PURPOSE: to lay down a harmonised approach governing
the performance of official controls to ensure the uniform
application of the agri-food chain rules across the EU.
PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament
and of the Council.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European
Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative
procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
BACKGROUND: in order to afford European Union (EU)
citizens a high level of human, animal and plant health, and
guarantee the functioning of the internal market, Union legislation
provides for a set of harmonised rules to prevent, eliminate or
reduce the level of health risk to humans, animals and plants,
which may arise along the 'agri-food chain’.
To ensure that this extensive set of rules is enforced
by the Member States (MS) across the EU in a harmonised manner, a
legislative framework for the organisation of official controls has
been established through Regulation (EC) No 882/2004.
Based on an extensive review of the provisions of the
Regulation, the Commission proposes revising the legislation on
official controls to overcome shortcomings identified in its
wording and in its application. The aim is to simplify and
clarify the system and to establish a single framework applicable
to all official controls along the entire food
chain.
The proposal replaces and repeals Regulation (EC) No
882/2004 and a number of sectoral acts and provisions which will be
made redundant by its adoption. It is part of a comprehensive
package that also includes three major reviews to modernise the
animal health, plant health and plant reproductive material
acquis.
IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the retained option was that which
involves: (i) streamlining the legislative framework; (ii)
integrating within the Regulation’s scope plant health,
plant reproductive material (PRM) and animal by-products (ABP); and
(iii) extending mandatory fees to cover all controls
performed.
LEGAL BASIS: Articles 43(2), 114 and 168(4)(b) of the
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
CONTENT: the proposal aims to modernise and sharpen
enforcement tools, and in particular official controls, as laid
down in the existing Regulation, to simplify the legislative
framework. It lays down harmonised rules at EU level aimed
at providing a comprehensive and coherent approach to official
controls along the entire agri-food chain.
- Scope: it is proposed to
integrate the rules currently applicable to official controls in
specific areas currently governed by separate sets of rules (e.g.
controls on residues of veterinary medicinal products in live
animals and animal products, and plant health controls) into the
framework of a single Regulation.
- Lightening administrative burdens: the proposal makes changes in a number of situations
where it is possible to alleviate the burden of organising and
implementing official controls by eliminating redundant
requirements (e.g. separate reporting from official controls on
residues of veterinary medicinal products) or allowing a
proportionate and flexible approach to some specific situations
(e.g. not requiring full accreditation of official laboratories in
case of emergencies).
- Sampling: requirements
on methods of sampling and of laboratory analysis, testing and
diagnosis will become applicable to official controls and to other
official activities in all the sectors covered by the Regulation
(e.g. to surveillance, monitoring and survey activities in the
plant health and animal health sectors). A 5 years transitional
period will thus be foreseen for the plant health and plant
propagating material sectors. The rules for the choice of the
method to be used by the official laboratory will be clarified and
extended so as to require that methods meet state-of-the-art
scientific standards.
- Official controls on animals and goods entering the
Union: as far as imports are
concerned, it is essential that all foodstuffs available on the EU
market are safe. The proposal includes therefore a set of common
and comprehensive rules applicable to controls performed on animals
and goods from third countries. Border Control Posts (BCPs)
will replace the different entities currently tasked with border
control duties. A Common Health Entry Document (CHED) will
be used (i) by operators for the mandatory prior notification of
arrival of consignments of animals and goods and (ii) by competent
authorities to record controls on such consignments and any
decisions taken.
- Financing of official controls: Member States will be required to ensure that adequate
financial resources are available to provide the staff and other
resources necessary to the competent authorities to perform
official controls and the other activities referred to in the
Regulation. The proposal maintains the system of mandatory fees
and extends it to most official controls. Micro-enterprises
will be exempted from the payment of such fees.
- Administrative assistance and cooperation:
the administrative assistance and cooperation
provisions of the Regulation will be reinforced and clarified so as
to increase their usability and effectiveness as a tool for
tackling cross-border non-compliances. The proposal envisages the
creation of an integrated information management system for
official controls, which will allow the integrated operation and
updating of all existing and future computerised systems through
which information, data and documents regarding official controls
are exchanged among competent authorities, and with the
Commission.
BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: the proposal does not imply
incurring any expenditure which is not already foreseen in the
financial statement of the common financial framework. No
additional human resources are envisaged either.
DELEGATED ACTS: the proposal includes provisions
empowering the Commission to adopt delegated acts in accordance
with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union.