CELEX: 51979PC0027
Language: en
Date: 1979-02-01
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION on financial contribution to the campaign against foot-and-mouth disease in South-East Europe (submitted to the Council by the Commission)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (79) 27
Vol. 1979/0010
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                 COM(79 ) 27 final .
                                                 Brussels , 1 February 1978
                   PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION
          on financial contribution to the campaign against
             foot-and-mouth disease in South-East Europe
            (submitted to the Council by the Commission)
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  COM 79 ) 27 final .
 ---pagebreak---                          EXPLANATORY   MEMORANDUM
 I. The Director General of the FAO has submitted a request to President
     Jenkins for a financial contribution by the EEC to the continuance of
     the measures undertaken by his organization against exotic viruses of
     foot - and-mouth disease in the countries of South-East Europe .
     This request is for a sum of 900 000 U.S. dollars ( about 700 000 EUA )
     primarily to purchase vaccines to maintain the buffer zone created 15 years
     ago to prevent the spread of exotic foot - and-mouth viruses to other European
     countries and , consequently , to Community territory .  This buffer zone covers
     areas on the border between Turkey and Greece on the one hand and Turkey and
     Bulgaria on the other .
     The FAO has also appealed to other European non-EEC countries for funds .
II . In assessing the advisability of this contribution to the FAO , account
     should be taken in particular of the following :
     1 . Experience in recent years has shown that the Middle East and the
         countries of South-East Europe , in particular Turkey and Greece , are
         particularly vulnerable to foot - and-mouth disease caused by exotic
         viruses . In 1962 there was an epizootic disease caused by SAT ^ virus
         in Turkey and in 1964-65 an epizootic caused by A^ virus in Turkey
         reached the Greek border .   In 1972 Turkish Thrace and in particular
         Greece were affected by a second outbreak caused by A^ virus and in
         1973 Turkey was also affected by an epizootic caused by Asia^ virus .
         To create a barrier to the spread of these exotic viruses into Europe ,
         in 1962 the FAO , with the financial aid of the EEC and other European
         countries , created a buffer zone along the Greek–Turkish and Bulgarian-
         Turkish borders in which all animals susceptible to foot- and-mouth disease
         were vaccinated systematically with vaccines effective against the
         foot -and-mouth viruses threatening Europe .
         The action taken by the FAO was a decisive factor in preventing the
         spreading of the various epizootics of foot-and-mouth disease into Europe .
 ---pagebreak---                                     - 2 -
       2 . At present the situation is the following :            virus / which is
           exotic for the EEC , continues to exist in Anatolia ;      furthermore a
           new problem has arisen with the appearance in the Middle East of
           sub-types or variants of the 0 virus which are immunologically different
           from the 0^ Europe virus . Moreover, Turkey is still not in a position
           to produce the foot-and-mouth disease vaccine necessary to meet national
           requirements ; according to information supplied by the Turkish
           authorities , the new Foot - and-Mouth Disease Institute in Ankara will not
           be operational before 1983 ;     thus the buffer zone can only be maintained
           with financial aid from European countries .
       3 . Community livestock is not vaccinated against exotic foot - and-mouth viruses .
           The Community is therefore very vulnerable to penetration by these viruses ,
           which could spread very rapidly and cause serious losses .
III . According to the information supplied by the FAO a favourable reply to its
       request for funds would, on the basis of the current situation as regards
       foot - and-mouth disease in the Middle East , enable vaccination campaigns to
       continue in the buffer zone for a period of four years .        The current
       programme provides for the annual supply of 700 000 to 800 000 doses of
      bivalent A^ ^ vaccines to maintain this zone .
       It should be noted that the composition of the foot - and-mouth vaccines to be
       used in      the buffer zone could change at any moment in line with the
       epizootological situation and the type of foot - and-mouth viruses threathening
       Europe .                                          '
 IV . As was the case during previous operations , the correct use of the sums
       granted could be controlled by an EEC representative at the level of an
       FA0 / I0E / EEC advisory committee .
   V. Since the enclosed draft Decision is based on Article A3 of the Treaty
       the European Parliament must be consulted .
  VI . If the Council 's decision is favourable the necessary appropriations will be
        divided into two instalments .      The first / to be paid in 1979 , will be released
        by transfer and the second will go into the preliminary draft budget for 1980 .
 ---pagebreak---                                 PROPOSAL FOR A
                               COUNCIL DECISION
              on a financial contribution to the campaign
              against foot-and-mouth disease in South-East Europe
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community , and in
particular Article A3 thereof ,                        ,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament ,
Whereas there have been outbreaks of foot - and- mouth   disease caused by viruses
 foreign to the Community in recent years in certain regions of South-East Europe ;
whereas the danger to Community livestock from exotic foot - and -mouth viruses has
not been removed ;   whereas , consequently , aid should continue to be granted to the
non-Member countries concerned to enable them to apply measures designed to prevent
the spread of these viruses , in particular by the creation bf buffer zones in these
regions ,
HAS   DECIDED AS FOLLOWS :
                                   Article 1
 The envisaged assistance by the Community in     the campaign undertaken in the countries
 of South-East Europe against exotic foot - and-mouth viruses is estimated at 700 000 EUA
                                   Article 2
  he Commission shall be responsible for supervising the manner in which the sum
provided for in Article 1 is used and shall report to the Council and the European
Parliament on the. implementation of this Decision .
Done at Brussels ,                                           For the Council
                                                     ;
                                                             The President
 ---pagebreak---                               BUDGET STATEMENT
Budget heading :
Article 310
Item 3103
Title of heading
Community contribution to anti - foot-and-mouth disease measures outside the
Community .
Légal basis
Council Décision
Nature and objective of action , and justification therefor ,
Purchase of anti - foot - and-mouth vaccine to be used in buffer zones on the
Greco-Turko-Bulgarian frontiers to create a barrier to the passage of exotic
foot - and-mouth viruses into Europe . These viruses are particularly dangerous to the
Community 's livestock, which is not immunized against them . Exotic viruses
often appear in the Near East and it is indispensable to maintain these
buffer zones .
Other European countries besides those of the EEC are contributing to the
operation, which is expected to last for four years if the foot - and-mouth
situation in the Near East remains as it is at this moment .
700 000 - 800 000 doses of bivalent vaccine are required per year to maintain
 the buffer zones .
The operation is being undertaken on the initiative of the FA0, which has
asked the EEC and other European countries for funds . The sum requested per
head of cattle is 1.2 American cents .
 Cost of action in US dollars
The 700 000 EUA            can be split into two instalments . The first ,
300 000 EUA,        to be paid in the first quarter of 1979, would be released
by transfer and the second instalment would go into the preliminary draft
budget for 1980 .
 ---pagebreak--- Financial breakdown
Purchase of vaccine each year :
     700 000 - 800 000 doses of bivalent vaccine x 0.40 US cents =
                                + 300 000 US dollars per year .
The programme is expected to run for 4 years .
Part of the total , i.e. 300 000 dollars , would be paid by European
countries which are not members of the EEC , thus leaving 900 000 dolLars
(700 000 EUA ) to be provided by the EEC .
Supervision
The use of the money will be supervised by an EEC representative on an
FA0 / I0E / EEC Advisory Committee .
With regard to the 1979 budget , it is necessary to transfer an appropriation
of 300 000 E.U.A. to heading 3103 from other headings in Chapter 31 or from
other Chapters of the General Budget .
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