Commission Implementing Decision of 19 December 2011 approving certain amended programmes for the eradication and monitoring of animal diseases and zoonoses for the year 2011 and amending Decision 2010/712/EU as regards the financial contribution by the Union for programmes approved by that Decision (notified under document C(2011) 9478) (2011/862/EU)

Commission Implementing Decision

of 19 December 2011

approving certain amended programmes for the eradication and monitoring of animal diseases and zoonoses for the year 2011 and amending Decision 2010/712/EU as regards the financial contribution by the Union for programmes approved by that Decision

(notified under document C(2011) 9478)

(2011/862/EU)

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 Articles 27(5) and (6) and 28(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Decision 2009/470/EC lays down the procedures governing the financial contribution by the Union for programmes for the eradication, control and monitoring of animal diseases and zoonoses.

(2) Commission Decision 2008/341/EC of 25 April 2008 laying down Community criteria for national programmes for the eradication, control and monitoring of certain animal diseases and zoonoses(2) provides that in order to be approved under the measures provided for in Article 27(1) of Decision 2009/470/EC, programmes submitted by the Member States to the Commission for the eradication, control and monitoring of the animal diseases and zoonoses listed in the Annex to that Decision must meet at least the criteria set out in the Annex to Decision 2008/341/EC.

(3) Commission Decision 2010/712/EU of 23 November 2010 approving annual and multiannual programmes and the financial contribution from the Union for the eradication, control and monitoring of certain animal diseases and zoonoses presented by the Member States for 2011 and following years(3) approves certain national programmes and sets out the rate and maximum amount of the financial contribution by the Union for each programme submitted by the Member States.

(4) The Commission has assessed the reports submitted by the Member States on the expenditures incurred for those programmes. The results of that assessment show that certain Member States will not utilise their full allocation for the year 2011 while others will spend in excess of the allocated amount.

(5) Certain Member States have informed the Commission that, under the current financial situation, additional support to the compensation of owners of culled animals and other measures financed at a level of 50 % is required to ensure the continuity of the EU co-financed veterinary programmes, in order to maintain the positive trend regarding the different diseases.

(6) The Commission examined the requests for an increased level of funding taking into account the veterinary situation and the availability of funds from the current financial year, and considered appropriate that the eligible measures financed at a level of 50 %, receive reinforced support by modifying the level of funding to 60 %.

(7) The financial contribution by the Union for a number of national programmes therefore needs to be adjusted. It is appropriate to reallocate funding from national programmes which will not use their full allocation to those that are expected to exceed it. The reallocation should be based on the most recent information on expenditure actually incurred by the concerned Member States.

(8) In addition, Portugal has submitted an amended programme for the eradication of bovine brucellosis, Latvia has submitted an amended programme for the control of salmonellosis, Romania and Slovakia have submitted amended programmes for the control and monitoring of classical swine fever, Denmark has submitted an amended survey programme for avian influenza in poultry and wild birds, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have submitted amended programmes for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and scrapie and Romania, Slovenia and Finland submitted amended programmes for the eradication of rabies.

(9) The Commission has assessed those amended programmes from both the veterinary and the financial point of view. They were found to comply with relevant Union veterinary legislation and in particular with the criteria set out in the Annex to Decision 2008/341/EC. The amended programmes should therefore be approved.

(10) Decision 2010/712/EU should therefore be amended accordingly.

(11) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

(1)

OJ L 155, 18.6.2009, p. 30.

(2)

OJ L 115, 29.4.2008, p. 44.

(3)

OJ L 309, 25.11.2010, p. 18.