Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 on the animal health requirements applicable to the non-commercial movements of pet animals as regards the extension of the transitional period {COM(2007) 578 final}
Date: 2007-10-08
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: animal disease, domestic animal, health control, transport of animals

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 8.10.2007 
COM(2007) 572 final 

2007/0202 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 on the animal health requirements applicable to 
the non-commercial movements of pet animals as regards the extension of the 
transitional period 

(presented by the Commission) 

{COM(2007) 578 final} 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

• 

Background 

Regulation  (EC)  No  998/2003  of  the  European  parliament  and  the  Council 
harmonises  the  rules  for  the  non  commercial  movement  of  pet  animals  between 
Member  States  or  after  entry  or  re-entry  into  the  Community  from  third  countries. 
Published  on  13  June  2003  it  entered  into  force  on  3  July  2003  and  applies  to  pet 
animals when travelling with their owners.  

The Regulation introduced inter alia the pet passport for cats, dogs and ferrets when 
being  moved  from  one  Member  State  to  another,  which  provides  proof  that  the 
animal  has  been  vaccinated  against  rabies.  This  is  the  sole  requirement  for  pets  to 
travel to all Member States.  

However,  the  Regulation  provides  for  specific  derogative  conditions  for  the 
movement of pet animals to certain Member States for a transitional period of five 
years  starting  from  the  date  of  entry  into  force,  i.e.  until  3  July  2008.  These 
derogations  should  be  reviewed  by  the  end  of  this  period,  in  the  light  of  the 
experience gained by Member States with the implementation of Articles 6, 8 and 16 
of  the  Regulation  and  of  a  scientific  opinion  from  the  European  Food  Safety 
Authority (EFSA). 

To  this  end  and  according  to  Article  23  of  the  Regulation,  the  Commission  was 
required  to  submit  to  the  European  Parliament  and  to  the  Council,  before 
1 February 2007, a report on the need to maintain the serological test, together with 
appropriate proposals for determining the regime to be applied after the transitional 
period.  

• 

Problem identification 

Because the scientific assessment has taken longer than envisaged, the Commission 
report  has  been  delayed.  In  order  to  be  able  to  take  the  conclusions  of  the  report 
sufficiently  into  consideration,  it  is  therefore  appropriate  to  extend  the  above 
transitional period. 

• 

Objective of the proposal 

The objective of this Commission proposal is to extend the transitional period and to 
amend Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 accordingly. 

This  Commission  proposal  is  linked  to  the  Report  from  the  Commission  to  the 
European  Parliament  and  the  Council  in  connection  with  Article  23  of  Regulation 
(EC)  No  998/2003  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the  animal 
health requirements applicable to the non-commercial movement of pet animals. 

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2007/0202 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 on the animal health requirements applicable to 
the non-commercial movements of pet animals as regards the extension of the 
transitional period 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular 
Article 37 and Article 152(4)(b) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee2, 

Following consultation of the Committee of the Regions, 

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty3 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

Regulation  (EC)  No  998/2003  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  26 
May  2003  on  the  animal  health  requirements  applicable  to  the  non-commercial 
movement of pet animals4 lays down the animal health requirements applicable to the 
non-commercial movements of pet animals and the rules applying to checks on such 
movement. 

In addition, Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 provides that for a transitional 
period of five years from the date of entry into force of that Regulation, the entry of 
pet dogs and cats into the territory of Ireland, Malta, Sweden and the United Kingdom 
is subject to special requirements, taking into account the particular situation in those 
Member States with regard to rabies. 

1 
2 
3 
4 

OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C 325, 24.12.2002, p. 133; 
OJ L 146, 13.6.2003, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation No 245/2007 (OJ L 
73, 13.3.2007, p. 9). 

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(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 provides that for a transitional period of 
five years starting from the date of entry into force of that Regulation, those Member 
States which have special rules for the control of echinococcosis and ticks on the date 
on  which  this  Regulation  comes  into  force,  may  make  the  entry  of  pet  animals  into 
their territory subject to compliance with those requirements. Finland, Ireland, Malta, 
Sweden  and  the  United  Kingdom  apply  their  specific  entry  rules  relating  to 
echinococcosis;  Malta, Ireland and the United  Kingdom require pet dogs  and cats to 
undergo an additional treatment against ticks that must also be certified in the animal's 
passport. 

The  transitional  regimes  provided  for  in  Articles  6  and  16  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
998/2003  expire  on  3  July  2008.  Article  23  of  that  Regulation  provides  that  the 
transitional regimes should be reviewed before the end of the transitional period. 

To  that  end  and  pursuant  to  Article  23  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  998/2003,  the 
Commission  was  required  to  submit  to  the  European  Parliament  and  to  the  Council, 
before  1 February  2007,  a  report  on  the  need  to  maintain  the  serological  test,  and 
provide  appropriate  proposals  for  determining  the  regime  to  be  applied  after  the 
transitional regimes provided for in Articles 6, 8 and 16 of that Regulation. That report 
should be based on the experience gained so far and on a risk analysis, to be based on 
a scientific opinion of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). 

On  request  by  the  Commission,  EFSA  issued  a  scientific  opinion  to  assist  the 
Commission  in  proposing  appropriate  and  science  based  amendments  to  Regulation 
(EC)  No  998/2003.  In  addition  the  Commission  had  also  to  consider  reports  of 
Member States on their experience with the implementation of Articles 6, 8 and 16 of 
that Regulation. 

However,  because  the  scientific  assessment  has  taken  longer  than  envisaged,  the 
Commission's report has been delayed. In order to be able to take the conclusions of 
the report sufficiently into consideration, it is appropriate to extend the period of the 
transitional regimes. 

(8) 

Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 should therefore be amended accordingly, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 is amended as follows: 

Article 1 

(1) 

In Article 6(1), the introductory phrase is replaced by the following: 

"Until 31 August 2009, the entry of the pet animals listed in Part A of Annex I into 
the territory of Ireland, Malta, Sweden and the United Kingdom shall be subject to 
the following requirements:" 

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(2) 

In Article 16, the first paragraph is replaced by the following: 

"Until 31 August 2009, Finland, Ireland, Malta, Sweden and the United Kingdom, as 
regards echinococcosis, and Ireland and the United Kingdom, as regards ticks, may 
make  the  entry  of  pet  animals  into  their  territory  subject  to  compliance  with  the 
special rules in place on the date on which this Regulation comes into force." 

(3) 

In Article 23, the date "1 January 2008"' is replaced by the date "1 September 2009". 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Article 2 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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