WRITTEN QUESTION E-0691/03 by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission. State of slaughterhouses in Greece.
Date: 2003-03-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU control, EU law, Greece, health control, intra-EU trade, meat, meat processing industry, slaughter of animals, standard

C 222 E/228

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

18.9.2003

(2003/C 222 E/257)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0691/03

by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(7 March 2003)

Subject: State of slaughterhouses in Greece

In its reply to my question (H-0942/01) (1) the Commission stated that the results of inspections at
slaughterhouses in Greece had been far from satisfactory and pointed out
the
requirements for the export of meat to the Community market.

that only 47 met

In view of the above, will the Commission say:

(cid:1) What is the current state of slaughterhouses in Greece as regards compliance with Community

legislation?

(cid:1) What is the source of the problems and what measures does it intend to take to prevail upon Greece

to comply with Community requirements?

(1) Oral reply of 11.12.2001.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(14 April 2003)

During a meeting between the Commission’s services and the Greek authorities on 21 February 2003, the
situation regarding red meat slaughterhouses was reviewed. The Greek authorities indicated that there are
43 premises approved according to Article 10 of Council Directive 64/433/EEC of 26 June 1964 on health
problems affecting intra-Community trade in fresh meat (1) (as amended by Directive 2000/15/EC of the
Parliament and the Council of 10 April 2000 (2)) and 110 premises approved according to Article 4 of this
Directive in Greece.

The Greek authorities acknowledged that standards in some premises approved under Article 4 of the
Directive fall short of those required by Community and national
legislation. They indicated that a
programme of inspections of all of these premises is under way, with a view to identifying the upgrading
actions required or withdrawing the approval of premises that are unable to satisfy the required conditions.
They expect this process to be completed by the end of 2003. They undertook to provide details of all
approved slaughterhouses in Greece to the Commission by the end of April 2003.

During the above meeting, the Greek authorities explained that, in their view, many of the problems with
the slaughterhouses approved under Article 4 of the Directive can be attributed to their remote locations,
either on small islands or in mountainous regions, lack of funding for improvements and difficulties in
obtaining adequate levels of veterinary supervision.

The Commission considers it unacceptable that slaughterhouses in Greece still fall significantly short of the
required standards, and that consumers may be exposed to risk as a result of this situation. It considers
that Greece must take urgent, corrective action to identify and address these failures, so that all such
premises meet Community requirements without further delay.

The Commission’s position was made clear to the Greek authorities during this meeting, and it has
subsequently written to them, confirming its view and emphasising the importance of an urgent solution
being found to this problem. It will continue to monitor the situation very closely to ensure that the
required actions have been taken.

(1) OJ P 121, 29.7.1964.
(2) OJ L 105, 3.5.2000.