CELEX: 51992FC0102
Language: en
Date: 2007-01-31
Title: Proposal for a Council Directive …/…/EC of […] on the identification and registration of animals (codified version)

EN

|[pic]                     |COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES                                                                           |

                                        Brussels,
                                        COM(2006)

                                                                  Proposal for a

                                                             COUNCIL DIRECTIVE …/…/EC

                                                                      of […]

                                                on the identification and registration of animals

                                                                (Codified version)

                                                              EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.    In the context of a people’s Europe, the Commission attaches great importance to simplifying and clarifying Community law so as to make  it
       clearer and more accessible to the ordinary citizen, thus giving him new opportunities and the chance to make use of the  specific  rights
       it gives him.

       This aim cannot be achieved so long as numerous provisions that have  been  amended  several  times,  often  quite  substantially,  remain
       scattered, so that they must be sought partly in the original instrument and partly in later amending ones.  Considerable  research  work,
       comparing many different instruments, is thus needed to identify the current rules.

       For this reason a codification of rules that have frequently been amended  is  also  essential  if  Community  law  is  to  be  clear  and
       transparent.

2.    On 1 April 1987 the Commission therefore decided[1] to instruct its staff that all legislative acts should be codified after no  more  than
       ten amendments, stressing that this is a minimum requirement and that departments should endeavour to codify at even shorter intervals the
       texts for which they are responsible, to ensure that the Community rules are clear and readily understandable.

3.    The Conclusions of the Presidency of the Edinburgh  European  Council  (December 1992)  confirmed  this[2],  stressing  the  importance  of
       codification as it offers certainty as to the law applicable to a given matter at a given time.

       Codification must be undertaken in full compliance with the normal Community legislative procedure.

       Given that no changes of substance may be made to the instruments affected by codification, the European Parliament, the Council  and  the
       Commission have agreed, by an interinstitutional agreement dated 20 December 1994, that an accelerated procedure may be used for the fast-
       track adoption of codification instruments.

4.    The purpose of this proposal is to undertake a codification of Council Directive 92/102/EEC of 27 November 1992 on the  identification  and
       registration of animals[3]. The new Directive will supersede the various acts incorporated in it[4]; this  proposal  fully  preserves  the
       content of the acts being codified and hence does no more than bringing them together with only such formal amendments as are required  by
       the codification exercise itself.

5.    The codification proposal was drawn up on the basis of a preliminary consolidation, in all official languages, of Directive 92/102/EEC  and
       the instruments amending it, carried out by the Office for Official Publications  of  the  European  Communities,  by  means  of  a  data-
       processing system. Where the Articles have been given new numbers, the correlation between the old and the new numbers is shown in a table
       contained in Annex II to the codified Directive.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC (adapted)

                                                                  Proposal for a

                                                             COUNCIL DIRECTIVE …/…/EC

                                                                      of […]

                                                 on the identification and registration of animals

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament[5],

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee[6], 

Whereas:

                                            ê 

   1) Council Directive 92/102/EEC of 27 November 1992 on the identification and  registration  of  animals[7]  has  been  substantially  amended
      several times[8]. In the interests of clarity and rationality the said Directive should be codified.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC Recital 1 (adapted)

   2) Article 3(1)(c) of Council Directive 90/425/EEC of 26 June 1990  concerning  veterinary  and  zootechnicial  checks  applicable  in  intra-
      Community trade in certain live animals and products with a view to the completion of the internal market[9], states that animals for intra-
      Community trade must be identified in accordance with the requirements of Community rules and be registered in such a way that the original
      or transit holding, centre or organization can be traced, and that these identification and registration systems are to be extended to  the
      movements of animals within  the territory of each Member State.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC Recital 2

   3) Article 14 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/EEC[10],  states  that  the
      identification and registration as provided for in Article 3(1)(c) of Directive 90/425/EEC of such animals must,  except  in  the  case  of
      animals for slaughter and registered equidae, be carried out after the said checks have been made.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC Recital 3 (adapted)

   4) The management of certain Community aid schemes in the field of agriculture requires the individual  identification  of  certain  types  of
      livestock. The identification and registration system Ö should Õ, therefore, be suitable for the application and control of such measures.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC Recital 4 (adapted)

   5) It is necessary to ensure the rapid and efficient exchange of information between  Member  States  for  the  correct  application  of  this
      Directive. Community provisions have been established by Council Regulation (EC) No 515/97 of 13 March 1997 on  mutual  assistance  between
      the administrative authorities of the Member States and cooperation between the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application
      of the law on customs Ö and Õ agricultural matters[11] and by Council Directive 89/608/EEC of 21 November 1989 on mutual assistance between
      the administrative authorities of the Member States and cooperation between the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application
      of legislation on veterinary and zootechnical matters[12].

                                            ê 92/102/EEC Recital 5 (adapted)

   6) Keepers of animals Ö should Õ maintain up-to-date records of the animals on their holdings. Persons involved in  the  commerce  of  animals
      Ö should Õ keep records of their dealings. The competent authority Ö should Õ have access to these records on request.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC Recital 6 and 21/2004 Recital 3 (adapted)

   7) In order to permit movements of animals to be traced rapidly and accurately, animals Ö should Õ be able to be identified.  With  regard  to
      pigs, a decision should be taken at a later date to determine the nature of the mark and, pending such decision, the  national  systems  of
      identification should be maintained for movements restricted to the national market. Ö In respect of ovine and caprine animals, experience,
      and in particular the foot-and-mouth disease crisis, has shown that it is necessary to lay down more stringent and specific rules,  as  has
      already been done for bovine animals with 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[13]. Õ

                                            ê 92/102/EEC Recital 7 (adapted)

   8) Provision should be made for the possibility of waiving the requirements for marks in the case of animals moving directly from a farm to  a
      slaughterhouse. However, these animals Ö should Õ in any case be identified so that their farm of origin can be traced.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC Recital 8

   9) Provision should be made for the possibility of waiving the obligation to register the keepers of animals kept for personal  purposes  and,
      in order to take into account certain particular cases, the procedures for keeping registers.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC Recital 9 (adapted)

  10) In the case of animals in which the mark has become illegible or been lost, a new mark enabling  a  link  with  the  previous  mark  to  be
      established Ö should Õ be applied.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC Recital 10

  11) This Directive must not affect specific requirements contained in Commission  Decision  89/153/EEC  of  13  February  1989  concerning  the
      correlation of samples taken for residue examination with animals  and  their  farms  of  origin[14]  or  any  relevant  applicatory  rules
      established in accordance with Directive 91/496/EEC.

                                            ê 

  12) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive should be adopted in accordance with Council  Decision  1999/468/EC  of  28
      June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission[15].

  13) This Directive should be without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating  to  the  time-limits  for  transposition  into
      national law of the Directive set out in Annex I, Part C,

                                            ê 92/102/EEC

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

                                                                    Article 1

This Directive sets out the minimum requirements for the  identification  and  registration  of  animals,  without  prejudice  to  more  detailed
Community rules which may be established for disease eradication or control purposes.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC (adapted)

It shall apply without prejudice to Decision 89/153/EEC and to implementing rules laid down in accordance with Directive 91/496/EEC.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC

                                                                    Article 2

For the purposes of this Directive:

                                            ê 21/2004 Art.15 pt.1 (adapted)

(a)   animal shall mean any animal of the species referred to in Council Directive 64/432/EEC[16] other than bovine animals;

                                            ê 92/102/EEC

(b)   holding shall mean any establishment, construction or, in the case of an open-air farm, any place  in  which  animals  are  held,  kept  or
       handled;

(c)   keeper shall mean any natural or legal person responsible, even on a temporary basis, for animals;

(d)   competent authority shall mean the central authority of a Member State competent to carry out veterinary checks or any authority  to  which
       it has delegated that competence for the purposes of implementing this Directive;

(e)   trade shall mean trade as defined in Article 2 of Directive 90/425/EEC.

                                                                    Article 3

1. Member States shall ensure that:

                                            ê 92/102/EEC (adapted)

(a)   the competent authority has an up-to-date list of all the holdings which keep animals covered by this Directive and  are  situated  on  its
       territory, specifying the species of animals kept and their keepers, such holdings to remain on the  said  list  until  three  consecutive
       years have elapsed with no animals on the holding. This list shall also include the mark or marks which permit the identification  of  the
       holding in accordance with Article 5(2) first subparagraph, and also Article 8;

                                            ê 92/102/EEC

(b)   the  Commission,  the  competent  authority  and  any  authority  responsible  for  supervising  application  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)
       No 1782/2003[17] can have access to all information obtained under this Directive.

                                            ê 21/2004 Art.15 pt.2

2. Member States may be authorized under the procedure laid down in Article 18 of Directive 90/425/EEC to exclude  from  the  list  in  paragraph
1(a) natural persons who keep one single pig which is intended for their own use or consumption, or to take account of particular  circumstances,
provided that this animal is subjected to the controls laid down in this Directive before any movement.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC

                                                                    Article 4

1. Member States shall ensure that any keeper of porcine animals listed in Directive 64/432/EEC  and  contained  in  the  list  provided  for  in
Article 3(1)(a) keeps a register stating the number of animals present on the holding.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC
                                            è1 21/2004 Art.15 pt.3(a)

This register shall include an up-to-date record è1 of movements ç (numbers of animals concerned by  each  entering  and  leaving  operation)  at
least on the basis of aggregate movements, stating as appropriate their origin or destination, and the date of such movements.

The identification mark applied in conformity with Articles 5 and 8 shall be stated in all cases.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC

In the case of pure-bred and hybrid pigs, which are entered in a herd book in accordance with Council Directive  88/661/EEC[18],  an  alternative
registration system based on individual identification allowing the animals to be identified may be recognized by  the  procedure  laid  down  in
Article 18 of Directive 90/425/EEC if it offers guarantees equivalent to a register.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC (adapted)

2. In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 18 of Directive 90/425/EEC, a simplified registration  procedure  shall  be  established
for buffalo and for sheep and goats in transhumance and for the animals Ö mentioned in the previous paragraph Õ kept on common pasture or  raised
in regions which are isolated geographically.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC

3. Member States shall also ensure that:

(a)   any keeper supplies the competent authority,  upon  request,  with  all  information  concerning  the  origin,  identification  and,  where
       appropriate, the destination of animals which he has owned, kept, transported, marketed or slaughtered;

                                            ê 21/2004 Art.15 pt.3(c)

(b)   any keeper of animals to be moved to or from a market or collection centre provides a  document,  containing  details  of  the  animals  in
       question, to the operator, on the market or in the collection centre, who is a keeper of the animals, on a temporary basis.

      That operator may use the documents obtained in accordance with the first subparagraph to carry out the obligations laid down in  paragraph
       1, third subparagraph.

(c)   the registers and information are available on the holding and to the competent authority,  upon  request,  for  a  minimum  period  to  be
       determined by the competent authority but which may not be less than three years.

                                                                    Article 5

1. Member States shall ensure that the following general principles are respected:

(a)   identification marks must be applied before animals leave the holding of birth;

(b)   no mark may be removed or replaced without the permission of the competent authority.

      Where a mark has become illegible or has been lost, a new mark shall be applied in accordance with this Article;

(c)   the keeper shall record any new mark in the register referred to in Article 4 in order to establish a link with the previous  mark  applied
       to the animal;

                                            ê 92/102/EEC (adapted)

(d)   the eartag Ö referred to Õ in Öthe first subparagraph of Õ paragraph 2 shall be approved by the competent authority and  shall  be  tamper-
       proof and easy to read for the animal's lifetime. It shall be incapable of re-use. It shall be such as to remain  on  the  animal  without
       interfering with its well-being.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC (adapted)

2. Animals must be marked as soon as possible, and in any case before they leave the holding, with an eartag or  tattoo  making  it  possible  to
determine the holding from which they came and enabling reference to be made to any accompanying document  which  must  mention  such  eartag  or
tattoo and to the list referred to in Article 3(1)(a).

                                            ê 21/2004 Art.15 pt.4(b) (adapted)

Member States may, pending the decision provided for in Article 10 of this Directive and by derogation  from  the  second  paragraph  of  Article
3(1)(c) of Directive 90/425/EEC, apply their national systems for all movements of animals in their territories. Such  systems  must  enable  the
holding from which they came and the holding on which they were born to be identified. Member States shall notify the Commission of  the  systems
which they intend to introduce for this purpose. In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article  18  of  Directive  90/425/EEC,  a  Member
State may be asked to make amendments to its system where it does not fulfil the aforementioned requirement.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC

Animals bearing a temporary mark identifying a consignment must be accompanied throughout their movement by a document which enables the  origin,
ownership, place of departure and destination to be determined.

                                                                    Article 6

1. Where the competent authority of the Member State of destination decides not to keep the identification mark allocated to the  animal  in  the
holding of origin all charges incurred as a result of replacing the mark shall be borne by that authority. Where the mark has been  so  replaced,
a link shall be established between the identification allocated by the competent  authority  of  the  Member  State  of  dispatch  and  the  new
identification allocated by the competent authority of the Member State of destination; that link shall be recorded in the register provided  for
in Article 4.

The option in the first subparagraph may not be invoked in the case of animals intended for slaughter which are imported under Article 8  without
bearing a new mark in accordance with Article 5.

2. Where the animals have been traded, the competent authority of the Member State  of  destination  may,  for  the  purposes  of  Article  5  of
Directive 90/425/EEC, have recourse to Article 4 of Directive 89/608/EEC in order to obtain the information relating to the animals,  their  herd
of origin and any movement to which they have been subject.

                                                                    Article 7

Member States shall ensure that any information relating to movements of animals not accompanied by a  certificate  or  a  document  required  by
veterinary or zootechnical legislation remains available to the competent authority, upon request, for a minimum period to be set by the latter.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC (adapted)

                                                                    Article 8

Any animal imported from a third country which has passed the checks laid down  by  Directive  91/496/EEC  and  which  remains  within  Community
territory shall, within thirty days of undergoing the aforesaid checks, and, in any event,  before  their  movement,  be  identified  by  a  mark
complying with Article 5 Ö of this Directive Õ unless the holding of destination is a slaughterhouse situated on the territory of  the  competent
authority responsible for veterinary checks and the animal is actually slaughtered within that 30-day period.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC

A link shall be established between the identification established by the third country and the identification allocated  to  it  by  the  Member
State of destination. That link shall be recorded in the register provided for in Article 4.

                                                                    Article 9

Member States shall adopt necessary administrative and/or penal measures to punish any infringement of Community  veterinary  legislation,  where
it is established that the marking or identification or the keeping of registers  provided  for  in  Article  4  has  not  been  carried  out  in
conformity with the requirements of this Directive.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC (adapted)

                                                                    Article 10

                                            ê 92/102/EEC

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the main provisions of national law which they adopt  in  the  field  governed  by
this Directive.

                                            ê 

                                                                    Article 11

Directive 92/102/EEC as amended by the acts listed in Annex I, Parts A and B, is repealed, without prejudice to the  obligations  of  the  Member
States relating to the time-limits for transposition into national law of the Directive set out in Annex I, Part C.

References to the repealed Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive and shall be read  in  accordance  with  the  correlation
table set out in Annex II.

                                                                    Article 12

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

                                            ê 92/102/EEC

                                                                    Article 13

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, […]

      For the Council
      The President
      […]

                                            é

                                                                     ANNEX I

                                                                      Part A

                                                      Repealed Directive with its amendment
                                                           (referred to in Article 12)

|Council Directive 92/102/EEC                                        |                                                                    |
|(OJ L 355, 5.12.1992, p. 32)                                        |                                                                    |
|Council Regulation (EC) No 21/2004                                   |only Article 15                                               |
|(OJ L 5, 9.1.2004, p. 8)                                             |                                                              |

                                                                      Part B

                                                              Non-repealed amendment
                                                           (referred to in Article 12)

1994 Act of Accession

                                                                      Part C

                                             List of time-limits for transposition into national law
                                                           (referred to in Article 12)

|Act                                                                 |Time-limit for transposition[19]                                    |
|Directive 92/102/EEC                                                |31.12.1993[20]                                                      |
|                                                                    |31.12.1995[21]                                                      |

                                                                    __________

                                                                     ANNEX II

                                                                Correlation Table

|Directive 92/102/EEC                                                |This Directive                                                      |
|Article 1 to 3                                                      |Article 1 to 3                                                      |
|Article 4(1)(a)                                                     |Article 4(1)                                                        |
|Article 4(2) and (3)                                                |Article 4(2) and (3)                                                |
|Article 5(1)                                                        |Article 5(1)                                                        |
|Article 5(3)                                                        |Article 5(2)                                                        |
|Article 6 to 9                                                      |Article 6 to 9                                                      |
|Article 10                                                          |_                                                                   |
|Article 11(1)                                                       |_                                                                   |
|Article 11(2)                                                       |Article 10                                                          |
|Article 11(3)                                                       |_                                                                   |
|_                                                                   |Article 11                                                          |
|_                                                                   |Article 12                                                          |
|Article 12                                                          |Article 13                                                          |
|_                                                                   |Annex I                                                             |
|_                                                                   |Annex II                                                            |

                                                                   ____________

                                                             -----------------------
[1]   COM(87) 868 PV.
[2]   See Annex 3 to Part A of the Conclusions.
[3]   Carried out pursuant to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the  Council  –  Codification  of  the  Acquis
      communautaire, COM(2001) 645 final.
[4]   Annex I, Parts A and B of this proposal.
[5]   Ö OJ C (…). Õ
[6]   OJ C (…).
[7]   OJ L 355, 5.12.1992, p. 32. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 21/2004 (OJ L 5, 9.1.2004, p. 8).
[8]   See Annex I, Parts A and B.
[9]   OJ L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 29. Directive as  last amended by Directive 2002/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the  Council  (OJ  L  315,
      19.11.2002, p. 14)). 
[10]  OJ L 268, 24.9.1991, p. 56. Directive as last amended by the 2003 Act of Accession. 
[11]  OJ L 82, 22.3.1997, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 807/2003 (OJ L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 36). 
[12]  OJ L 351, 2.12.1989, p. 34.
[13]  OJ L 204, 11.8.2000, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by the 2003 Act of Accession.
[14]  OJ L 59, 2.3.1989, p. 33.
[15]  OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
[16]  OJ 121, 29.7.1964, p. 1977/64.
[17]  OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 1.
[18]  OJ L 382, 31.12.1988, p. 36.
[19]  The setting of the deadlines for transposition into national law at 1 January 1994 and 1 January 1996 shall be  without  prejudice  to  the
      abolition of veterinary checks at frontiers provided for in Directive 90/425/EEC. (See Article 11(3) of Directive 92/102/EEC).
[20]  For the requirements regarding porcine animals. (See Article 11(1) first indent of Directive 92/102/EEC).
[21]  For Finland, as concerns the requirements for bovine animals, swine, sheep and  goats.  (See  Article  11(1)  second  indent  of  Directive
      92/102/EEC).