Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 as regards the extension of the period for transitional measures
Date: 2003-03-05
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: bovine spongiform encephalopathy, disease prevention, epidemiology, health control, health legislation

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 5.3.2003
COM(2003) 103 final

2003/0046 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

amending Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 as regards the extension of the period for
transitional measures

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

The proposal is an amendment to Article 23 of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European
Parliament and of the Council laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of
certain  transmissible  spongiform  encephalopathies.  Its  purpose  is  to  postpone  the  end  of
transitional measures established under article 23 of that Regulation.

Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 establishes rules for the determination of country BSE status.
This status in turn determines certain measures concerning the control of BSE and concerning
trade and importation of certain live animals and animal products. Prior to the determination
of  that  status,  transitional  measures  are  in  force.  The  Regulation  specifies  that  these
transitional  measures  shall  be  adopted  for  a  maximum  period  of  two  years.  Commission
Regulation (EC) No 1326/2001 of 29 June 2001 laying down transitional measures to permit
the  changeover  to  Regulation  (EC)  No  999/2001  applies  from  1  July  2001.  Therefore  the
transitional measures shall apply until at the latest 30 June 2003.

The assessment of dossiers of Member States and Third countries started at the end of 2001. It
soon became evident that some modifications to the categorization criteria were necessary to
achieve  an  appropriate  categorization,  reflecting  the  BSE  risk.  The  criteria  had  been  taken
over from the International Animal Health Code of the World Organization for Animal Health
(OIE).  The  Community  made  a  proposal  amending  the  categorization  criteria  to  the  OIE.
However, the current  criteria remain  unchanged.  It  also  appears  that  the  OIE  will  not  come
forward with a proposed list of BSE free countries in the near future.

Also, the scientific risk assessments of all countries have not been fully concluded. For only
one  third  of  the  countries  requesting  the  determination  of  the  BSE  status  the  Scientific
Steering Committee has adopted a final opinion.

It is therefore proposed to prolong the transitional measures with two years, until 1 July 2005.

The prolongation will maintain the present level of public health protection as the transitional
measures on specified risk material (SRM) and slaughter methods will be maintained within
the EU and in respect of third countries. In the absence of prolongation of these transitional
measures the above risk management measures cannot be maintained.

The  two  year  extension  of  time  is  designed  for  the  Commission  to  continue  its  attempts  to
reach  an  agreement  at  international  level  (OIE)  on  the  determination  of  BSE  status  of
countries on the basis of risk. The Commission would at the same time conclude the scientific
risk assessments.

Due to the urgency of the matter it will be necessary to have the modification of the principal
Regulation adopted by the Parliament and Council by June 2003

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2003/0046 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

amending Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 as regards the extension of the period for
transitional measures

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular point (b)
of Article 152(4) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee 2,

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions3,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty4

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Regulation  (EC)  No  999/2001  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of
22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain
transmissible  spongiform  encephalopathies5,  provides  a  single  legal  basis  for  all
legislation regarding transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in the Community.

Regulation  (EC)  No  999/2001  establishes  rules  for  the  determination  the  Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) status of a Member State, third country or one of
their regions. That status determines certain measures concerning the control of BSE
and  trade  and  the  importation  of  certain  live  animals  and  animal  products.  The
Regulation provides that prior to the determination of that status, transitional measures
are to be adopted for a maximum period of two years.

(3)

Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  1326/20016,  provides  for  transitional  measures
which are to apply for a maximum period of two years from 1 July 2001.

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2

3

4

5

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OJ C , , p. .
OJ C , , p. .
OJ C , , p. .
OJ C […], […], p. […].
OJ L 147, 31.5.2001, p. 1.Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1494/2002
(OJ L 225, 22.8.2002, p. 3).
OJ  L  177,  30.6.2001,  p.  60.  Regulation  as  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  270/2002  (OJ  L  45,
15.2.2002, p. 4).

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(4)

Certain problems have been encountered in using the criteria laid down in Regulation
(EC)  No  999/2001  to  determine  BSE  status.  The  Commission  has  discussed,  with
Member  States,  possible  amendments  to  those  criteria  in  order  to  produce  a  better
alignment  of  status  and  risk.  The  outcome  of  those  discussions  may  be  significantly
influenced  by  developments  in  the  BSE  Chapter  in  the  International  Animal  Health
Code of the International Office of Epizootics.

(5)

It  is  necessary  to  prolong  the  period  of  application  of  the  transitional  measures  to
allow those discussions to be concluded.

(6)

Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

In  Article  23  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  999/2001,  the  second  paragraph  is  replaced  by  the
following:

“In accordance with that procedure, transitional measures shall be adopted for a period ending
on 1 July 2005 at the latest, to permit the change-over from the current  arrangements to the
arrangements established by this Regulation.”

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

Article 2

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

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament
The President

For the Council
The President

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