1.12.2001 Official Journal of the European Communities L 316/5 COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2001/89/EC of 23 October 2001 on Community measures for the control of classical swine fever (Text with EEA relevance) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1), Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (3), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3), Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (¥), Whereas: (1)  Council Directive 80/217[/EEC of 22 January 1980 introducing Community measures for the control of classical swine fever (°) has been frequently and substantially amended. Now that it is to be further amended, the Directive should, for the reasons of clarity and rationalisation, be recast as a single text. (2)  Since live animals are listed in Annex I of the Treaty, one of the Community's tasks in the veterinary field is to improve the state of health of pigs, thereby facilitating trade in pig and pig products to ensure the development of this sector. (3)  In the event of an outbreak of classical swine fever, it is necessary to establish at Community level control measures to eradicate the disease in order that the development of the pig sector is ensured and so as to contribute to the protection of animal health in the Community. (4 An outbreak of classical swine fever can take on epizootic  proportions,  causing  mortality and disturbances on a scale which threatens in particular the profitability of pig farming as a whole. (5)  Measures should be adopted as soon as the presence of the disease is suspected so that immediate and effective action can be taken as soon as its presence is confirmed, including depopulation of the infected holding. () O] C 29 E, 30.1.2001, p. 199. (%) Opinion of the European Parliament of 14 June 2001 (not yet published in the Official Journal). () O] C 123, 25.4.2001, p. 69. () O] C 148, 18.5.2001, p. 21. () OJ L 47, 21.2.1980, p. 11. Directive as last amended by the 1994 Act of Accession. (6) (10) (1) (12) If an outbreak occurs it is also necessary to prevent any further spread of the disease by carefully monitoring movements of animals and the use of products liable to be contaminated, cleaning and disinfection of the infected premises, establishment of surveillance and protection zones around the outbreak and, if necessary, by vaccination. In case of infection, vaccinated pigs may become apparently healthy virus carriers and further spread the disease. The use of vaccines may therefore be authorised only in emergencies. In accordance with the opinion of the Scientific Committee, marker vaccines capable of eliciting a protective immunity distinguishable from the immune response elicited by natural infection with the wild virus by means of appropriate laboratory tests may become a useful additional tool in the control of classical swine fever in areas with a high density of pigs, thereby avoiding massive slaughter of animals. It is therefore advisable to establish a Community procedure for approving such discriminatory tests, once the remaining limitations of these tests have been overcome, and to authorise Member States to introduce the use of marker vaccines when appropriate in an emergency. Special eradication measures should be applied in case of disease in feral pigs. Provisions should be established to guarantee that harmonised procedures and methods are used for the diagnosis of classical swine fever, including the establishment of a Community reference laboratory as well as reference laboratories in the Member States. Provisions should be established to ensure the necessary preparedness to effectively tackle the emergency situations related to one or more outbreaks of classical swine fever, in particular by drawing up plans to combat them and setting up control centres and expert groups. Some of the measures so far adopted in the Community in the event of an outbreak of classical swine fever in accordance with Directive 80/217/EEC should be