Veterinary controls consultation document - EU - This article looks at veterinary controls on live animals and animal products from third countries in the context of the enlarged European Union.

1. General

The internal market for live animals and animal products is based upon the elimination of veterinary checks at the internal borders and the completion of all checks for live animals and animal products coming from third countries in specific locations situated at the external borders – border inspection posts.

Enlargement will have a considerable impact on this regime of veterinary checks, due to the considerable extension of the European Union territory. This fact is especially notable for the Eastern border of the European Union.

It is essential to guarantee the protection of both public health and animal health in the European Union. In view of this aim all new border inspection posts must be fully in conformity in terms of both the facilities and the application of EU import rules.

It is also clear that this new situation will have a potential impact on trade especially for exports of certain third countries to the EU and to certain other third countries

2. Development Strategy

With a view to establishing the new list of border inspection posts it is foreseen to proceed as follows.

As a first step it is for the competent authority of each applicant country to propose the location for all new border inspection posts. The Commission shall subsequently list those posts which are completed to EU requirements both for facilities and procedures and which will therefore be approved for accession.

Considerable preparatory work has already taken place to evaluate which border inspection posts are likely to meet these requirements. The present document sets down the list of these locations where the Commission services (Health and Consumer Protection DG) are confident that the above criteria will be met for accession. However, the list is not yet complete as the evaluation exercise is underway.

First Part
This list is based upon criteria linked to the monitoring actions in the context of enlargement.

• All sites have been visited by the Food and Veterinary Office.
• Sites have been the subject of a peer review.
• Facilities at September 2003 are either completed, or are in an advanced stage of construction likely to be completed by the time of accession.
• There has been a clear commitment and guarantees given by the candidate country to complete the facilities for accession, and to put in place the necessary resources and inspection procedures.

Second Part
For reasons of clarity the second part covers the list of border inspection posts in present Member States that will cease to function at accession.

To view the full list (First Part and Second Part), please click here. (PDF Format)

3. Calendar and Comments

It must be underlined that this list is not a formal proposal of the Commission but a first step to alert third countries and all different parties who have an interest, including commercial and private operators. The presence of any location on this list does not guarantee or prejudge the content of the final list. The Commission services have the intention to submit to the Commission a draft decision in December 2003 which will include any additional locations completed up to that time.

Applicant countries have proposed more than thirty additional locations for inclusion on the list for approval as border inspection posts, but at the present time these facilities are still under development and cannot yet be approved. Amendment and addition to this first draft list will therefore be carried out before accession taking account of new developments, further information received from applicants, and planned FVO missions, if the additional locations are completed sufficiently before 1st May 2004.

The official list of border inspection posts is not closed however, and after accession throughout 2004, or later, further additions in response to trade developments and completion of new facilities will be made by the standard procedure laid down in EU legislation, a process that is regularly carried out by the Commission at the request of Member States.

Source: European Commission - 3rd November 2003