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The principles of
the EU strategy on animal diseases and its
most important implementation tools can be
summarized as follows:
-
control
measures against major epizootic
diseases, essentially
list
A OIE diseases, such as
foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and
classical swine fever (CSF), to be taken
as soon as a disease is suspected.
In case of a disease outbreak the
animals in the infected holding are
culled and their carcasses destroyed to
interrupt the chain of infection as
quickly as possible. When deemed
necessary, preventive culling of animals
in suspect (contact) farms may also be
applied. Emergency vaccination can be
used as an additional measure to achieve
eradication. Generalised preventative
vaccination against FMD and CSF is not
applied, as it may "hide" the infectious
agents and favour disease spread.
However, for some diseases, such as
bluetongue, which may not be effectively
controlled by other means, vaccination is
applied as the most important disease
control tool;
-
eradication
and monitoring programmes : for
diseases already in the Community, such
as rabies, Brucellosis and Tuberculosis,
which are subject to national programmes
co-financed by the EU;
-
application of
the concept of "
regionalization" in case of
disease occurrence, consisting of the
application of measures to control and
eliminate disease from the infected area
without applying restrictions in the rest
of the country.
-
registration of farms,
identification
of animals and establishment of a
computerized system linking more
than 2 500 offices of the central and
local veterinary authorities throughout
the EU (
ANIMO),
which enables advance notification of the
trade in animals and their products.
These tools are essential to ensure
traceability of these goods and further
appropriate controls;
-
transparency as regards the animal
health situation in the MSs. Occurrence
of the most important diseases must be
notified to the Commission and the other
MSs, via the computerised
Animal Disease
Notification System, which now also
involve many other European countries (EU
acceding and candidate countries,
Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, etc.).
-
contingency plans in each MS for
dealing with epizootic diseases, so that
the competent authorities can ensure the
rapid implementation of the most
appropriate control measures, taking the
local epidemiological situation into
account;
-
EU and national
reference
laboratories to ensure uniformity of
testing and expert support to the
Commission and the MSs.
The implementation
of the measures provided for in the
legislation rests with the Member
States(MSs). They are, however,
financially
supported by the EU for the expenditure
incurred in relation to the measures applied,
which may include the compensation for
farmers who suffer serious economic losses
due to animal diseases.
The Commission is
responsible for ensuring that EU legislation
is properly applied, for proposing further
legislation to the legislator
¹ and
for adopting appropriate implementation
rules. Before adoption, these rules are
discussed with the MSs experts in the
Standing
Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health
(section Animal Health and Animal
Welfare), where information on the animal
health situation is regularly exchanged.
In case of an
emergency, the Commission may also adopt
ad hoc additional control measures
(safeguard clauses), if they are necessary
for the protection of public and/or animal
health. Therefore, the Commission plays a key
role in the management of the most urgent and
important animal health problems.
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¹ The
EU legislation on animal health is usually
adopted by the Council (art. 37 of the
Treaty, consultation procedure). However, if
food safety or human health are also directly
concerned, the European Parliament also play
a primary role in the adoption of legislation
(art. 152 of the Treaty, co-decision
procedure).
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