15. 7. 97 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 185/15 COMMISSION DECISION of 2 July 1997 on a Community financial contribution for a surveillance programme relating to the eradication of foot-and-mouth disease in Albania, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Only the Danish, English and Italian texts are authentic) (97/432/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 Council Decision 94/370/EC (3, and, in particular Articles 12 and 13 thereof, Whereas outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease during the late spring and/or summer of 1996 were reported by Albania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; Whereas the appearance of foot-and-mouth disease in Eastern European countries is a serious danger to the Community’s livestock population; Whereas as a result of outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in May 1996 in Albania, the Commission adopted 13 June 1996 Decision 96/367/EC (%) concerning protec- tion measures in relation to foot-and-mouth disease in Albania; Whereas by 14 June 1996 the Commission by adopting Decision 96/368/EC () on a Community financial contri- bution concerning measures to control foot-and-mouth disease in Albania, made available up to a maximum of 600 000 doses of vaccines to the Albanian authorities; Whereas due to outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Commission adopted Decision 96/439/EC (*) on 18 July 1996, on a Community financial contribution to measures to control foot-and-mouth disease in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Whereas within the context of the said Decision, a total of 250 000 doses of vaccine to protect bovine animals against foot-and-mouth disease were made available; J No L 224, 18. 8. 1990, p. 15. ] No L 168, 2. 7. 1994, p. 31. J No L 145, 19. 6. 1996, p. 17. ] No L 145, 19. 6. 1996, p. 19. J No L 181, 20. 7. 1996, p. 37. Whereas the programmes established for vaccination against foot-and-mouth disease in Albania and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia may have included vaccination of livestock incubating foot-and-mouth disease virus, but not showing signs of the disease; Whereas it cannot be excluded that the implementation of a vaccination programme in Albania and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has produced ‘carrier animals’; Whereas the foot-and-mouth disease situation in certain areas of Albania, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia remains unclear, as regards antibodies to foot-and-mouth disease virus elicited due to field virus or vaccine virus antigen; Whereas a sero-surveillance programme designed to detect antibodies to the foot-and-mouth disease virus has been drawn up for certain areas of Albania, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Whereas the said programme when carried out can provide valuable information on the disease situation in the area subjected to the surveillance programme; Whereas a team of experts from Member States and the European Commission in cooperation with the veterinary authorities of Albania, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have drawn up a sero-surveillance programme for the areas affected by foot-and-mouth disease; Whereas the said programme includes that the collection of blood samples is carried out by the third countries concerned and that laboratory examinations of the collected blood samples are carried out at selected National Foot and Mouth Disease laboratories in Member States of the European Union; Whereas the programme in particular will be based on a very close cooperation between: — the veterinary central administration of Albania and the national foot-and-mouth disease laboratory in Italy,