopted by the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) on
15 September 2000. This opinion states that culling of the cohort is more efficient than whole herd
culling. However, it also states that if tracing of cohorts is not reliable, whole herd culling is a second best
option.

The precautionary measures of the Member States aim, by killing cattle in herds where BSE cases have
been detected, at eliminating otherwise not identified BSE cases and preventing future BSE cases from
appearing. The institutions are in the process of adopting permanent Community legislation on the basis
of Article 95 (ex Article 100A) of the EC Treaty, based on scientific advice and the precautionary principle.
This Regulation will replace the existing Community safeguard measures on BSE as well as the national
eradication measures.

It is the intention of the Commission, with a view to implementing the SSC opinion on culling strategies
adopted after its initial proposal, to evaluate the need for more detailed rules for the application in practice
of the provisions on eradication set out in the Regulation before it enters into force. A proposal to the
Standing Veterinary Committee for its opinion is expected shortly in this respect.

(1) OJ L 122, 24.4.1998.
(2) OJ L 305, 6.12.2000.
(3) OJ C 45, 19.2.1999.

(2001/C 350 E/026)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0665/01

by Philip Bushill-Matthews (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Lisbon European Council and the promotion of inclusion

(6 March 2001)

The 2000 Lisbon European Council
invited (cid:145)the Council and the Commission to mainstream the
promotion of inclusion in Member States(cid:146) employment, education and training, health and housing
policies.(cid:146) What specific steps have been taken in this regard and what action has been taken at Community
level by action under the Structural Funds?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(6 June 2001)

The promotion of social inclusion is an underlying objective in the Employment Guidelines (1). The new
Guideline No 7 calls for measures to combat all forms of discrimination in access to the labour market and
to education and training; it advocates the development of pathways consisting of effective preventive and
active policy measures to promote the integration into the labour market of groups and individuals at risk