Article 1 
This Directive lays down the animal health conditions applicable to intra-Community trade in and imports from third countries of semen of domestic animals of the porcine species.
Article 2 
For the purposes of this Directive, the definitions contained in Article 2 of Directives 64/432/EEC, 72/462/EEC, 80/407/EEC ( 9 ) and 90/425/EEC ( 10 ) shall apply as necessary. Moreover, ‘semen’ means the ejaculate of a domestic animal of the porcine species, in the unaltered state or prepared or diluted.
Article 3 
Each Member State shall ensure that only semen, meeting the following general conditions, is intended for trade: (a) it must have been collected and processed, for the purpose of artifical insemination, in a collection centre approved from the point of view of animal health for the purposes of intra-Community trade in accordance with Article 5 (1); (b) it must have been collected from domestic animals of the porcine species whose health status complies with Annex B; (c) it must have been collected, processed, stored and transported in accordance with Annexes A and C.
Article 4 
1. Until 31 December 1992, Member States in which all collection centres contain only animals which have not been vaccinated against Aujeszky's disease giving a negative reaction to the serum neutralization test, or to the ELISA test for Aujeszky's disease, in accordance with the provisions of this Directive: — may refuse admission to their territory of semen from collection centres which do not have that status, — may not prohibit the admission of semen from boars which have been vaccinated in the collection centre with the GI deleted vaccine, provided that: — — such vaccination has only been carried out on boars that were serum-negative with regard to the virus of Anjeszky's disease, — serological examinations carried out at the earliest three weeks after vaccination of such boars do not reveal the presence of antibodies induced by the disease virus. — In this event a sample of semen from each daily collection intended for trade may be subjected to a virus isolation test in an approved laboratory in the Member State of destination. — The provisions of this paragraph shall not come into effect until such time as the Commission, acting in accordance with Article 18, not later than 1 July 1991, has laid down the protocols for the tests to be used for these examinations following the opinion of the Scientific Veterinary Committee, in particular in connection with the frequency of the tests to be carried out in the centre, the virus isolation tests and the effectiveness and safety of the GI deleted vaccine. — may not prohibit the admission of semen from boars which have been vaccinated in the collection centre with the GI deleted vaccine, provided that: — such vaccination has only been carried out on boars that were serum-negative with regard to the virus of Anjeszky's disease, — serological examinations carried out at the earliest three weeks after vaccination of such boars do not reveal the presence of antibodies induced by the disease virus. — In this event a sample of semen from each daily collection intended for trade may be subjected to a virus isolation test in an approved laboratory in the Member State of destination. — The provisions of this paragraph shall not come into effect until such time as the Commission, acting in accordance with Article 18, not later than 1 July 1991, has laid down the protocols for the tests to be used for these examinations following the opinion of the Scientific Veterinary Committee, in particular in connection with the frequency of the tests to be carried out in the centre, the virus isolation tests and the effectiveness and safety of the GI deleted vaccine. — serological examinations carried out at the earliest three weeks after vaccination of such boars do not reveal the presence of antibodies induced by the disease virus. — In this event a sample of semen from each daily collection intended for trade may be subjected to a virus isolation test in an approved laboratory in the Member State of destination. — The provisions of this paragraph shall not come into effect until such time as the Commission, acting in accordance with Article 18, not later than 1 July 1991, has laid down the protocols for the tests to be used for these examinations following the opinion of the Scientific Veterinary Committee, in particular in connection with the frequency of the tests to be carried out in the centre, the virus isolation tests and the effectiveness and safety of the GI deleted vaccine. 2. In accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 18, it may be decided to extend the provisions of paragraph 1 to part of the territory of a Member State if all the collection centres in that part of the territory contain only animals giving a negative reaction to the serum neutralization test or the ELISA test for Aujeszky's disease. 3. The Council shall, before 31 December 1992, review this Article on the basis of a report from the Commission, accompanied by any proposals.
Article 5 
1. The Member State on whose territory the semen collection centre is situated shall ensure that the approval provided for in Article 3 (a) is granted only if it meets the conditions of Annex A and satisfies the other provisions of this Directive. The Member State shall also ensure that the official veterinarian supervises the observance of those provisions. The official veterinarian shall propose that approval be withdrawn when one or more of the provisions is no longer observed. 2. All semen collection centres shall be registered, each centre being given a veterinary registration number. Each Member State shall draw up and keep up to date a list of semen collection centres and their veterinary registration numbers and make it available to the other Member States and to the public. 3. The general rules for applying this Article shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 18.
Article 6 
1. Member States shall ensure that each consignment of semen is accompanied by an animal health certificate drawn up in accordance with the specimen in Annex D by an official veterinarian of the Member State of collection. This certificate must: (a) be drawn up in at least one of the official languages of the Member State of collection and one of those of the Member State of destination; (b) accompany the consignment to its destination in its original form; (c) be drawn up on a single sheet of paper; (d) be made out to a single consignee. 2. The Member State of destination may, in addition to measures provided for in Article 8 of Directive 90/425/EEC, take the necessary measures, including storage in quarantine, provided this does not affect the viability of the semen, in order to obtain definite proof in cases where semen is suspected of being infected or contamined by pathogenic organisms.
Article 7 
1. A Member State may authorize importation of semen only from those third countries which appear on a list drawn up in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 19. That list may be supplemented or amended in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 18. 2. In deciding whether a third country may appear on the list referred to in paragraph 1, particular account shall be taken of: (a) the state of health of the livestock, other domestic animals and wildlife in that country, with particular reference to exotic animal diseases, and of the environmental health situation in that country, which might endanger animal health in the Member States; (b) the regularity and rapidity of the information supplied by that country concerning the existence of contagious animal diseases in its territory transmissible by semen, in particular those diseases mentioned in lists A and B of the International Office of Epizootic Diseases; (c) that country's rules on animal disease prevention and control; (d) the structure of the veterinary services in that country and their powers; (e) the organization and implementation of measures to prevent and control contagious animal diseases; and (f) the guarantees which that country can give with regard to compliance with this Directive. 3. The list referred to in paragraph 1 and all amendments thereto shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
Article 8 
1. Member States shall only authorise imports of semen dispatched from a semen collection centre situated in one of the third countries appearing on the list referred to in Article 7 and for which the competent authority of the third country concerned is able to give the guarantees that the following conditions are met: (a) it meets the conditions: (i) for the approval of semen collection centres set out in Chapter I of Annex A; (ii) relating to the supervision of such centres set out in Chapter II thereof; (a) it meets the conditions: (i) for the approval of semen collection centres set out in Chapter I of Annex A; (ii) relating to the supervision of such centres set out in Chapter II thereof; (b) it has been officially approved by the competent authority of the third country for exports to the Community; (c) it is placed under the supervision of a centre veterinarian; (d) it is subject to inspections by an official veterinarian of the third country concerned at least twice a year. 2. The list of semen collection centres that the competent authority of the third country appearing on the list referred to in Article 7 has approved in accordance with the conditions set out in paragraph 1 of this Article and from which semen may be dispatched to the Community shall be communicated to the Commission. The approval of a semen collection centre must be immediately suspended or withdrawn by the competent authority of the third country where it no longer complies with the conditions set out in paragraph 1 and the Commission must be immediately informed thereof. The Commission shall provide the Member States with any new and updated lists that it receives from the competent authority of the third country concerned in accordance with this paragraph and shall make them available to the public for information purposes. 3. Detailed rules for the uniform application of this Article may be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 18(2).
Article 9 
1. Semen must come from animals which, immediately prior to collection of their semen, have remained for at least three months in the territory of a third country on the list referred to in Article 7 (1). 2. Without prejudice to Article 7 (1) and paragraph 1 of this Article, Member States shall not authorize the importation of semen from a third country on the list unless the semen complies with the animal health requirements adopted under the procedure laid down in Article 18, for imports of semen from that country. In adopting the requirements referred to in the first subparagraph, consideration shall be given to: (a) the health situation in the area surrounding the semen collection centre, with particular reference to the diseases appearing on list A of the International Office of Epizootic Diseases; (b) the state of health of the herd in the semen collection centre and testing requirements; (c) the state of health of the donor animal and testing requirements; (d) testing requirements in relation to semen. 3. The reference basis for fixing animal health conditions shall be the standards laid down in Chapter II and the corresponding Annexes. It may be decided, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 18, on a case-by-case basis, to waive these conditions where the third country concerned provides similar animal health guarantees, that are at least equivalent. 4. Article 4 shall apply.
Article 10 
1. Member States shall authorize the importation of semen only on submission of an animal health certificate drawn up and signed by an official veterinarian of the third country of collection. This certificate must: (a) be drawn up in at least one of the official languages of the Member State of destination and one of those of the Member State where the import control provided for in Article 11 is carried out; (b) accompany the semen to its destination in its original form; (c) be drawn up on a single sheet of paper; (d) be made out to a single consignee. 2. The animal health certificate must correspond to a specimen drawn up under the procedure laid down in Article 19.
Article 11 
1. Member States shall ensure that each consignment of semen entering the customs territory of the Community is subjected to control before being released for free circulation or placed under a customs procedure and shall prohibit the introduction of the semen into the Community if the import control made on arrival reveals that: — the semen does not come from the territory of a third country on the list drawn up in accordance with Article 7 (1), — the semen does not come from a semen collection centre on the list provided for in Article 8 (1), — the semen comes from the territory of a third country from which imports are prohibited in accordance with Article 15 (2), — the animal health certificate which accompanies the semen is not in conformity with the conditions laid down in Article 10 and fixed pursuant thereto. This paragraph shall not apply to consignments of semen which arrive in the customs territory of the Community and are placed under a customs transit procedure for consignment to a destination situated outside the said territory. However, it shall be applicable where customs transit is waived during transport through the territory of the Community. 2. The Member State of destination may take the necessary measures, including storage in quarantine provided that this does not affect the viability of the semen, in order to obtain definite proof in cases where semen is suspected of being infected or contamined by pathogenic organisms. 3. If the admission of semen has been prohibited on any of the grounds set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 and the exporting third country does not authorize the return of the semen within 30 days in the case of deep-frozen semen, or immediately in the case of fresh semen, the competent veterinary authority of the Member State of destination may order it to be destroyed.
Article 12 
Each consignment of semen authorized for admission into the Community by a Member State on the basis of the control referred to in Article 11 (1) must, when sent to the territory of another Member State, be accompanied by the original certificate or an authenticated copy thereof, suitably endorsed, in either case, by the competent authority which was responsible for the control carried out in accordance with Article 11.
Article 13 
If it is decided to take destruction measures pursuant to Article 11 (3), any costs incurred shall be chargeable to the consignor, the consignee or their agent, without compensation by the State.
Article 14 
The rules set out in Directive 90/425/EEC shall apply in particular with regard to checks at origin, the organization and the monitoring of the checks to be carried out by the Member State of destination.
Article 15 
1. The precautionary measures provided for in Article 10 of Directive 90/425/EEC shall apply to intra-Community trade. 2. The rules laid down in Directive 97/78/EC shall apply, in particular to the organisation of, and follow-up to the checks to be carried out by the Member States and the safeguard measures to be applied in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 22 of that Directive.
Article 16 
1. Veterinary experts from the Commission may, in cooperation with the competent authorities of the Member States and third countries, make on-the-spot checks in so far as that is indispensable for ensuring uniform application of this Directive. The country of collection within whose territory a check is being carried out shall give all necessary assistance to the experts in carrying out their duties. The Commission shall inform the country of collection concerned of the results of the checks. The country of collection concerned shall take any measures which may prove necessary to take account of the results of this check. If the country of collection does not take those measures, the Commission may, after the situation has been examined by the Standing Veterinary Committee, have recourse to the provisions of the third subparagraph of Article 6 (2) and of Article 5. 2. The general provisions for implementing this Article, especially as regards the frequency and method of carrying out the checks referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, shall be laid down under the procedure set out in Article 19.
Article 17 
The Annexes to this Directive shall be ameneded in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 18 to adapt them to advances in technology.
Article 18 
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health set up pursuant to Article 58 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 ( 11 ). 2. Where reference is made to this Article, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC ( 12 ) shall apply. The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months. 3. The Committee shall adopt its Rules of Procedure.
Article 19 
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health. 2. Where reference is made to this Article, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply. The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at 15 days.
Article 20 
1. This Directive shall not be applicable to semen collected and processed in a Member State before 31 December 1991. 2. Until the date of entry into force of the decisions adopted pursuant to Article 8, 9 and 10, Member States shall not apply to imports of semen from third countries more favourable conditions than those resulting from application of Chapter II.
Article 21 
Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 31 December 1991 at the latest. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
Article 22 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.