Brussels, 08/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 8 May, the Council of Ministers of the EU adopted without debate the regulation laying down provisions for the management of the expenditure for, firstly, the food production chain, animal health and animal welfare and, secondly, plant health and plant reproductive material. This adoption follows an agreement reached at first reading with the European Parliament (which agreed on its position at first reading on 2 April 2014).
The objective of this regulation is to modernise the financial provisions for this area in accordance with the conclusions of the European Council of 7 and 8 February 2013 on the multi-annual financial framework for the period 2014-2020. This regulation replaces the financial provisions currently laid down in multiple legal texts, with one single financial framework which optimises the implementation and functioning of financial management of expenditure in the field of food and feed.
The regulation is part of the “healthier animals and plants for a safer food chain package” (see EUROPE 11062) and offers a framework to finance measures provided for in the animal health and plant health regime, the regime for the production and making available on the market of plant reproductive material and the rules which govern official controls. In particular, it finances the veterinary eradication programmes for certain animal diseases (vaccination, screening tests and compensation for slaughtering and culling). The EU funding to support these measures gives priority to diseases of public health importance and those with major economic impacts.
In addition, the financial framework also offers support to the EU phytosanitary regime and the one governing plant reproductive material, which lay particular emphasis on the protection of European agriculture and forestry, by preventing the entry and spread of non-native pests harmful to plants, and to the availability and use of healthy plant material at the beginning of the chain of plant production.
Finally, it finances expenditure for official controls (harmonised functioning of the national and European control systems, financing of the EU network of reference laboratories). (LC)