2003/492/EC: Commission Decision of 3 July 2003 on a financial contribution from the Community towards the eradication of classical swine fever in Germany in 2001
Date: 2003-07-03
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Germany, animal plague, balance of payments assistance, decontamination, health control, slaughter premium

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Official Journal of the European Union

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COMMISSION DECISION

of 3 July 2003

on a financial contribution from the Community towards the eradication of classical swine fever
in Germany in 2001

(Only the German text is authentic)

(2003/492/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 (EC) No 806/2003 (2), and in particular
Article 3(3) and Article 5(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

Outbreaks of classical swine fever occurred in Germany
in 2001. The emergence of this disease represents a
serious risk to the Community's livestock population.

(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)

(5)

(6)

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.

On 3 May 2002, Germany 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
for
basis of
slaughtering the pigs and limiting, for the moment, the
‘other costs’ to 10 % of the amount of this reimburse-
ment.

submitted (EUR 1 600 000)

the costs

(7)

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

(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.

categories of eligible expenditure under ‘other costs’
associated with the compulsory slaughter must all be
defined.

(8)

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 DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Granting of a financial contribution from the Community
to Germany

In order to eradicate classical swine fever in 2001, Germany
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
their animals as part of
the measures to eradicate the
outbreaks of classical swine fever in 2001, pursuant to the
provisions of Article 3(2)(7) of Decision 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 (4), within ninety days of
the
animals, of compensation corresponding to the market
value that these animals had immediately prior to their
contamination or slaughter;

the slaughter of

(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;

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

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(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 440 000 shall be paid, as part of the
Community financial contribution mentioned in Article 1, on
the basis of supporting documents submitted by Germany
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 and
disinsectisation of the holdings and equipment, as well as the
destruction of contaminated feed and materials.

2.
Once the checks referred to in Article 6 have been carried
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.

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 German 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 Federal Republic of Germany.

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