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(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(3),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(4),
Whereas:
(1) Council Directive 80/217/EEC of 22 January 1980 introducing Community measures for the control of classical swine fever(5) has been frequently and substantially amended. Now that it is to be further amended, the Directive should, for the reasons of clarity and rationalisation, be recast as a single text.
(2) Since live animals are listed in Annex I of the Treaty, one of the Community's tasks in the veterinary field is to improve the state of health of pigs, thereby facilitating trade in pig and pig products to ensure the development of this sector.
(3) In the event of an outbreak of classical swine fever, it is necessary to establish at Community level control measures to eradicate the disease in order that the development of the pig sector is ensured and so as to contribute to the protection of animal health in the Community.
(4) An outbreak of classical swine fever can take on epizootic proportions, causing mortality and disturbances on a scale which threatens in particular the profitability of pig farming as a whole.
(5) Measures should be adopted as soon as the presence of the disease is suspected so that immediate and effective action can be taken as soon as its presence is confirmed, including depopulation of the infected holding.
(6) If an outbreak occurs it is also necessary to prevent any further spread of the disease by carefully monitoring movements of animals and the use of products liable to be contaminated, cleaning and disinfection of the infected premises, establishment of surveillance and protection zones around the outbreak and, if necessary, by vaccination.
(7) In case of infection, vaccinated pigs may become apparently healthy virus carriers and further spread the disease. The use of vaccines may therefore be authorised only in emergencies.
(8) In accordance with the opinion of the Scientific Committee, marker vaccines capable of eliciting a protective immunity distinguishable from the immune response elicited by natural infection with the wild virus by means of appropriate laboratory tests may become a useful additional tool in the control of classical swine fever in areas with a high density of pigs, thereby avoiding massive slaughter of animals. It is therefore advisable to establish a Community procedure for approving such discriminatory tests, once the remaining limitations of these tests have been overcome, and to authorise Member States to introduce the use of marker vaccines when appropriate in an emergency.
(9) Special eradication measures should be applied in case of disease in feral pigs.
(10) Provisions should be established to guarantee that harmonised procedures and methods are used for the diagnosis of classical swine fever, including the establishment of a Community reference laboratory as well as reference laboratories in the Member States.
(11) Provisions should be established to ensure the necessary preparedness to effectively tackle the emergency situations related to one or more outbreaks of classical swine fever, in particular by drawing up plans to combat them and setting up control centres and expert groups.
(12) Some of the measures so far adopted in the Community in the event of an outbreak of classical swine fever in accordance with Directive 80/217/EEC should be changed to take into account scientific advances, development of new diagnostic tools and vaccines and the experiences gained following the outbreaks of classical swine fever which recently occurred in the Community.
(13) Experience shows that feeding catering waste to pigs can constitute a risk of spreading the classical swine fever virus as a result of lack of effectiveness of the treatment control measures. Pending Community measures with regard to the treatment of such waste, it is advisable to forbid from the present time its use for feeding to pigs. In addition, because of its particularly dangerous nature, catering waste from international means of transport should continue to have to be destroyed.
(14) In order to ensure the continuity of the coordination of the diagnostic work carried out under the auspices of the competent national laboratories, the ‘Institut für Virologie der Tierärztlichen Hochschule, Hannover’, designated by Council Decision 81/859/EEC(6), should be confirmed as the Community reference laboratory and for reasons of legal certainty, that Decision should be repealed.
(15) Provision should be made for the possibility of amending, by means of swift procedures, this Directive and its Annexes to take account of developments in scientific and technical knowledge.
(16) 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(7).
(17) This Directive should not affect the obligations of the Member States concerning the deadlines for transposition of the Directives set out in Part B of Annex VII,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Opinion of the European Parliament of 14 June 2001 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
OJ L 47, 21.2.1980, p. 11. Directive as last amended by the 1994 Act of Accession.
OJ L 319, 7.11.1981, p. 20. Decision as amended by Decision 87/65/EEC (OJ L 34, 5.2.1987, p. 54).