Brussels, 03/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - By adopting the report on Thursday by German Social-Democrat Dagmar Roth-Behrendt, the European Parliament approved the Council's common position on rules to combat transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). The regulation on TSEs could thus take effect on 1 July.
May we point out that most amendments the EP adopted on first reading in April 2000 were taken on board in the common position. The weakness of these new rules relate to the provisions over trade when the sheep scrapies first made its appearance. The text of the common position is a small breakthrough in relation to the current situation, as it stipulates that herds of origin must be free of disease for three years (instead of the current two).
The main changes introduced in the common position concern the following points: 1) horizontal questions linked to safeguard and inspection measures: account being taken of all the provisions currently in place on safeguard measures (withdrawal of specified risk materials) and recommendations by the International Epizooties Office (OIE), notably the classification criteria of countries (five categories) depending on the risk linked to BSE; 2) education prograsmme: the Council has introduced co-funding; 3) epidemiological surveillance and screening added the obligation to subject ovines and caprines to screening as soon as a test is available that can distinguish scrapeis from BSE; 4) emergency plans; the Council has reduced the possibility of harmonizing national emergency plans, but not abolished it; 5) placing on the market of beef products from high-risk Member States (United Kingdom and Portugal); limit to the certification control systems for herds and exports based on the date; 6) import of live beef and beef products: strengthening of import conditions so that they correspond to Community legislation on the ban on animal protein in the fodder of ruminants.