Proposal for a Council Decision laying down Community criteria for the eradication and monitoring of certain animal diseases (codified version)
Date: 2006-06-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: animal disease, animal health, codification of EU law, decontamination, financial aid, protection of animals

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 20.6.2006 
COM(2006) 315 final 

2006/0104 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

laying down Community criteria for the eradication and monitoring of certain animal 
diseases 

(codified version) 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

In  the  context  of  a  people’s  Europe,  the  Commission  attaches  great  importance  to 
simplifying  and  clarifying  Community  law  so  as  to  make  it  clearer  and  more 
accessible to the ordinary citizen, thus giving him new opportunities and the chance 
to make use of the specific rights it gives him. 

This aim cannot be achieved so long as numerous provisions that have been amended 
several times, often quite substantially, remain scattered, so that they must be sought 
partly  in  the  original  instrument  and  partly  in  later  amending  ones.  Considerable 
research work, comparing many different instruments, is thus needed to identify the 
current rules. 

For  this  reason  a  codification  of  rules  that  have  frequently  been  amended  is  also 
essential if Community law is to be clear and transparent. 

On  1  April  1987  the  Commission  therefore  decided1  to  instruct  its  staff  that  all 
legislative acts should be codified after no more than ten amendments, stressing that 
this  is  a  minimum  requirement  and  that  departments  should  endeavour  to  codify  at 
even  shorter  intervals  the  texts  for  which  they  are  responsible,  to  ensure  that  the 
Community rules are clear and readily understandable. 

The  Conclusions  of 
the  Edinburgh  European  Council 
(December 1992) confirmed this2, stressing the importance of codification as it offers 
certainty as to the law applicable to a given matter at a given time. 

the  Presidency  of 

Codification  must  be  undertaken  in  full  compliance  with  the  normal  Community 
legislative procedure. 

Given  that  no  changes  of  substance  may  be  made  to  the  instruments  affected  by 
codification, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission have agreed, 
by  an  interinstitutional  agreement  dated  20  December  1994,  that  an  accelerated 
procedure may be used for the fast-track adoption of codification instruments. 

is 

this  proposal 

to  undertake  a  codification  of  Council 
The  purpose  of 
Decision 90/638/EEC of 27 November 1990 laying down Community criteria for the 
eradication  and  monitoring  of  certain  animal  diseases3.  The  new  Decision  will 
supersede  the  various  acts  incorporated  in  it4;  this  proposal  fully  preserves  the 
content of the acts being codified and hence does no more than bring them together 
with only such formal amendments as are required by the codification exercise itself. 

The codification proposal was drawn up on the basis of a preliminary consolidation, 
in  all  official  languages,  of  Decision  90/638/EEC  and  the  instrument  amending  it, 
carried out by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, by 
means  of  a  data-processing  system.  Where  the  Articles  have  been  given  new 

COM(87) 868 PV. 
See Annex 3 to Part A of the Conclusions. 
Carried out pursuant to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the 
Council – Codification of the Acquis communautaire, COM(2001) 645 final. 
See Annex IV to this proposal. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1 
2 
3 

4 

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numbers, the correlation between the old and the new numbers is shown in a table set 
out in Annex V to the codified Decision. 

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(cid:208) 90/638/EEC (adapted) 

2006/0104 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

laying down Community criteria for the eradication and monitoring of certain animal 
diseases 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

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 field5, and in particular Article 24(2) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament6, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee7, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

Council Decision 90/638/EEC of 27 November 1990 laying down Community criteria 
for  the  eradication  and  monitoring  of  certain  animal  diseases8  has  been  substantially 
amended9.  In  the  interests  of  clarity  and  rationality  the  said  Decision  should  be 
codified.  

(cid:208)  

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OJ  L  224,  18.8.1990,  p.  19. ⌦ Decision  as  last  amended  by  Directive  2003/99/EC  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 325, 12.12.2003, p. 31). ⌫ 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ  L  347,  12.12.1990,  p.  27.  Decision  as  amended  by  Directive  92/65/EEC  (OJ  L  268,  14.9.1992, 
p. 54). 
See Annex IV. 

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(2) 

The criteria ⌦ for a Community financial measure for the eradication, monitoring and 
control of certain animal diseases should ⌫ ensure that the measure is effective and 
enable  the  Member  States  to  submit  to  the  Commission  programmes  to  secure  the 
rapid eradication or appropriate monitoring of the diseases in question, 

(cid:208) 90/638/EEC recital 2 (adapted) 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

(cid:208) 90/638/EEC 

Article 1 

to  be  approved  under 

in  Article  24(1)  of 
In  order 
Decision 90/424/EEC, programmes submitted by the Member States to the Commission must 
meet the following criteria: 

the  measure  provided  for 

(a) 

(b) 

for eradication programmes: the criteria set out in Annex I,; 

for monitoring programmes: the criteria set out in Annex II,; 

(c) 

for programmes to control rabies: the criteria set out in Annex III. 

(cid:208) 92/65/EEC Art. 10(5) pt. 1 

(cid:208)  

Article 2 

Decision 90/638/EEC is repealed. 

References to the repealed Decision shall be construed as references to this Decision and shall 
be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex V. 

(cid:208) 90/638/EEC 

Article 3 

This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 

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Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 
[…] 

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(cid:208) 90/638/EEC (adapted) 

ANNEX I 

Criteria for eradication programmes 

Eradication programmes shall contain at least: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

a description of the epidemiological situation of the disease; 

an analysis of the estimated costs and an estimate of the anticipated benefits of the 
programme; 

the  likely  duration  of  the  programme  and  the  objective  to  be  attained  by  the 
completion date; 

designation  of  the  central  authority  charged  with  supervising  and  coordinating  the 
departments responsible for implementing the programme; 

description and delimitation of the geographical and administrative area in which the 
programme is to be applied; 

a  system  ensuring  the  notification  of  all  suspected  or  confirmed  outbreaks  of  the 
disease in the area concerned; 

the control procedures and in particular rules on the movement of animals liable to 
be  affected  or  contaminated  by  a  given  disease  and  the  regular  inspection  of  the 
holdings or areas concerned; 

a system for registration of holdings involved in the programme; 

measures to identify the origin of the animals; 

the different statuses applicable to holdings or areas, the objectives to be attained in 
the case of each status, the conditions applicable to movements of animals between 
holdings or areas of different status and the consequences of loss of status; 

if necessary, a description of the analysis, test and sampling methods used for each 
disease; 

the measures to be taken where positive results are found during checks carried out 
under the programme. Such measures must include all the necessary precautions to 
secure rapid eradication of the  disease,  in the light of the  epidemiological data and 
preventive methods specific to it, for example: 

(a) 

the  slaughter  of  animals  which  are  affected  or  contaminated,  or  suspected  of 
being affected or contaminated, with: 

– 

either  the  destruction  of  the  carcases  or  their  subsequent  use  after 
treatment for purposes other than for human consumption, provided that 

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the treatments employed afford adequate guarantees with regard to public 
and/or animal health, or 

– 

subsequent use of the meat, provided this does not represent any danger 
to human health; 

(b) 

the destruction of all products which could transmit the disease or the treatment 
of such products to avoid any possible contamination; 

(c) 

a procedure for the disinfection of infected holdings; 

(d) 

the therapeutic or preventive treatment chosen; 

(e) 

a  procedure  for  the  restocking  with  healthy  animals  of  holdings  which  have 
been depopulated by slaughter; 

(f) 

the creation of a surveillance zone around the infected holding; 

13. 

14. 

where necessary, rules for adequate compensation to farmers for slaughtered animals 
as soon as possible; 

an  undertaking  by  the  authority  referred  to  in  point  4  to  inform  the  Commission's 
departments regularly and fully. 

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ANNEX II 

Criteria for ⌦ monitoring ⌫ programmes 

Monitoring programmes ⌦ shall ⌫ contain at least the following: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

the criteria referred to in points 1 to 9, 12, 13 and 14 of Annex I; 

a  system  of  monitoring  based  on  serological,  microbiological,  pathological  or 
epidemiological analyses, or any other method appropriate to the disease; 

a system for ascertaining the absence of the disease in the light of its epidemiological 
characteristics. 

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(cid:208) 92/65/EEC Art. 10(5) pt. 2 

ANNEX III 

Criteria for programmes to control rabies 

Programmes to control rabies shall contain at least: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

the criteria referred to in points 1 to 7 of Annex I; 

detailed information regarding the region or regions in which the oral immunisation 
of foxes is to take place and its natural limits. This region or these regions must cover 
at  least  6 000 km2  or  the  total  national  area  of  a  Member  State  and  may  include 
adjacent areas of a third country; 

detailed  information  regarding  the  vaccines  to  be  used,  the  distribution  system,  the 
density and frequency of bait-laying; 

where  appropriate,  all  details  and  the  cost  and  purpose  of  schemes  to  conserve  or 
preserve  flora  and  fauna  undertaken  by  voluntary  organisations  on  the  territory 
covered by these projects. 

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(cid:207) 

ANNEX IV 

Repealed Decision with its amendment 

Council Decision 90/638/EEC 
(OJ L 347, 12.12.1990, p. 27) 

Council Directive 92/65/EEC 
(OJ L 268, 14.9.1992, p. 54)  

Article 10(5) only 

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ANNEX V 

CORRELATION TABLE 

Decision 90/638/EEC 

This Decision 

Article 1 first, second and third indent 

Article 1(a), (b) and (c) 

- 

Article 2 

Annexes I, II and III 

- 

Article 2 

Article 3 

Annexes I, II and III 

Annexes IV and V 

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