Regulation (EC) No 454/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 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
Date: 2008-05-21
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: animal disease, domestic animal, health control, transport of animals, veterinary inspection

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Official Journal of the European Union

4.6.2008

REGULATION (EC) No 454/2008 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 21 May 2008

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 EURO-
PEAN UNION,

(4)

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu-
nity, and in particular Articles 37 and 152(4)(b) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee (1),

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251
of the Treaty (2),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 (3) lays down the animal
health requirements applicable to non-commercial move-
ments of pet animals and the rules applying to checks on
such movements.

In addition, Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 pro-
vides 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 territories of Ireland, Malta, Sweden
and the United Kingdom is subject to special requirements,
taking into account the particular situations in those Mem-
ber States with regard to rabies.

Article 16 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, those Member States which
have special rules for the control of echinococcosis and
ticks on that date may make the entry of pet animals into
their territories subject to compliance with those require-
ments. Finland, Ireland, Malta, Sweden and the United
Kingdom apply their specific entry rules relating to echi-
nococcosis; Ireland, Malta and the United Kingdom require
pet dogs and cats to undergo additional treatment against
ticks that must also be certified in the animals’ passports.

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 are to be reviewed before the end of the transi-
tional 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, together with appropriate proposals for
determining the regime to be applied after the transitional
regimes provided for in Articles 6, 8 and 16 of that Regu-
lation. That report should be based on the experience
gained so far and on a risk evaluation, to be based on a sci-
entific opinion of the European Food Safety Authority
(EFSA).

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

amendments

Regulation

to

However, because the scientific assessment has taken
longer than envisaged, the Commission’s report has been
delayed. To enable sufficient account to be taken of the
conclusions of the report, the expiry of the transitional
regimes should be postponed.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

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

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

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

1.

in Article 6(1), the introductory phrase shall be replaced by
the following:

(1) Opinion of 12 December 2007 (not yet published in the Official Jour-

nal).

(2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 10 April 2008 (not yet pub-
lished in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 19 May 2008.
(3) OJ L 146, 13.6.2003, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commis-

sion Regulation (EC) No 245/2007 (OJ L 73, 13.3.2007, p. 9).

‘1.
Until 30 June 2010, the entry of the pet animals listed
in Part A of Annex I into the territory of Ireland, Malta, Swe-
den and the United Kingdom shall be subject to the follow-
ing requirements:’;

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Official Journal of the European Union

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2.

in Article 16, the first paragraph shall be replaced by the
following:

3.

in Article 23, the date ‘1 January 2008’ shall be replaced by
the date ‘1 July 2010’.

‘Until 30 June 2010, Finland, Ireland, Malta, Sweden and the
United Kingdom, as regards echinococcosis, and Ireland,
Malta and the United Kingdom, as regards ticks, may make
the entry of pet animals into their territory subject to com-
pliance with the special rules in place on the date on which
this Regulation comes into force.’;

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

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

Done at Strasbourg, 21 May 2008.

For the European Parliament
The President
H.-G. PÖTTERING

For the Council
The President
J. LENARČIČ