WRITTEN QUESTION E-3576/01 by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Council. Announcement by the Spanish Government concerning a 90 % reduction in the co-financing allocated to eradicating mad-cow disease.
Date: 2002-01-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Spain, agricultural policy, agricultural situation, aid to agriculture, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, competence of the Member States

29.8.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 205 E/45

In a Commission working group of Member States specifically convened in December 2001 to discuss the
problem concerning laboratory sampling for chloramphenicol
in shrimps, no firm conclusions on
sampling protocols could be drawn due to lack of information. Recommendations on other aspects of
sampling were however made and notified to Member States in the Standing Veterinary Committee. At
present, information from many Member States concerning their current practices for sampling protocols
is still to be provided by Member States.

The Commission has been, and still
Directive 97/78/EC.

is, working on drawing up further implementing rules for the

(1) OJ L 268, 24.9.1991.
(2) OJ L 13, 21.1.1993.
(3) OJ L 24, 30.1.1998.
(4) OJ L 9, 15.1.1993.

(2002/C 205 E/047)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3576/01

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(9 January 2002)

Subject: Announcement by the Spanish Government concerning a 90 % reduction in the co-financing

allocated to eradicating mad-cow disease

The Spanish Government’s Agriculture Ministry has announced that it intends to reduce by 90 % the co-
financing to be allocated in 2002 to initiatives designed to eradicate mad-cow disease, which means that
Spain’s self-governing regions or farmers themselves will have to meet the high cost of such initiatives.
Experts on mad-cow disease, such as Professor José Badiola, and farmers’ associations in Galicia (a region
which has been particularly affected by BSE) have protested against the Spanish Government’s plans, with
Professor Badiola himself saying that the problem has not been resolved and that the EU should grant
more funding since it is responsible for having allowed the United Kingdom to export meat- and bone-
meal, whilst the associations take the view that, in any event, farmers cannot be held responsible for the
spread of the disease and that the various institutions should tackle the problem. Does the Council
consider the Spanish Government’s plans to be fair? What action is the Council intending to take in order
to ensure that the funds needed to enable bovine spongiform encephalopathy to be eradicated are made
available?

Reply

(13 May 2002)

Decisions on granting funding for national measures are a matter for the Member States, acting in
accordance with the relevant rules of the Treaties.

The Honourable Member will agree therefore that the Council has no role in the specific area of Member
States’ introduction and implementation of national provisions.

On a factual level, the Council would point out that at the 2402nd meeting of the Council of the European
Union (Agriculture) on 19 December 2001 the Commission provided Member States, with their consent,
with a summary of replies to a questionnaire that they had been sent on State aids for disposing of abattoir
waste (in particular specified risk material) and fallen stock.