THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Directive 88/407/EEC of 14 June 1988 laying down the animal health requirements applicable to intra-Community trade in and imports of semen of domestic animals of the bovine species, and in particular Article 8(1), the first subparagraph of Article 10(2) and Article 11(2) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Annex I to Commission Implementing Decision 2011/630/EU sets out a list of third countries or parts thereof from which Member States are to authorise imports of semen of domestic animals of the bovine species (‘semen’). Section A of Part 1 of Annex II to that Implementing Decision sets out the model animal health certificate for imports into and transits through the Union of semen dispatched from the semen collection centre where the semen was collected. Section C of Part 1 of that Annex II sets out the model animal health certificate for imports into and transits through the Union of semen dispatched from a semen storage centre.
(2)
In the list of third countries or parts thereof from which Member States shall authorise imports of semen in Annex I to Implementing Decision 2011/630/EU the discription of additional guarantees for Australia and the United States must be amended in order to take account of the amendments made to the conditions for epizootic haemorrhagic disease (EHD) in points II.5.4.1 and II.5.4.2 of the health attestation in Part II of the model animal health certificate set out in Section A of Part 1 of Annex II to that Decision.
(3)
Annex I to Implementing Decision 2011/630/EU should therefore be amended accordingly.
(4)
The model animal health certificates set out in Sections A and C of Part 1 of Annex II to Implementing Decision 2011/630/EU are drawn up in accordance with Commission Decision 2007/240/EC, in a format compatible with the integrated computerised veterinary system (TRACES) set up by Commission Decision 2003/623/EC and consist of a description of the consignment in Part I and health attestation in Part II thereof.
(5)
As in accordance with Article 2(1)(c)(i) and (iii) of Implementing Decision 2011/630/EU the model animal health certificates set out in Section A and Section C of Part 1 of Annex II thereto can only be used for consignments of semen dispatched respectively from a single semen collection or storage centre, the information in point I.11 of the respective model animal health certificate should correspond to the semen collection centre where the semen was collected or the semen storage centre where the semen was dispatched from. Accordingly, only the name, the address and the approval number of a single semen collection or storage centre should be indicated in those points.
(6)
The health attestation in Part II of the model animal health certificate, set out in Section A of Part 1 of Annex II to Implementing Decision 2011/630/EU, lists five alternative conditions for declaring the absence of the bluetongue virus and four alternative conditions for declaring the absence of the EHD virus in donor bulls, including three regimes for the testing of donor bulls for EHD, to be certified when semen is imported from Australia, Canada and the United States. Currently it is only allowed to certify the consignments of semen collected from donor bulls complying with a single condition among those listed in that health attestation. However, certain consignments of semen dispatched to the Union consist of semen collected at different times from donor bulls complying with more than one of those conditions.
(7)
In addition, Section B of Annex III to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1266/2007 provides that semen intended for intra-Union trade or export to a third country should be collected from donor animals complying with at least one of the conditions listed therein relating to bluetongue which should be specified in the health certificate which model is laid down, inter alia, in Section A of Part 1 of Annex II to Implementing Decision 2011/630/EU.
(8)
As a consequence, there is a need for information on those listed conditions and the applied test regimes of donor bulls for bluetongue and EHD as well as on the dates when those listed conditions were met or tests applied to a particular set of straws of semen collected from an identified donor bull, where imported semen is subsequently dispatched to another Member State.
(9)
Since all five conditions for declaring the absence of the bluetongue and the four conditions for declaring the absence of EHD provide the same level of animal health guarantees, the wording of the health attestation in Part II of the model animal health certificate set out in Section A of Part 1 of Annex II to Implementing Decision 2011/630/EU should be amended in order to allow imports into and transit through the Union of consignments of semen collected from donor bulls complying with more than one listed conditions. Furthermore, detailed information on the conditions and applied test regimes should be included in that model animal health certificate, without necessarily increasing adminsitrative burdens.
(10)
To further reduce adminsitrative burdens for the centre veterinarian and for the official veterinarian, it is appropriate in point I.28 of the model animal health certificate set out in Section A of Part 1 of Annex II to Implementing Decision 2011/630/EU to remove information on the approval number of the centre and to provide in this point entries for the detailed description of the consignment as regards the conditions for bluetongue and EHD applicable to the particlar straw of semen collected on a disclosed date from an identified donor bull.
(11)
Annex II to Implementing Decision 2011/630/EU should therefore be amended accordingly.
(12)
Implementing Decision 2011/630/EU should therefore be amended accordingly.
(13)
To avoid any disruption of trade, the use of animal health certificates issued in accordance with Implementing Decision 2011/630/EU in its version prior to the amendments introduced by this Decision should be authorised during a transitional period subject to certain conditions.
(14)
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: