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 27(10) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Decision 2009/470/EC lays down the procedures governing the Union financial contribution for programmes for the eradication, control and monitoring of animal diseases and zoonoses.
(2) Decision 2009/470/EC provides that each year, by 30 April at the latest, Member States are to submit to the Commission the annual or multiannual programmes starting in the following year for which they wish to receive a financial contribution from the Union. Pursuant to that Decision, a Union financial measure is to be introduced to reimburse the expenditure incurred by the Member States for the financing of national programmes for the eradication, control and monitoring of the animal diseases and zoonoses listed in the Annex to that Decision.
(3) Commission Decision 2008/425/EC of 25 April 2008 laying down standard requirements for the submission by Member States of national programmes for the eradication, control and monitoring of certain animal diseases and zoonoses for Community financing(2) provides that Member States seeking a financial contribution from the Union for national programmes for the eradication, monitoring and control of certain animal diseases are to submit applications containing certain information set out in Annexes I to V to that Decision.
(4) Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies(3) provides for annual monitoring programmes by Member States for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in bovine, ovine and caprine animals. That Regulation has been amended several times since the adoption of Decision 2008/425/EC as regards rules relating to monitoring and eradication activities co-financed under the programmes.
(5) Commission Decision 2010/367/EU of 25 June 2010 on the implementation by Member States of surveillance programmes for avian influenza in poultry and wild birds(4) was adopted in the light of experience and scientific insight gained since the adoption of Commission Decision 2007/268/EC(5). Decision 2007/268/EC was repealed by Decision 2010/367/EU. Decision 2008/425/EC should be updated to take into account these changes, in particular those related to the objectives of surveillance programmes.
(6) In addition, in order to further improve the submission process, assessment and approval of the national programmes, Member States should submit the applications online from 1 January 2013 onwards for programmes falling under the requirements of Annexes I to IV to Decision 2008/425/EC. The structure of those Annexes should therefore be adapted for the electronic submission and processing of data.
(7) Therefore, the standard requirements for the submission by Member States of applications for Union financing for the national programmes for the eradication, control and monitoring of certain animal diseases and zoonoses set out in Annexes I to IV to Decision 2008/425/EC should be amended and made consistent with the amendments to relevant Union legislation and compatible with the online submission system. For the sake of clarity, Annexes I to IV to Decision 2008/425/EC should be replaced by the text set out in the Annex to this Decision.
(8) Decision 2008/425/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.
(9) 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: