The European Parliament adopted by 620 votes to 64, with 31 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the zootechnical and genealogical conditions for trade in and imports into the Union of breeding animals and their germinal products.
The European Parliaments position at first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure amended the Commission proposal as follows:
Subject matter and scope: Parliament clarified that the Regulation lays down:
· zootechnical and genealogical rules for trade in breeding animals and their germinal products, and for their entry into the Union;
· rules for the recognition of breed societies and breeding operations and for the approval of their breeding programmes;
· the rights and obligations of breeders, breed societies and breeding operations;
· rules for the entry of breeding animals in breeding books and breeding registers and for the acceptance for breeding of breeding animals and their germinal products;
· rules for the performance testing and genetic evaluation of breeding animals;
· rules for the issuing of zootechnical certificates for breeding animals and their germinal products;
· rules for the performance of official controls, and in particular those on breed societies and breeding operations, and rules for the performance of other official activities;
· rules for administrative assistance and cooperation and rules for enforcement by Member States;
· rules for the performance of controls by the Commission in Member States and third countries.
This Regulation applies to breeding animals and their germinal products where those animals or the offspring resulting from those germinal products are intended to be entered as purebred breeding animals in a breeding book or registered as hybrid breeding pigs in a breeding register.
The definition of the term breed has been introduced in the text.
The text stated that it is not appropriate for issues relating to cloning to be addressed in this Regulation.
Recognition of breed societies and breeding operations: in respect of purebred breeding animals, breeders' associations, breeding organisations or public bodies may apply to the competent authorities for recognition as a breed society. The competent authorities shall evaluate the applications and recognise as a breed society any applicant who complies with the requirements.
Where the competent authority which has recognised a breed society or breeding operation refuses to approve a breeding programme submitted by that breed society or breeding operation, that breed society or breeding operation shall have the possibility of submitting a modified version of that breeding programme within six months after that refusal.
The competent authority shall withdraw recognition from that breed society or breeding operation if no modified version of the breeding programme has been submitted.
Approval of breeding programmes: a breed society or a breeding operation shall submit applications for approval of its breeding programmes to the competent authority which has recognised that breed society or breeding operation.
The competent authority shall evaluate those breeding programmes and approve them provided that they have one or more of the following aims:
· in the case of purebred breeding animals: (i) the improvement of the breed; (ii) the preservation of the breed; (iii) the creation of a new breed; (iv) the reconstruction of a breed;
· in the case of hybrid breeding pigs: (i) the improvement of the breed, line or cross; (ii) the creation of a new breed, line or cross.
Derogation: the competent authority which has recognised a breed society may refuse to approve a breeding programme of that breed society that complies with the requirements set out and additionally in the case of purebred breeding animals of the equine species, on the grounds that that breeding programme would compromise the breeding programme carried out by another breed society for the same breed which has already been approved in that Member State as regards at least one of the following:
· the preservation of that breed or of the genetic diversity within that breed; or
· where the aim of that breeding programme is the preservation of that breed, the effective implementation of that breeding programme: (i) in the case of an endangered breed; or (ii) in the case of an autochthonous breed which is not commonly found in one or more of the territories of the Union.
Rights of breeders: Members clarified the right of breeders participating in breeding programmes approved provided that:
· their breeding animals are kept on holdings located within the geographical territory of that breeding programme;
· their breeding animals belong, in the case of purebred breeding animals, to the breed, or, in the case of hybrid breeding pigs, to the breed, line or cross, covered by that breeding programme.
Breeders must have access to the services provided under the programme without discrimination
Rights and obligations of breed societies: breed societies or breeding operations shall have the right to exclude breeders from participating in a breeding programme where those breeders fail to comply with the rules of that breeding programme.
Breed societies may carry out performance testing based on the requirements of their breeding programme.
Breed societies or breeding operations may outsource to a third party specific technical activities related to the management of their breeding programmes, including performance testing and genetic evaluations.
Verification of identification methods: a Member State or, if it so decides, its competent authority may authorise a breed society to enter purebred breeding animals of the equine species in the breeding book maintained by that breed society where those animals are identified by any other appropriate method that provides at least the same degree of certainty as a covering certificate such as parentage control based on DNA analysis or analysis of their blood groups.
In addition, in order to provide support to breed societies managing endangered breeds, where there is a recognised need, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission, enabling it to designate European Union reference centres charged with the specific task of promoting the establishment or harmonisation of methods used by those breed societies.
Zootechnical certificates: breeders who are participating in a breeding programme should have the right to receive zootechnical certificates for their breeding animals covered by that breeding programme and for the germinal products of those animals.
Zootechnical certificates should accompany breeding animals or the germinal products thereof where they are traded or entered into the Union in view of an entry or registration of those animals or of the progeny produced from those germinal products in other breeding books or breeding registers. Members laid down the rules as regards issuing, content and form of the zootechnical certificates.
Cross-border cooperation between breed societies and between breeding operations: this cooperation should be facilitated, while ensuring free entrepreneurship and the removal of obstacles to the free movement of breeding animals and their germinal products.