WRITTEN QUESTION No. 4031/98 by Honório NOVO to the Commission. Imports of beef and veal and of animal feed produced in third countries
C 297/124 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 15. 10. 1999 In view of the above, would the Commission answer the following questions: 1. What checks is the Commission intending to carry out in order to prevent the production and/or use of animal feed made from substances and/or by-products originating in cattle in all EU countries and particularly in Spain, where such feed is reported to be still widely used for the feeding of pigs? 2. Can the Commission confirm that it will continue to be possible to produce animal feed from substances and/or by-products originating in animals other than cattle? (1999/C 297/169) WRITTEN QUESTION E-4031/98 by Honório Novo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (8 January 1999) Subject: Imports of beef and veal and of animal feed produced in third countries For reasons relating to the recent trade embargo on exports of Portuguese beef and veal, the Portuguese Government has decided to bring forward the introduction of the ban on the production of animal feed made from any substance or by-product originating in cattle. This ban will not become compulsory throughout the EU until 1 January 1999. In view of the above, would the Commission answer the following questions: 1. From 1 January 1999, will it be possible to import beef and veal (either live or slaughtered animals) from third countries, where cattle continue to be fed on animal feed made from substances and by-products originating in cattle? How is the Commission to set about monitoring the way in which such animals are fed in third countries? 2. With effect from the same date, will it be possible to import animal feed made from substances and by- products of animal origin? How does the Commission intend to monitor the production of all types of imported animal feed? Joint answer to Written Questions E-4030/98 and E-4031/98 given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (24 February 1999) Commission Decision 94/381/EC of 27 June 1994 concerning certain protection measures with regard to bovine spongiform encephalopathy and the feeding of mammalian derived protein (1), prohibits the feeding of processed animal protein of mammalian origin to ruminants in the Community. This prohibition applies both to feedingstuffs produced in the Community and to feedingstuffs imported from third countries. Current Community legislation contains no rules prohibiting or monitoring the feeding of feedingstuffs containing ingredients of bovine origin to animals other than ruminants nor has the Commission proposed to introduce such rules in areas other than those representing the highest risk of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). Certain Member States, such as Portugal and United Kingdom, have prohibited the use of feedingstuffs containing mammalian (including bovine) protein in feedingstuffs for all farm animals at a national level. Currently there are safeguard measures in place prohibiting the export of feedingstuffs of bovine origin from these two Member States to the other Member States. The Commission proposes similar rules in the areas representing the highest TSE risk in its proposal for a Parliament and Council regulation laying down rules for the prevention and control of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (2). (1) OJ L 172, 7. 7. 1994. (2) COM(98) 623 final