CELEX: 51986PC0391
Language: en
Date: 1986-07-10
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION introducing a Community financial measure for the eradication of African Swine Fever in Spain (submitted to the Council by the Commission)

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COM (86) 391
Vol. 1986/0167
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                                      C0M<86> 391 f i n a l
                                                                      Brussels, 10 Ju ly 1986
                                                    Proposal f o r a
                                                  COUNCIL DECISION
                i n t r o d u c i n g a Community f i n a n c i a l measure f o r the
                               e r a d i c a t i o n o f A f r i c a n Swine Fever
                                                       i n Spain
                      ( s u b m i t t e d t o t h e Counci l by t h e Commission)
C0MC86) 391 f i n a l
 ---pagebreak---                              EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
The presence of African Swine Fever in Spain presents a risk to the other
countries of the Community.   This highly contagious disease of pigs has been
present in Spain for more than twenty years. The Community, in order to
protect its pig herds, had decided to grant financial aid to the Spanish
authorities in order to eliminate the disease before the accession of this
country (Council Decision 80/877/CEE of 15 September 1980).    This programme,
to run for five years, was approved by the Community (Decision 81/633/EEC) and
came into force 1st July 1981, leading to a certain reduction of the numbers
of outbreaks and a stabilistation of the incidence of the disease.
It seems necessary, following the accession of Spain to the Community, to
follow-up and reinforce the current action.    This reinforced action would
 allow, in conformation with the request from the Spanish Government, complete
 eradication of this disease which presents a permanent danger to the pig herds
 in the Community.  The realisation of the internal market in the pig sector
 depends, for Spain, on the radiation of the disease.
 ---pagebreak---                                     Proposal for a
                                COUNCIL DECISION
        introducing a Community financial measure for the eradication of
                          African Swine Fever in Spain
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,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee
Whereas African Swine Fever has been present in Spain for many years;
Whereas, in order to prevent the disease from spreading to its territory, the
Community granted financial support for a period of five years by means of
Council Decision 79/509/EEC of 2A May 1979 on financial aid from the Community
                                            .  „   . (1)
for the eradication of African Swine Fever in Spain      ;
Whereas the efforts already made have served to stabilize the incidence of the
disease; whereas the resources deployed must, however, be maintained and
 reinforced in order to eradicate African Swine Fever from the entire territory
 of Spain and thus contribute to the establishment of the internal market;
Whereas the Spanish authorities have appealed to the Community for a
 contribution towards the expenditure involved in the continuation and
 reinforcement of the eradication programme undertaken in 1980,
 Whereas, in order to benefit from the results obtained, this request should be
 granted so that the systematic action already undertaken can be maintained and
 consolidated;
     0J No L133, 31.05.1979, p. 27
 ---pagebreak---                                          - 2 -
Whereas the reinforced eradication plan must include measures ensuring the
effectiveness of the action undertaken; whereas a procedure closely associating
the Member States and the Commission should be introduced by means of which such
measures can firstly be adopted and secondly adapted as the situation develops;
Whereas the Member States should be kept regularly informed of the progress of
the measures undertaken,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION
                                      Article 1
Spain shall draw up a reinforced plan for the eradication of African swine
fever and the restructuring of pig farms so as to protect the health of their
livestock.
                                      Article 2
The plan referred to in Article 1 must provide for:
1. Measures to eliminate outbreaks of African swine fever, and more
   particularly:
   (a)  the immediate slaughter and destruction of all pigs on those holdings
        where a case of African swine fever is diagnosed and on those holdings
        which, as a result of an epizootiological investigation, can be
        considered as contaminated.    Slaughter and destruction shall be
        effected in such a way as to avoid any danger of spreading the virus;
   (b)  the cleansing and disinfection of, and elimination of insect and
        rodent pests from, holdings after the elimination of the pigs;
   (c)  immediate and adequate compensation for the owners of holdings whose
        pigs have been slaughtered in accordance with (a);
   (d)  a delay before restocking of holdings, the duration of such delay
        being at least one month after slaughter and the completion of the
        operations provided for in paragraph (b) for holdings operating in
        enclosed premises and at least three months for other holdings;
   (e)  the gradual restocking of holdings by the prior introduction of
        '’sentinel'* pigs, the absence of African swine fever antibodies from
        which has been checked prior to their entry and again one month later;
   (f)  continous serological surveillance of holdings until they are fully
        restocked;
 ---pagebreak---                                         - 3 -
2. Measures for the control of pig farms and the establishment of zones free
   from African swine fever, and in particular:
   (a)   serological testing by representative sampling of all pig farms in
         each region of production.
       However, the following rules shall apply in the special cases described
       below:
       - in the case of breeding farms, multiplication farms or mixed
         closed-circuit farms, all breeding sows and sows intended for breeding
         must be subjected to serological investigation;
       - in the case of mixed farms receiving pigs from external sources, if no
         clear separation exists between the breeding unit and the pig
         fattening unit, all the pigs on the holding must be subjected to
         serological investigation;
   (b)   systematic serological investigation on all farms where one or more
         animals have reacted positively to the serological test provided for
         in (a) and the continuation of this investigation until all positive
         animals are eliminated;
   (c)   an epizootiological investigation to identify the farms on which pigs
         reacting positively to serological tests originate and systematic
         serological investigation on such farms;
   (d)   elimination by slaughter and destruction of all animals reacting
         positively to serological tests following measures provided for in
         (a), (b) and (c);
   (e)   immediate and adequate compensation for owners of pigs slaughtered and
         destroyed in accordance with (d);
   (f)   health protection measures on farms where pigs react negatively to
         serological tests.   More particularly such protection must entail:
         - the application of health measures with regard to any person
           entering the farm;
         - arrangements for the disinfection of any vehicle having to enter the
           farm;
         - the installation of safety gates for the delivery of feedingstuffs
           and various supplies;
         - the installation of safety gates for the removal of pigs;
 ---pagebreak---  (g)  the implementation of health measures in respect of all animals
      entering the farm for the purposes of breeding or fattening.  More
      particularly these measures must entail:
      - an obligation to acquire animals from a farm presenting the same
        assurances,
      - serological investigation of all breeding pigs,
      - monitoring of breeding pigs before their entry into the production
        cycle;
 (h)  establishment of criteria for the recognition of holdings free of
      African swine fever.  The criteria must include at least the following
      - absence of clinical disease on the holding for at least one year,
      - absence of clinical disease within a radius of 2 km around the
        holding for at least one year,
     - execution of the serological operations provided for in (a), (b)
        and (c ).
(i)  clearly distinguishable marking of all pigs on holdings recognized as
     free of African swine fever;
Measures to create regions free of African swine fever, entailing more
particularly:
(a)  the establishment of a system of identifying all pigs on the national
     territory so that the region and holding of origin can be traced at
     any time;
(b)  the registration of all holdings engaged in pig farming, specifying
     the type of production, their position with regard to African swine
     fever and the size of their stock;
(c)  the monitoring of stock of holdings by the introduction of a
     pig-farming register or file recording in particular entries of pigs
     to the holding and their origin, exit of pigs and their destination,
     mortality and the causes thereof;
(d)  the monitoring of movements of pigs within a region or between regions
     irrespective of their origin and destination by regional bodies
     established for that purpose;
 ---pagebreak---                                         - 5 -
   (e)    a general ban on the entry of live pigs originating in a region which
          does not have the same health status;
   (f)    the promotion of regional groups of farmers to combat African swine
          fever so as to engender more effective cooperation with the technical
          and administrative departments and voluntary control over the
          application of the plan;
   (g)    serological testing by sampling of pigs at the time of their slaughter;
   (h)    serological testing by sampling of slaughtered wild swine;
4. Measures to restructure pig farms in order to ensure greater health
   protection and prevent the spread of the disease, entailing more
   particularly:
   (a)    adaptation of existing piggeries so as to ensure effective health
          protection.   Such adaptations must entail:
        - protective installations for the entry of vehicles and persons and
          safety gates for deliveries of feedingstuffs and various supplies,
        - safety gates for the delivery or removal of live pigs;
   (b)    encouragement for the replacement of traditional farms by closed
          circuit farms with clear and effective separation between the breeding
          unit and the fattening unit;
   (c)    for fattening farms, the establishment of systems for the supply of
          piglets requiring the direct transportation of animals from recognised
          multiplication farms to the fattening farm;
    (d)    in the case of farms continuing to use grazing land in certain regions
          where this practice cannot be abandoned:
        - the establishment of closed and protected housing for breeding stock
           and their piglets;
        - establishment of enclosed and protected runs for sows and fattening
           piglets until the latters departure to the grazing land;
 ---pagebreak---                                        - 6 -
       - prohibition on the return of fattening pigs from grazing land to the
         breeding unit;
       - obligation to transport fattened pigs direct to to the slaughterhouse;
       - serological testing of all pigs fattened on grazing land both before
         they are turned out and at the time of slaughter;
       - where the result of serological testing is positive, seizure and
         destruction of the carcases in question and a ban on the use of the
         grazing land of origin for the fattening of pigs;
       - serological testing of all wild swine slaughtered in the region
         concerned;
5. National and regional protection measures, entailing more particularly:
   (a)   control and destruction of all waste from international means of
         transport;
   (b)   control of all scraps and swill from kitchens and industries using
         pigmeat;
   (c)   ban on the use for feeding to pigs of scraps and swill from kitchens
         and industries using pigmeat;
   (d)   however, the competent authorities may authorise the use of scraps for
         feeding in specially designated farms where there are only fattening
         pigs provided that these scraps are collected and treated in
         specialised establishments under official control;
   (e)   obligation to slaughter pigs in slaughterhouses under permanent
         veterinary control.
 ---pagebreak---                                       - 7 -
                                    Article 3
After examination of the plan submitted by the Spanish authorities and of any
amendments to be made thereto, the Commission shall decide, in accordance with
the procedure laid down in Article 9, whether or not to approve it.
The Committee of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund shall
be consulted on the financial aspects and the Standing Committee on Structure
on the structural aspects of the plan.
                                    Article 4
The measure provided for in this Decision shall qualify for financial aid from
the Community.
                                    Article 5
1. Community financial assistance shall be granted for a period of five years
   from the date fixed by the Commission in its decision approving the plan
   referred to in Article 1.
2. The estimated assistance to be charged to the Community budget under the
   chapter covering expenditure relating to agriculture shall be 42 million
   ECU for the duration of the measure provided for in paragraph 1.
                                    Article 6
1. On condition that all the measures laid down are applied and are in
   compliance with the plan approved by the Commission pursuant to Article 3,
   the expenditure incurred by Spain.
   -  under Article 2(l)(a), (b), (c) (e) and (f), (2)(a), (b), (c), (d) and
      (e), (3)(d), (f), (g) and (h) and the last three indents of (4)(d),
   -  under Article 2(3)(b) and (4)(a), (b), (c) and the first two indents of
      (d),
      shall qualify for Community financial aid within the limits laid down in
      Article 5.
 ---pagebreak---                                           - 8  -
  2. The Community shall refund 50% of the expenditure referred to in the first
       indent of paragraph 1 and 30% of the expenditure referred to in the second
       indent of paragraph 1.
  3. Detailed rules for the application of this Article shall be adopted, as
      required in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 13 of
      Regulation (EEC) No 729/70.
                                        Article 7
  1. Applications for payment shall relate to expenditure incurred by Spain
      during the calendar year and shall be submitted to the Commission before 1
      July of the following year.
 2. Article 7(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 shall apply to the decisions
      adopted by the Commission relating to the financing of this measure by the
     Community.
 3. Detailed rules for the application of this Article shall be adopted in
     accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 13 of Regulation (EEC)
     No 729/70.
                                       Article 8
 Regulation (EEC) No 129/70 and Articles 8 and 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70
 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
                                       Article 9
1. Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to be followed, matters
     shall be referred without delay by the chairman, either on his own
     initiative or at the request of a Member State, to the Standing Veterinary
    Committee (hereinafter called the "Committee”) set up by Decision
    68/361/EEC.
2. Within the Committee, the votes of Member States shall be weighted as laid
    down in Article 148(2) of the Treaty.     The chairman shall not vote.
3. The representative of the Commission shall submit a draft of the measures
    to be adopted.    The Committee shall deliver its opinion on such measures
    within the time limit set by the chairman according to the urgency of the
    matters under consideration. Opinions shall be delivered by a qualified
    majority of 54 votes.
 ---pagebreak---                                        - 9 -
4. The Commission shall adopt the measures and shall apply them immediately
   where they are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee.   Where they
    are not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, or if no opinion
    is delivered, the Commission shall without delay propose to the Council the
   measures to be taken.   The Council shall adopt the measures by a qualified
   majority.
   If, within three months from the date on which the proposal was submitted
   to it, the Council has not adopted any measures, the Commission shall adopt
   the proposed measures and shall apply them immediately.
                                    Article 10
1. The Commission shall monitor the situation with regard to African swine
   fever in Spain and the implementation of the eradication plan.
   The Commission shall inform the Member States within the Committee of
   developments regularly, at least once a year, in the light of the
   information provided by the Spanish authorities, who shall submit a
   progress report to the Commission together with the applications for
   payment, and any reports from experts who, acting on behalf of the
   Community and appointed by the Commission, have visited Spain.
2. Should the need arise to amend the eradication plan in the course of its
   execution, a new decision approving it shall be taken in accordance with
   the procedure laid down in Article 9.
                                    Article 11
This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Spain.
Done at Brussels,                                 For the Council
 ---pagebreak---      FINANCIAL                    STATEMENT                       concerning: A p r o p o s a l f o r a Counci l Deci si on
      i n t r o d u c i n g a Community f i n a n c i a l measure f o r t h e e r a d i c a t i o n o f A f r i c a n swine
     f e v e r in Spain.
  1. Budget heading : I H B               Item : 381       Title : Programmes f o r t h e e r a d i c a t i o n o f d i s ea se s
                                           (former                     w i t h i n t he Community.
                                            3813)
  2. Legal basis : A r t i c l e        43 o f t h e T r e a t y .
  3. Classification :                    , Compulsory expend! t u r e / t a M M f G U f M l M l l W e
 4. Purpose/description of the measure : E l i m i n a t i o n o f A f r i c a n swine f e v e r i n Spain :
     s l a u g h t e r o f i n f e c t e d and c o n t am i nat ed a n i m a l s ; s l a u g h t e r o f an imal s r e a c t i n g
    p o s i t i v e l y to s e r o lo g ic a l t e s t s ; systematic d e te c tio n of the disease.
 5.      Method of calculation
 5.1 Form of expenditure : Reimbursement o f a p a r t o f n a t i o n a l e x p e n d i t u r e .
 5.2 Community contribution : - 30 % of e lig ib le expenditure for restructuring at holding and local
                                            authority level; - 50 % of other e lig ib le expenditure.
 5.3 Calculation (in ECU)                                E lig ib le expenditure                     Rate         Chargeable to
                                                                                                                    the EEC
       - restructuring                                             17.5                              30 %               5,25
       - serological tests                                         20.6                              50 X             10,30
       - control in the fie ld                                      9,8                              50 X              4,90
       - groups                                                     5,5                              50 %              2,75
       - slaughterings                                             35,8                             50 %              17,90
      - information                                                                                 50 X             -OmàS
        financial implication as regards operating appr?$?f?at ions                                                 •41,55
6.1 Schedule of ■ m H · ! appropriations                                                 |(n ECU)
                          Year                        nui                           H I»
                          1988                         8 ,1
                          1989                         8 ,2
                          1990                         8 ,0
                          1991                         8 ,9
                          1992                         8 ,3
                          « B lM B fR tM II
                          lotal                       41,5
6.2 Financing during current year : None.
        F i n a n c i n g from t h e 1988 budget onwards f o r schemes c a r r i e d out from 1987.
7. Observations :