28.3.2002 Official Journal of the European Communities L 84/65 COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 27 March 2002 amending Decisions 2001/730/EC and 2001/854/EC on the Community's financial contribution to the Member States' TSE monitoring programmes for 2002 (notified under document number C(2002) 1266) (2002/246[EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Decision 90/424[EEC of 26 June 1990 on expenditure in the veterinary field (!), as last amended by Decision 2001/572[EC (3), and in particular Article 24(5) and (6) thereof, Whereas: 1) Commission Decision 2001/730/EC (}) establishes the list of programmes for the monitoring of TSE qualifying for a financial contribution from the Community in 2002, as well as the proposed rate and amount of the contribution for each programme. All Member States' BSE and scrapie monitoring programmes are included in that list. Commission Decision 2001/854/EC (*) approved the TSE monitoring programmes presented for 2002 by the Member States. The Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) in its opinion of 18 and 19 October 2001 on the safety of small rumi- nant products should BSE in small ruminants become probable/confirmed recommended that a survey on the incidence of TSEs in small ruminants should urgently be carried out with the available rapid tests using a statisti- cally sound sample design and size. In response to this recommendation, 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 trans- missible spongiform  encephalopathies (), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 270/ 2002 (%), sets out a new programme for the monitoring 224, 18.9.1990, p. 19. 203, 28.7.2001, p. 16. 274, 17.10.2001, p. 20. 147, 31.5.2001, p. 1. 45, 15.2.2002, p. 4. () O] L () O] L () O] L () O] L 318, 4.12.2001, p. 54. () O] L () O L of scrapie in ovine and caprine animals to apply from 1 April 2002. Under the new monitoring programme, the numbers of healthy slaughter and dead-on-farm animals to be tested are substantially increased. Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 also removes certain derogations formerly afforded to Austria and Finland from the requirements to test certain target groups of animals, following the confirmation of the first BSE cases in those Member States. Austria and Finland have both requested an increase in the funding allocated to them for TSE monitoring under Decisions 2001/730/EC and 2001/854[EC. In view of the expanded TSE monitoring programme introduced by Regulation (EC) No 999/2001, it is neces- sary to revise the maximum amount of financial partici- pation by the Community for each programme, as set out in Decisions 2001/730/EC and 2001/854/EC. The estimates of the maximum amount of Community financing allocated to each programme may have to be adjusted during the implementation of the programmes in order to take account of the actual needs of each Member State. The review should however be carried out without increasing the total amount of contribution by the Community. The computerised monthly report on progress of the programmes and costs incurred as laid down in the Annex to Decision 2001/854EC should be adapted to reflect the latest amendments to Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001, made by Regulation (EC) No 270/ 2002, which abolishes the derogatory sampling regime previously established for Member States with a small ovine and caprine population. The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,