Commission Regulation (EC) No 571/2008 of 19 June 2008 amending Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the criteria for revision of the annual monitoring programmes concerning BSE (Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (1), and in particular the first paragraph of Article 23 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 lays down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) in animals. It provides that each Member State is to carry out an annual monitoring programme for TSEs based on active and passive surveillance.

(2) Article 6(1b) of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 provides that Member States which can demonstrate the improvement of the epidemiological situation on their territory may apply for their annual monitoring programmes to be revised.

(3) Several Member States in which a positive trend in the epidemiological situation as regards bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has been observed, have expressed interest in having their annual BSE monitoring programme revised. In order to allow those Member States to submit to the Commission a request to revise their BSE monitoring programmes, it is necessary to lay down the criteria for demonstrating an improvement in the BSE epidemiological situation.

(4) Those criteria are epidemiological indicators aiming to assess in a quantified manner the evolution of the BSE situation in Member States over the years.

(5) For the sake of clarity and consistency, those criteria should be laid down in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001.

(6) Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(7) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 19 June 2008.

For the Commission Androulla VASSILIOU Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 147, 31.5.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 357/2008 (OJ L 111, 23.4.2008, p. 3).