Proposal for a Council Decision on a Community position within the EC-Faroe Islands Joint Committee on the amendments to Decision No 1/2001 as regards the import of registered equidae directly from Iceland and the movements of registered equidae between the Faroe Islands and the European Community
Date: 2007-11-29
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Faroes, Iceland, equidae, health legislation, import, information network, traceability, veterinary inspection, veterinary legislation

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 29.11.2007 
COM(2007) 761 final 

2007/0266 (ACC) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on a Community position within the EC-Faroe Islands Joint Committee on the 
amendments to Decision No 1/2001 as regards the import of registered equidae directly 
from Iceland and the movements of registered equidae between the Faroe Islands and 
the European Community 

(presented by the Commission) 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

The  Agreement  between  the  European  Community,  of  the  one  part,  and  the 
Government  of  Denmark  and  the  Home  Government  of  the  Faroe  Islands,  of  the 
other part1 entered into force on 1 January 1997. 

At its meeting in Brussels on 26 September 2005 the veterinary subgroup discussed a 
request by the Faroe Islands' authorities to extend the EC-Faroe Islands agreement in 
order to permit the import of registered equidae directly from Iceland into the Faroe 
Islands and to permit the movement of registered equidae between the Faroe Islands 
and the Member States in accordance with the animal health conditions laid down for 
intra-Community trade in Chapter II of Council Directive 90/426/EEC, as well as to 
update  the  information  system  that  shall  be  used  by  the  Faroe  Islands.  The 
Commission experts and a Potsdam group of Member States agreed that this request 
was acceptable. 

The meeting agreed on a recommendation to further amend Decision No 1/2001 of 
the EC-Faroe Islands Joint Committee to permit this change.  

The  attached  draft  decision  of  the  EC–Faroe  Islands  Joint  Committee  lays  down 
provisions  to  amend  Decision  No  1/2001  of  the  EC-Faroe  Islands  Joint  Committee 
which  implements  the  Protocol  on  veterinary  matters  supplementary  to  the 
Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Government 
of Denmark and the Home Government of the Faroe Islands, of the other part, signed 
in Brussels on the 6 December 1996. 

The  Council  is  therefore  asked  to  adopt  the  annexed  proposal  for  a  decision 
concerning  the  Community  position  within  the  EC/Denmark-Faroe  Islands  Joint 
Committee on the approval of the extension of the agreement to permit the import of 
registered  equidae  directly  from  Iceland  into  the  Faroe  Islands  and  to  permit  the 
movement of registered equidae between the Faroe Islands and the Member States in 
accordance with the animal health conditions laid down for intra-Community trade in 
Chapter  II  of  Council  Directive  90/426/EEC,  as  well  as  to  update  the  information 
system that shall be used by the Faroe Islands. 

1 

OJ  L  53,  22.2.1997,  p.  2,  Agreement  as  amended  by  Decision  No 1/2006  (2006/561/EC)  (OJ  L  221, 
12.8.2006, p. 15). 

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
                                                 
2007/0266 (ACC) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on a Community position within the EC-Faroe Islands Joint Committee on the 
amendments to Decision No 1/2001 as regards the import of registered equidae directly 
from Iceland and the movements of registered equidae between the Faroe Islands and 
the European Community 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular 
Article 133 in conjunction with Article 300(2), second subparagraph, thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Whereas 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Article 2 of the Protocol on veterinary matters supplementing the Agreement between 
the European Community,  of  the one  part, and  the  Government  of  Denmark  and  the 
Home  Government  of  the  Faroe  Islands,  of  the  other  part2,  provides  that  the  Joint 
Committee  set  up  by  Article  31  of  the  Agreement  draws  up  the  conditions  for  the 
application by the Faroe Islands of Community veterinary provisions. 

The  Joint  Committee  has  adopted  Decision  No  1/2001  of  31  January  2001  laying 
down  the  provisions  to  implement  the  Protocol  on  veterinary  matters  supplementing 
the  Agreement  between  the  European  Community,  of  the  one  part,  and  the 
Government of Denmark and the Home Government of the Faroe Islands, of the other 
part3. 

The  veterinary  sub-group  of  the  Joint  Committee  recommends  that  Decision 
No 1/2001 of the EC-Faroe Islands Joint Committee be amended in order to permit the 
import of registered equidae directly from Iceland into the Faroe Islands and to permit 
the movement of registered equidae between the Faroe Islands and the Member States 
on the basis of intra Community movement rules. 

2 

3 

OJ  L  53,  22.2.1997,  p.  2,  Agreement  as  amended  by  Decision  No 1/2006  (2006/561/EC)  (OJ  L  221, 
12.8.2006, p. 15). 
OJ  L  46,  16.2.2001,  p.  24,  Decision  as  amended  by  Decision  No  2/2005  (2006/13/EC)  (OJ  L  8, 
13.1.2006, p. 46). 

EN 

3 

   EN 

 
                                                 
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Sole Article 

The  position  to  be  adopted  by  the  Community  within  the  Joint  Committee  established  by 
virtue  of  the  Agreement  signed  on  6  December  19964,  to  permit  the  import  of  registered 
equidae directly from Iceland into the Faroe Islands, and to permit the movement of registered 
equidae  between  the  Faroe  Islands  and  the  Member  States  in  accordance  with  intra-
Community  movement  rules,  is  that  defined  in  the  attached  draft  Decision  of  the  Joint 
Committee. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

4 

OJ  L  53,  22.2.1997,  p.  2,  Agreement  as  amended  by  Decision  No  1/2006  (2006/561/EC)  (OJ  L  221, 
12.8.2006, p. 15). 

EN 

4 

   EN 

 
 
 
                                                 
ANNEXE 

Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EC-FAROE ISLANDS JOINT COMMITTEE 

amending Decision No 1/2001 laying down provisions to implement the Protocol on 
veterinary matters supplementing the Agreement between the European Community, of 
the one part, and the Government of Denmark and the Home Government of the Faroe 
Islands, of the other part 

THE EC-FAROE ISLANDS JOINT COMMITTEE, 

Having regard to the Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters, between the European 
Community , of the one part, and the Government of Denmark and the Home Government of 
the Faroe Islands, of the other part5, 

Having  regard  to  the  Protocol  on  veterinary  matters  supplementing  the  Agreement6,  and  in 
particular its Article 2, first sentence thereof, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

At the meeting of the veterinary subgroup of the EC-Faroe Islands Joint Committee 
on  26  September  2005  in  Brussels  two  requests  from  the  Faroe  Islands  were 
discussed.  The  first  was  to  allow  the  import  of  registered  equidae  directly  from 
Iceland,  rather  than  via  a  border  inspection  post  approved  for  that  purpose  in  a 
Member  State  in  accordance  with  Article  6  of  Council  Directive  91/496/EEC  of 
15 July  1991  laying  down  the  principles  governing  the  organization  of  veterinary 
checks  on  animals  entering  the  Community  from  third  countries  and  amending 
Directives 89/662/EEC, 90/425/EEC and 90/675/EEC7. The second was to allow the 
movement of registered equidae between the Faroe Islands and the Member States in 
accordance with intra-Community movement rules.  

5 
6 
7 

OJ L 305, 30.11.1999, p. 25. 
OJ L 305, 30.11.1999, p. 26. 
OJ  L  268,  24.9.1991,  p.  56,  Directive  as  last  amended  by  Directive  2006/104/EC  (OJ  L  363, 
20.12.2006, p. 352). 

EN 

5 

   EN 

 
                                                 
(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

In accordance with Article 9 of Council  Directive  90/426/EEC  of  26  June  1990  on 
animal health conditions governing the movement and import from third countries of 
equidae8,  the  rules  laid  down  in  Council  Directive  90/425/EEC  of  26  June  1990 
concerning  veterinary  and  zootechnical  checks  in  intra-Community  trade  in  certain 
live animals and products with a view to the completion of the internal market9 shall 
apply.  

The  Faroe  Islands  commited  themselves  to  transpose  and  apply  the  Community 
provisions  set  out  in  the  Annex  to  this  Decision  and  to  establish  at  the  approved 
border inspection post located at Tórshavn an inspection centre suitable for handling 
registered  equidae,  imported  directly  from  Iceland  in  accordance  with  the 
construction and animal welfare requirements laid down in the Annex A to Directive 
91/496/EEC before the date of adoption of this Decision.  

The Commission representatives and Member States experts agreed that the animal 
health  situation  in  Faroe  Islands  permitted  the  proposed  amendment  of  Decision 
No 1/2001 of the EC-Faroe Islands Joint Committee. 

Article  27  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  882/2004  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 29 April 2004 on official controls performed to ensure the verification of 
compliance  with  feed  and  food  law,  animal  health  and  animal  welfare  rules10,  sets 
down  new  principles  for  the  collection  of  fees  or  charges  to  cover  the  costs 
occasioned by official controls. 

Consequently,  it  appears  appropriate  to  update  references  to  the  fees  concerned 
within  the  Community  in  Decision  No  1/2001  of  the  EC-Faroe  Islands  Joint 
Committee. 

A  new  system  of  notification  concerning  imports  of  live  animals  and  products  of 
animal  origin  into  the  European  Union  and  intra-Community  movements  of  live 
animals  named  TRACES  has  been  introduced  replacing  ANIMO.  TRACES  allows 
the  electronic  exchanges  of  data  concerning  import  and  intra-Community  trade  of 
live  animals  and  products  of  animal  origin  between  the  competent  authorities  in 
charge of animal and public health control.  

Consequently, it appears appropriate to update references to the information systems 
in Decision No 1/2001 of the EC-Faroe Islands Joint Committee. 

(7) 

The veterinary subgroup therefore recommended that Decision No 1/2001 of the EC-
Faroe Islands Joint Committee11 be amended accordingly. 

8 

9 

10 

11 

OJ  L  224,  18.8.1990,  p.  42,  Directive  as  last  amended  by  Directive  2006/104/EC  (OJ  L  363, 
20.12.2006, p. 352). 
OJ L 224, 18.8.90, p. 29, Directive as last amended by Directive 2002/33/EC (OJ L 315, 19.11.2002, 
p. 14). 
OJ L 191, 28.5.2004, p. 1, Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 (OJ L 363, 
20.12.2006, p. 1). 
OJ L 46, 16.2.2001, p. 24, Decision as amended by Decision No 2/2005 (2006/13/EC) of the EC-Faroe 
Islands Joint Committee (OJ L 8, 13.1.2006, p. 45). 

EN 

6 

   EN 

 
                                                 
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Article 1 

Decision No 1/2001 of the EC-Faroe Islands Joint Committee is amended as follows: 

(1) 

Article 3 is replaced by the following: 

“Article 3 
Checks on live animals coming from third countries 

1. 

2. 

Checks on live animals coming from third countries and destined for the Faroe 
Islands shall be carried out at border inspection posts in Member States by their 
veterinary services in the name and on behalf of the Faroe Islands authorities. 

In  the  cases  provided  for,  the  integrated  computerized  veterinary  system 
(TRACES) shall be used for all relevant notifications. 

3.  All imports of live animals into the Faroe Islands shall be subject to veterinary 
checks  as  laid  down  in  Council  Directive  91/496/EEC,  and  its  rules  of 
application fixed in the relevant Commission Decisions. 

If the results of the checks referred to in the first paragraph are satisfactory, the 
veterinary services shall issue a Common Veterinary Entry Document (CVED) 
for each consignment. 

The Customs services shall ensure that the necessary sanitary fees as set down 
in  Regulation  (EC)  No  882/2004  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council are paid before the customs transit operations start.” 

(2) 

Article 5 is replaced by the following: 

“Article 5 
Financing of checks 

The Faroe Islands undertake to apply the provisions of Article 27 of Regulation (EC) 
No 882/2004 as regards fees for the following areas: 

– 

– 

In  Annex  IV,  Chapter  V  for  fishery  products  covered  by  Regulation  (EC) 
No 853/200412; 

In  Annex  IV,  Chapter  V  to  ensure  that  the  controls  provided  for  in  Council 
Directive 96/23/EC13 on aquaculture animals are carried out; 

12 
13 

OJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 55. 
OJ L 125, 23.5.1996, p. 10. 

EN 

7 

   EN 

 
 
 
                                                 
– 

– 

– 

In  Annex  V  Chapters  I  (meat)  and  III  (other  animal  products)  for  animal 
products imported from third countries; 

In Annex V Chapter V for live animals imported from third countries; 

In  Annex  VI  to  cover  the  checks  for  the  aquaculture  animals,  products  of 
animal origin and live registered equidae covered by Directive 90/425/EEC14." 

(3) 

Article 7 is replaced by the following: 

“Article 7 
Information systems 

1. 

The  Faroe  Islands  shall  use  the  integrated  computerized  veterinary  system 
(TRACES) to notify Member States of movements and trade of live animals or 
products of animal origin, where required under the Community provisions. 

The  practical  arrangements  for  the  Faroe  Islands  participation  in  this  system 
shall be settled between Commission and Faroese officials. 

2. 

The  Faroe  Islands  shall  implement  Council  Directive  82/894/EEC15  and  they 
shall take part in the Animal Disease Notification System (ADNS). 

The  practical  arrangements  for  the  participation  of  the  Faroe  Islands  shall  be 
settled between Commission and Faroe Islands officials.” 

(4) 

The following Article12a is inserted: 

"Article 12a 
Imports and movements of registered equidae 

1. 

The Faroe Islands undertake to establish at the approved border inspection post 
located  at  Tórshavn  an  inspection  centre  suitable  for  handling  registered 
equidae, imported directly from Iceland. The facilities at the inspection centre 
shall meet the construction and animal welfare requirements for approval laid 
down in Annex A to Council Directive 91/496/EEC. 

Prior  to  constructing  the  premises,  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Faroe 
Islands shall submit to the European Commission the draft plan of this centre 
for consideration and comment.  

Once  the  agreed  facility  is  constructed,  the  Faroe  Islands  shall  inform  the 
Commission.  

14 
15 

OJ L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 29. 
OJ L 378, 31.12.1982, p. 58. 

EN 

8 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
2. 

3. 

By  way  of  derogation  from  Article  3(1),  the  checks  of  registered  equidae 
imported directly from Iceland shall be carried out in accordance with Council 
Directive  91/496/EEC  and  its  rules  of  application  laid  down  in  Commission 
Decision  97/794/EC16  by  the  veterinary  services  of  the  Faroe  Islands  at  the 
inspection centre referred to in the first paragraph. 

The  movements  of  registered  equidae  between  the  Faroe  Islands  and  the 
Member  States  shall  be  carried  out  on  the  basis  of  the  rules  laid  down  in 
Chapter II of Council Directive 90/426/EEC and following the checks carried 
out in accordance with Council Directive 90/425/EEC.” 

(5) 

In Article15, the following paragraph 4 is added:  

"4.  The Faroe Islands shall apply the Community provisions set out in the Annex 

to this Decision before the date of its adoption.  

The Faroe Islands shall inform the Commission no later than 2 weeks after the 
publication  of  this  Decision  that  they  have  taken  the  necessary  steps  to 
implement those provisions."  

(6) 

The text in the Annex to this Decision is added. 

Article 2 
Entry into force 

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Joint Committee  
The President 

16 

OJ L 323, 26.11.1997, p. 31. 

EN 

9 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
ANNEX 

The following Annex is added to Decision No 1/2001: 

Legislation as referred to in Article 15: 

"ANNEX 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

(10) 

(11) 

Council  Directive  90/425/EEC  of  26  June  1990  concerning  veterinary  and 
zootechnical checks applicable in intra- Community trade in certain live animals and 
products with a view to the completion of the internal market (OJ L 224, 18.8.1990, 
p. 29) 

Council  Directive  90/426/EEC  of  26  June  1990  on  animal  health  conditions 
governing  the  movement  and  import  from  third  countries  of  equidae  (OJ  L  224, 
18.8.1990, p. 42) 

Council Directive 90/427/EEC of 26 June 1990 on the zootechnical and genealogical 
conditions governing intra-Community trade in equidae (OJ L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 55) 

Commission Decision 92/260/EECof 10 April 1992 on animal health conditions and 
veterinary  certification  for  temporary  admission  of  registered  horses  (OJ  L  130, 
15.5.1992, p. 67) 

Commission Decision 93/195/EEC of 2 February 1993 on animal health conditions 
and  veterinary  certification  for  the  re-entry  of  registered  horses  for  racing, 
competition and cultural events after temporary export (OJ L 86, 6.4.1993, p. 1) 

Commission Decision 93/196/EEC of 5 February 1993 on animal health conditions 
and veterinary certification for imports of equidae for slaughter (OJ L 86, 6.4.1993, 
p. 7) 

Commission Decision 93/197/EEC of 5 February 1993 on animal health conditions 
and  veterinary  certification  for  imports  of  registered  equidae  and  equidae  for 
breeding and production (OJ L 72, 21.3.1996, p. 40) 

Commission Decision 93/623/EEC of 20 October 1993 establishing the identification 
document (passport) accompanying registered equidae. OJ L 298, 3.12.1993, p. 45) 

Commission  Decision  2000/68/EC  of  22  December  1999  amending  Commission 
Decision 93/623/EEC and establishing the identification of equidae for breeding and 
production (OJ L 23, 28.1.2000, p. 72) 

Commission  Decision  2004/211/EC  of  6  January  2004  establishing  the  list  of  third 
countries and parts of territory thereof from which Member States authorise imports 
of  live  equidae  and  semen,  ova  and  embryos  of  the  equine  species,  and  amending 
Decisions 93/195/EEC and 94/63/EC (OJ L 73, 11.3.2004, p. 1) 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1/2005  of  22  December  2004  on  the  protection  of 
transport  and  related  operations  and  amending  Directives 
animals  during 
64/432/EEC  and  93/119/EC  and  Regulation  (EC)  No  1255/97  (OJ  L  3,  5.1.2005, 
p. 1)" 

EN 

10 

   EN