REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the technical and economic feasibility of introducing mandatory electronic identification of bovine animals throughout the Union
Date: 2023-08-30
Institutions: Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, cattle, database, labelling, radio frequency identification, statistics, traceability, veterinary inspection

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  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 30.8.2023  COM(2023) 498 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the technical and economic feasibility of introducing mandatory electronic identification of bovine animals throughout the Union  
 
 
Table of Contents 

Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 2 

Background ................................................................................................................................ 2 

Current EU rules ......................................................................................................................... 3 

Survey on bovine eID ................................................................................................................. 4 

Analysis of results ...................................................................................................................... 4 

Possibility for the use of bovine eID...................................................................................... 4 

Current use of bovine eID ...................................................................................................... 5 

Electronic means of identification authorised........................................................................ 6 

Satisfaction with current rules ............................................................................................... 6 

Conclusions ................................................................................................................................ 7 

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Introduction 

The purpose of this document is to provide the European Parliament and the Council with an 
overview  of  the  current  situation  regarding  the  use  of  electronic  identification  of  bovine 
animals  in  the  EU  and  to  present  the  Commissions  analyses  of  the  feasibility  of  making  it 
mandatory throughout the Union.  

Electronic systems for identification of animals have been introduced in the European Union, 
through legislation which is in force for already more than 20 years. These include mandatory 
systems  for  electronic  identification  of  ovine  and  caprine  animals,  according  to  Regulation 
(EC) No 21/20041, as well as voluntary systems for bovine animals introduced by Regulation 
(EC) No 1760/20002, as amended by Regulation (EU) No 653/20143. 

Article  23a  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1760/2000  requires  the  Commission  to  submit  to  the 
European Parliament and to the Council a report by 18 July 2023 on the technical and economic 
feasibility of introducing mandatory electronic identification of bovine animals throughout the 
Union  and  that  that  report  should,  if  necessary,  be  accompanied  by  appropriate  legislative 
proposals. This provision was introduced by Regulation (EU) No 653/2014, which presupposes 
that  the  use  of  electronic  identification  (‘eID’)  systems  could  potentially  streamline  the 
traceability processes by automating the reading  and recording into the register kept  by the 
operators  keeping  bovine  animals.  Moreover,  it  could  enable  automated  reporting  of 
movements of bovine animals to the computerised database, improving the speed, reliability 
and accuracy of the traceability system. The use of eID systems could also have the potential 
to improve the management of certain direct payments to farmers.  

Background 

Electronic identification means in general an identification by using radio frequency. There are 
two  elements  of  such  electronic  identification:  the  identifier  and  the  reader.  The  identifier 
contains  a  passive  transponder  (microchip  with  no  energy  source  inside)  which  transmits 
memorised information (identification code) when the reader (transmitter-receiver) activates it 
at  a  certain  frequency.  Electronic  identification  can  contribute  to  improvements  in  existing 
systems  for identification of bovine animals.  For example, electronic identifiers  allow for a 
faster reading and a higher reading accuracy than classical ear tags. Dynamic reading and direct 
entry of data into databases is also possible (removing potential errors caused by inaccurate 
manual database entry). In particular, this could ease the procedure to report the movements of 
animals  to  the  database.  However,  the  contribution  of  electronic  identification  to  improve 
animal  identification  and  traceability  should  not  be  overestimated  in  view  of  the  nature  of 
difficulties in applying existing systems. Complete tagging of all animals and an efficient data 
management  are  preconditions  for  any  system  of  identification,  irrespective  of  whether 
electronic identifiers or classic ear tags are used. 

In the light of the technological development of new types of electronic identifiers, Regulation 
(EC) No 1760/2000 was amended by Regulation (EU) No 653/2014 in order to provide a venue 
for  future  EU  rules  enabling  the  use  of  electronic  identifiers  as  an  official  means  of 
identification.  Recital  16  to  that  Regulation  points  out  that  “making  bovine  eID  mandatory 

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Council Regulation (EC) No 21/2004 of 17 December 2003 establishing a system for the identification and 
registration of ovine and caprine animals and amending Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 and Directives 
92/102/EEC and 64/432/EEC (OJ L 5, 9.1.2004, p. 8) 
Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000 establishing 
a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and 
beef products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97 (OJ L 204, 11.8.2000, p. 1). 
Regulation (EU) No 653/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 amending 
Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 as regards electronic identification of bovine animals and labelling of beef 
(OJ L 189, 27.6.2014, p. 33) 

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throughout the Union could have economically adverse effects on certain operators”. It was 
therefore appropriate that its use by keepers was made voluntary. Member States have very 
different husbandry systems, farming practices and sector organisations. Member States were 
therefore allowed to make eID compulsory on their territory. 

Several  reports  were  used  in  the  preparation  of Regulation  (EU)  No  653/2014.  In  1998  the 
Commission  launched  a  large-scale  research  project  on  livestock  electronic  identification 
called the IDEA-project (IDentification Electronic des Animaux). The work was performed by 
the Joint Research Centre of the Commission (JRC). The final report was presented in April 
2002 and necessary clarifications were made in July 2002. This project demonstrated that in 
principle,  the  use  of  electronic  identifiers  can  deliver  a  substantial  improvement  in  animal 
identification  systems  provided  that  a  number  of  conditions  concerning  the  accompanying 
measures are fulfilled. 

In 2005, the Commission presented a report to the Council and the European Parliament on the 
possibility  of  introduction  of  eID  for  bovine  animals4.  The  purpose  of  that  report  was  to 
summarise the experience gained on the basis of the IDEA project and to draw conclusions 
concerning  the  conditions  of  introducing  electronic  identification  arrangements  for  bovine 
animals  in  the  European  Union.  The  Commission  concluded  in  that  report  that  it  had  been 
demonstrated that radio frequency identification had been developed to the extent that it could 
already be applied in practice. That report also concluded that it was highly desirable to switch 
to eID of bovine animals within the Union since, among other benefits, it would contribute to 
the reduction of the administrative burden. 

In 2009, the European Commission commissioned a ‘Study on the introduction of electronic 
identification (EID) as official method to identify bovine animals within the European Union’, 
which included a cost/benefit analysis of the electronic identification of bovine animals. This 
study concluded that “EID is associated with higher costs for identifiers and reading equipment 
compared to conventional identification”, and that “Direct costs and benefits are not balanced 
all along the production chain”. The study concluded that the voluntary introduction of eID in 
the bovine sector on the basis of harmonised standards would be the preferred option. However, 
individual Member States should have the possibility to opt for an obligatory (or compulsory) 
regime at national level. 

Current EU rules 

Identification and registration of bovine animals was until 21 April 2021 regulated in dedicated 
Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000. 

As of 21 April 2021, the rules for identification and reporting of bovine animals are laid down 
in  Regulation  (EU)  2016/4295  (Animal  Health  Law  -  AHL),  supplemented  by  Delegated 
Regulation  (EU)  2019/20356  and  Implementing  Regulation  (EU)  2021/5207.  According  to 
Article 112(a) of the AHL, bovine animals must be identified individually by a physical means 
of identification. Article 38(1) of Delegated Regulation  (EU) 2019/2035  lays down that the 
means  of  identification  must  be  a  conventional  ear  tag  in  each  ear.  Article  41(1)  of  that 

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https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52005DC0009  
Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on transmissible 
animal  diseases  and  amending  and  repealing  certain  acts  in  the  area  of  animal  health  (‘Animal  Health 
Law’) (OJ L 84, 31.3.2016, p. 1) 
Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2019/2035  of  28  June  2019  supplementing  Regulation  (EU) 
2016/429  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  as  regards  rules  for  establishments  keeping 
terrestrial animals and hatcheries, and the traceability of certain kept terrestrial animals and hatching eggs 
(OJ L 314, 5.12.2019, p. 115) 
Commission  Implementing  Regulation  (EU)  2021/520  of  24  March  2021  laying  down  rules  for  the 
application of Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the 
traceability of certain kept terrestrial animals (OJ L 104, 25.3.2021, p. 39) 

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Delegated Regulation provides the opportunity for Member States to authorise that one of the 
conventional ear tags may be replaced by an electronic identifier. If a Member State authorises 
such replacement, the operators may apply voluntary bovine eID. 

In accordance with Article 269 of the AHL, Member States may adopt national measures in 
addition  to,  or  more  stringent  than,  those  laid  down  under  that  Regulation  on  traceability 
requirements for kept bovine animals. This provides an opportunity for Member States to make 
the use of bovine eID compulsory. This  opportunity to  make the use of  eID  compulsory at 
national level was also provided for in the rules for traceability of bovine animals which were 
in place prior to the application of the AHL. 

Intensive discussions and reflections on identification and registration of animals, including 
bovine animals, took place in the framework of expert group meetings during 2018 and 2019, 
in preparation of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2035. The approach for eID, including the 
economic aspects, was discussed thoroughly and the outcome of those discussions was retained 
in the final text of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2035. It was seen as appropriate that its 
use by keepers should continue to  be voluntary, unless made compulsory by national  rules. 
Under  such  a  voluntary  regime,  eID  will  be  chosen  by  keepers  who  are  likely  to  benefit 
economically  from  it,  or  find  other  incentives  for  using  this  method  (e.g.  optimising  data 
collection, etc.) while it is possible for other keepers to continue to identify their animals with 
two conventional ear tags. 

Survey on bovine eID 

In January 2023, the Commission invited the Member States to reply to a short survey, asking 
for a state of play with regard to bovine eID. All the 27 Member States, as well as Switzerland 
and  Norway,  participated  in  the  survey  and  gave  their  replies.  The  responses  will  be 
summarised in the continuation of this report. 

The survey consisted of the following questions (groups of questions) that Member States were 
invited to provide their contribution: 

1.  Is bovine eID compulsory in your MS? 
2.  Do you allow voluntary bovine eID in your MS? 
3.  How many operators (%) applies voluntary bovine eID in your Member State? 
4.  If  bovine  eID  is  compulsory  or  voluntary  in  your  MS,  which  method(s)  is/are 

authorised? 

5.  Do you find the current rules on bovine eID satisfactory? 

Analysis of results 

Possibility for the use of bovine eID 

In Question 1 and 2 Member States were asked for the current situation regarding the possibility 
for operators to use bovine eID. The questions was: “Is bovine eID compulsory in your MS? 
Yes or No” and “Do you allow voluntary bovine eID in your MS? Yes or No”.  

Figure 1 shows that only 3 respondents (two Member States and Switzerland) do not allow the 
replacement of one of the conventional ear tags by an electronic means of identification. In 21 
countries (20 Member States), the use of bovine eID is optional. In 5 Member States, the use 
of bovine eID is compulsory. In addition, eID is compulsory in part of the territory of 2 Member 
States, and another 3 Member States signalled that it is decided or under consideration to make 
bovine eID compulsory in whole or part of their territory. 

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Figure 1: Current situation in the Member States   

Current use of bovine eID 

The use of bovine eID in Member States where this is optional varies from 0 to 100% of the 
bovine  populations.  In  half  of  those  Member  States,  less  than  1%  of  the  operators  keeping 
bovine animals use eID to identify their animals. The very high coverage in some countries is 
mainly industry driven, either by subsidies or by request for electronically identified animals 
from actors like meat or dairy industry. The results are presented in Figure 2. 

Figure 2: Use of bovine eID in countries where this is optional 

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Electronic means of identification authorised 

Electronic ear tags are the preferred means of identification in Member States which allows 
the use of eID for bovine animals. This method is authorised by the competent authorities in 
all countries where bovine eID is either compulsory or optional. The results are presented in 
Figure 3. 

Figure 3: Which electronic means of identification is autho rised 

Satisfaction with current rules 

The  current  rules  for  identification  of  bovine  animals  are  found  to  be  satisfactory  or  very 
satisfactory by a huge majority of the Member States, and only regarded as dissatisfactory by 
one Member State. The results are presented in Figure 4.  

Figure 4: Satisfaction with current rules  

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Conclusions 

The  survey  on  bovine  eID  shows  that  the  Member  States  are  still  finding  the  current  rules 
satisfactory. The survey also shows that compulsory bovine eID is applied or will be applied 
by 37% of the Member States in the whole or part of their territory under the current rules. 
Furthermore, eID is applied to all or a considerable share of the bovine population in some 
countries where the use is optional. 

Under the current rules on bovine identification, the competent authority of each Member State 
may  authorise  the  use  of  bovine  eID  on  a  voluntary  basis  or  lay  down  national  rules  on 
mandatory  use  of  bovine  eID  within  their  territories.  Those  rules  have  been  applied 
successfully since 2014, and were again discussed and agreed with the Member States when 
the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2035 was developed in 2019, in the context of the new 
legal framework for animal health.  It  was seen as appropriate to keep the flexibility for the 
operators and the Member States. These renewed rules have been applicable since 21 April 
2021.  

According to Article 282 of the AHL, the Commission shall evaluate that Regulation together 
with the delegated acts referred to in its Article 264 and submit the results of the evaluation in 
a report to the European Parliament and to the Council no later than 22 April 2026. As part of 
this  evaluation,  the  experience  with  the  implementation  of  the  rules  for  identification  and 
registration of bovine animals  may again  be assessed, whereby the assessment will cover a 
longer period of implementation of the rules. 

Based on the conclusions of the survey referred to above, the outcome of the discussions in the 
expert groups and with the Member States during the development of the current rules and the 
foreseen evaluation of those rules, the Commission will not propose any legislative proposals 
at this stage. 

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