Commission Implementing Decision of 12 February 2014 on the extension of financing of special emergency measures to protect the Union from rabies

14.2.2014 EN Official Journal of the European Union C 43/6
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION
of 12 February 2014
on the extension of financing of special emergency measures to protect the Union from rabies
2014/C 43/09
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Decision 2009/470/EC of 25 May 2009 on expenditure in the veterinary field (1), and in particular Article 8(2) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Council Decision 2009/470/EC provides that where a Member State is directly threatened by the occurrence or development, in the territory of a third country, of a disease listed in the Annex to that Decision, any measure appropriate to the situation may be adopted, including the granting of a financial contribution by the Union towards the measures deemed particularly necessary for the success of the actions undertaken.
(2) Commission Decision 2009/582/EC of 29 July 2009 on the financing of special emergency measures to protect the Community from rabies (2) and Commission Decision 2011/C 64/05 of 25 February 2011 on the extension of financing of special emergency measures to protect the Union from rabies (3) approved the financing of a rabies elimination plan in the territory of the Kaliningrad region of Russia.
(3) Rabies is an animal disease that mainly affects wild and domestic carnivores and has serious public health implications and is listed in the Annex to Decision 2009/470/EC.
(4) The territory of the Kaliningrad Region, an exclave of Russia surrounded by Union territory, is adjacent to Member States that have achieved to eliminate rabies from most of their territory. A special measure was necessary to prevent continuing reinfection of neighbouring Member States from the Kaliningrad region and aiming to eliminate the disease also from its territory.
(5) Given the relative size of the territory of the Kaliningrad region, it is more appropriate and cost-efficient to assist in the efforts towards the elimination of rabies in that region than to put in place vaccination buffer zones in the territories of the neighbouring Member States which would have to be maintained indefinitely.
(6) As a result of the implementation of the above mentioned plan, in 2013 no rabies cases have been detected in the Kaliningrad region as well as in the areas of Lithuania and Poland that are adjacent thereto.
(7) To ensure rabies is eliminated from a territory, it is necessary to continue without interruption the implementation of oral vaccination activities twice-yearly for at least 2 years following the detection of the last case of the disease.
(8) The Union-financed 36-month plan currently in place expires on the 31 May 2014.
(9) To safeguard the results achieved through Union co-financing over the past years and to ensure the achievement of the objective of eliminating rabies from the Kaliningrad Region and the risk of its reintroduction to neighbouring Union territory, it is necessary that the financial support to the rabies elimination activities in the Kaliningrad Region is extended for an additional 24-month period.
(10) On 13 January 2013, Russia has submitted to the Commission a plan for the elimination of rabies from the Kaliningrad region for the period between June 2014 and May 2016 and that plan was found to be acceptable as regards the objective of protecting the Union against rabies. The actions foreseen in that plan are essential for the protection of Union interest and it is therefore appropriate that certain measures receive Union co-financing. A Union financial contribution should therefore be granted in 2014 for the implementation of that plan.
(11) In accordance with Article 84 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 and with Article 94 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 of 29 October 2012 on the rules of application of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, the commitment of expenditure from the Union budget shall be preceded by a financing Decision setting out the essential elements of the action involving expenditure and adopted by the institution or the authorities to which powers have been delegated by the institution.
(12) In addition, Commission Decision 2011/C 64/05 will become obsolete and should be repealed.
(13) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,