2007/142/EC: Commission Decision of 28 February 2007 establishing a Community Veterinary Emergency Team to assist the Commission in supporting Member States and third countries in veterinary matters relating to certain animal diseases
Date: 2007-02-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, animal disease, emergency aid, epidemiology, self-employed person, third country, veterinarian

1.3.2007

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 62/27

COMMISSION DECISION

of 28 February 2007

establishing a Community Veterinary Emergency Team to assist the Commission in supporting
Member States and third countries in veterinary matters relating to certain animal diseases

(2007/142/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Article 1

Whereas:

1.
A Community Veterinary Emergency Team composed of
experts is created (the team) for veterinary technical assistance
on control measures relating to the diseases subject to notifi-
cation listed in Annex I to Council Directive 82/894/EEC (1) (the
diseases).

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

In the event of outbreaks of certain animal diseases or
suspicion thereof, the Commission is required to provide
assistance to the Member States and to third countries by
means of highly experienced veterinary epidemiology
expertise. Veterinary expertise availability has also been
raised in the context of the Agriculture and Fisheries
Council.

2. Members of the team shall be designated from among
in the field of veterinary epidemiology, virology,
experts
wildlife, management of eradication programmes,
laboratory
diagnostics, organisation of veterinary services and regulatory
framework, risk communication, management and any other
relevant field for animal disease control.

The prompt availability of sound technical expertise in
the veterinary field is necessary for the Commission to be
able to fulfil
its tasks, notably in the event of major
outbreaks of those animal diseases.

Expertise and support are more efficiently provided by a
specialised team of experts,
such as a Community
Emergency Veterinary Team, whose Members make
themselves available to the Commission on request.
Such a team should be established and their role and
tasks be defined.

For the Community Emergency Veterinary Team to be
able to provide the Commission with the veterinary
technical assistance required,
its members may be sent
to the Member States or third countries concerned. In
that case the members should operate in cooperation
with the competent authorities of the Member State or
third country concerned.

expert groups,

The Community Emergency Veterinary Team should
in close cooperation with other
work, as appropriate,
the European
international
Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the Food
and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and the World
Health Organisation (WHO) in order to ensure that the
available expertise are used in the most effective way,

such as

Article 2

The team shall assist

1.
veterinary matters
measures
diseases or suspicion thereof.

the Commission in technical
relating to the animal disease control
the

to be taken in the event of outbreaks of

Such assistance shall include in particular:

(a) scientific, technical and managerial on-the-spot assistance as
regards the surveillance, monitoring, control and eradication
of the diseases, in close cooperation and collaboration with
the competent authorities of the Member State or third
country concerned by outbreaks of disease or suspicion
thereof;

(b) specific scientific advice on the suitable diagnostic methods
and epidemiological investigations in coordination with the
concerned Community Reference Laboratory as listed in
Annex VII
the
European Parliament and of the Council (2) and with other
reference laboratories, as appropriate;

to Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of

(1) OJ L 378, 31.12.1982, p. 58.
(2) OJ L 165, 30.4.2004, p. 1 as corrected by OJ L 191, 28.5.2004,

p. 1.

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Official Journal of the European Union

1.3.2007

(c) specific

assistance

to ensure

services of

coordination among the
veterinary
and third
countries and with the concerned Community Reference
Laboratory as listed in Annex VII to Regulation (EC) No
882/2004 and other reference laboratories, as appropriate.

the Member States

Article 4

The team shall conform with the rules of procedure established
by the Commission services on the basis of the standard rules
of procedure for groups of experts.

2.
The Commission may publish on its website a summary
report of the team’s activities and any conclusion or working
document from the team’s activities.

rules of procedures

Those
Commission’s website.

shall be published on the

Article 5

The members of the team shall:

(a) on request by the Commission, be available at any time at

short notice;

(b) not divulge information acquired as a result of the work of
the team when they are informed that such information is
confidential.

Article 6

Members of the team shall be entitled to an indemnity for their
participation in the team’s on-the-spot activities and for serving
as team leader or rapporteur on a specific mission question, as
provided for in the Annex to this Decision.

Reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs shall be paid by
the Commission according to the rules for the reimbursement
of travel, subsistence and other expenses for outside experts of
the Administration and
the
Settlement of
European
the
Commission.

‘Experts Section’, Office

Entitlements of

Individual

for

Done at Brussels, 28 February 2007.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU
Member of the Commission

Article 3

Each year, not later than 1 June, and for the first time not
1.
later that 30 days from the date of publication of this Decision
in the Official Journal of the European Union, Member States shall
submit to the Commission the list of experts they propose for
designation as members of the team for the following calendar
year.

On that occasion, Member States shall supply all the appro-
priate information on the professional profile and the field of
expertise for each expert proposed.

The members of

2.
Commission from experts proposed by the Member States.

the team shall be appointed by the

Each year, not later than 1 November, the Commission shall
inform the Member States in the framework of the Standing
Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health on the
updated list of members of the team.

The Commission shall publish on its website that updated list.

The names of the members shall be collected, processed and
published in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of
the European Parliament and of the Council (1).

Members who are no longer able to contribute effectively to the
team’s activities or who resign or who do not respect the rules
set out in Article 4 of this Decision or Article 287 of the Treaty
establishing the European community may be replaced.

(1) OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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ANNEX

INDEMNITIES

Members of the team shall be entitled to indemnities related to their participation in the activities of the team as follows:

For participation in the on-the-spot activities of the team:
— EUR 300 for each full day participation or EUR 150 for participation in a morning or afternoon or at an external

meeting attended in connection with the work of the team.

For acting as team leader or rapporteur for activities requiring not less than one day of work and with the prior written
agreement of the Commission:
— EUR 300.