8. 1. 98 Official Journal of the European Communities L 4/63 COMMISSION DECISION of 15 December 1997 amending for the fourth time Council Directive 82/894/EEC on the notification of animal diseases within the Community and temporarily amending the frequency of notification for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Text with EEA relevance) (98/12/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Directive 82/894/EEC of 21 December 1982 on the notification of animal diseases within the Community ('), as last amended by Commis- sion Decision 92/450/EEC (), and in particular Article 5 (2) thereof, Whereas outbreaks of bovine spongiform encephalopathy continue within Community territory; whereas that disease should accordingly be kept on the list of diseases notifiable under Directive 82/894/EEC; Whereas, in the light of experience gained, the require- ment to notify outbreaks of that disease should be extended; whereas, as a derogation until 31 December 2002, weekly reporting of outbreaks containing the infor- mation normally required for secondary outbreaks appears sufficient; Whereas provisions adopted previously concerning notifi- cation of the disease should be repealed; Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Veterinary Committee, HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: Article 1 ‘Bovine spongiform encephalopathy’ is hereby added to Annex I to Directive 82/894/EEC. Article 2 By way of a derogation from Article 3 (1) of Directive 82/894/EEC, all outbreaks of bovine spongiform encepha- lopathy shall be notified until 31 December 2002 in accordance with Article 4 of that Directive. Article 3 Decision 92/450/EEC is hereby repealed. Article 4 This Decision is addressed to the Member States. Done at Brussels, 15 December 1997. For the Commission Franz FISCHLER Member of the Commission () OJ L 378, 31. 12. 1982, p. 58. () OJ L 248, 28. 8. 1992, p. 77.