2003/494/EC: Commission Decision of 3 July 2003 on a financial contribution from the Community towards the eradication of classical swine fever in Spain at the end of 2001 and in 2002
Date: 2003-07-03
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Spain, animal plague, balance of payments assistance, swine

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Official Journal of the European Union

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(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION
of 3 July 2003
on a financial contribution from the Community towards the eradication of classical swine fever
in Spain at the end of 2001 and in 2002

(Only the Spanish text is authentic)

(2003/494/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Decision 90/424/EEC of 26 June
1990 on expenditure in the veterinary field (1), as last amended
by Council Regulation No 806/2003 (2), and in particular
Article 3(3) and Article 5(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

Outbreaks of classical swine fever occurred in Spain in
2001 and 2002. The emergence of this disease repre-
sents a serious risk to the Community's livestock popula-
tion.

(2) With a view to helping to eradicate the disease as rapidly
as possible, the Community may contribute financially
to eligible costs incurred by the Member State, as
provided for in Decision 90/424/EEC.

(3)

(4)

Pursuant to Article 3(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No
1258/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the financing of the
common agricultural policy (3), veterinary and plant
health measures undertaken in accordance with Commu-
nity rules shall be financed under the ‘Guarantee’ section
of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee
Fund. The auditing of these measures comes under Arti-
cles 8 and 9 of the said Regulation.

The payment of the Community financial contribution
must be subject to the condition that the planned activ-
ities were actually implemented and the authorities
provide all
the necessary information within certain
deadlines.

(1) OJ L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 19.
(2) OJ L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 103.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

On 7 October 2002, Spain submitted an official request
for reimbursement for all the expenditure incurred on its
territory.

contribution, pending

It is now time to set the amount of an advance on the
Community financial
checks
carried out by the Commission. This advance must be
50 % of the Community contribution calculated on the
basis of the number of pigs culled (222 594) at a unit
cost of EUR 100 and limiting,
for the moment, the
‘other costs’ to 10 % of the amount of this reimburse-
ment.

The terms ‘swift and adequate compensation of the live-
stock farmers’ used in Article 3 of Decision 90/424/EEC,
‘reasonable payments’ and ‘justified payments’ and the
categories of eligible expenditure under ‘other costs’
associated with the compulsory slaughter must all be
defined.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accor-
dance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on
the Food Chain and Animal Health,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Granting of a financial contribution from the Community
to Spain

In order to eradicate classical swine fever in 2002, Spain may
benefit from a Community financial contribution of 50 % of
the expenditure incurred for the:

(a) swift and adequate compensation of farmers forced to cull
the measures to eradicate the

their animals as part of

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outbreaks of classical swine fever at the end of 2001 and in
2002, pursuant to the provisions of Article 3(2)(7) of Deci-
sion 90/424/EC and this Decision;

(b) operational expenditure associated with the destruction of
contaminated animals and products, the cleaning and disin-
fecting of premises and the cleaning and disinfecting, or
destruction if necessary, of contaminated equipment, under
the conditions provided for in Article 3(2)(1), (2) and (3) of
Decision 90/424/EEC and this Decision.

Article 2

Definitions

In this Decision, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) ‘swift and adequate compensation’: the payment, without
prejudice to Article 4(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No
296/96 (1), within 90 days of the slaughter of the animals,
of compensation corresponding to the market value that
these animals had immediately prior to their contamination
or slaughter;

(b) ‘reasonable payments’: payments made for the purchase of
equipment or services at proportionate prices compared to
the market prices that applied before the outbreak;

(c) ‘justified payments’: payments made for the purchase of
equipment or services in accordance with Article 3(2) of
Decision 90/424/EEC, where their nature and direct link to
the compulsory slaughter of animals on holdings have been
demonstrated.

Arrangements

for

Article 3

payment

the
contribution

of

the

financial

1.
Subject to the results of the checks referred to in Article
6, an advance of EUR 6 000 000 shall be paid, as part of the
Community financial contribution mentioned in Article 1, on
the basis of supporting documents submitted by Spain relating
to the swift and adequate compensation of owners for the
compulsory slaughter, the destruction of the animals and,
if
necessary, the products used for cleaning, disinfecting, disinsec-
tisation of the holdings and equipment, as well as the destruc-
tion of contaminated feed and materials.

Once the checks referred to in Article 6 have been carried
2.
out, the Commission shall decide on the balance in accordance
with the procedure provided for in Article 41 of Decision 90/
424/EEC.

Article 4

Eligible operational expenditure covered by the Com-
munity financial contribution

The Community financial contribution referred to in
1.
Article 1(b) relates only to justified and reasonable payments
for the eligible expenditure mentioned in Annex I.

This Community financial contribution referred to in

2.
Article 1 does not include:
(a) value added tax;
(b) officials' remuneration;
(c) the use of public equipment, with the exception of

consumables.

(1) OJ L 39, 17.2.1996, p. 5.

Article 5

Conditions for payment and supporting documents

The Community financial contribution referred to in

1.
Article 1 shall be paid on the basis of the following elements:

(a) an application submitted in accordance with Annexes II
and III within the deadline laid down in paragraph 2 of this
Article;

(b) the supporting documents referred to in Article 3(1),
including an epidemiological report on each holding where
animals were slaughtered and destroyed, as well as a finan-
cial report;

(c) the results of the in situ checks carried out by the Commis-

sion, referred to in Article 6.

The documents referred to in (b) must be made available for
the in situ audits carried out by the Commission.

The application referred to in 1(a) must be submitted in
2.
the form of a computer file in line with Annexes II and III
within 30 calendar days of the date of notification of this Deci-
sion.
the Community financial
contribution shall be reduced by 25 % per month of delay.

If this deadline is not met,

Article 6

In situ checks performed by the Commission

The Commission, in collaboration with the Spanish authorities,
may perform in situ checks relating to the implementation of
the measures referred to in Article 1 and the associated expen-
diture.

Article 7

Recipients

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Spain.

Done at Brussels, 3 July 2003.

For the Commission
David BYRNE
Member of the Commission

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ANNEX I

Eligible expenditure, as referred to in Article 4(1)

1. Costs associated with the slaughter of the animals:

(a) wages and remuneration for slaughterhouse workers;

(b) consumables (bullets, T61, tranquillisers, etc.) and specific equipment used for the slaughter;

(c) equipment used for the transportation of animals to the slaughterhouse.

2. Costs associated with the destruction of the animals:

(a) rendering: the transportation of the carcasses to a rendering plant, the processing of carcasses in the plant and

the destruction of the meat meal;

(b) burial: personnel specifically employed, equipment specially hired for the transportation and burying of carcasses

and the products used for disinfecting the holding;

(c) incineration: personnel specifically employed, fuel or other materials used, equipment specially hired for the

transportation of carcasses and the products used for disinfecting the holding.

3. Costs associated with cleaning, disinfecting and disinsectisation of holdings:

(a) products used for cleaning, disinfecting and disinsectisation;

(b) wages and remuneration for staff employed to do this job.

4. Costs associated with the destruction of contaminated feed:

(a) reimbursement of purchase price of feed;

(b) destruction of feed.

5. Costs associated with compensation, at market value, for the destruction of contaminated equipment. Costs associated

with the reconstruction or renovation of farm buildings and infrastructure are not eligible.

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I
I

X
E
N
N
A

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ANNEX III