Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2007)572 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 on the animal health requirements applicable to the non-commercial movements of pet animals as regards the extension of the transitional period - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2007)572 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 on the animal health requirements applicable to the non-commercial movements of pet ... |
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| source | COM(2007)572  |
| date | 08-10-2007 |
Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 of the European parliament and the Council harmonises the rules for the non commercial movement of pet animals between Member States or after entry or re-entry into the Community from third countries. Published on 13 June 2003 it entered into force on 3 July 2003 and applies to pet animals when travelling with their owners.
The Regulation introduced inter alia the pet passport for cats, dogs and ferrets when being moved from one Member State to another, which provides proof that the animal has been vaccinated against rabies. This is the sole requirement for pets to travel to all Member States.
However, the Regulation provides for specific derogative conditions for the movement of pet animals to certain Member States for a transitional period of five years starting from the date of entry into force, i.e. until 3 July 2008. These derogations should be reviewed by the end of this period, in the light of the experience gained by Member States with the implementation of Articles 6, 8 and 16 of the Regulation and of a scientific opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
To this end and according to Article 23 of the Regulation, the Commission was required to submit to the European Parliament and to the Council, before 1 February 2007, a report on the need to maintain the serological test, together with appropriate proposals for determining the regime to be applied after the transitional period.
Problem identification
Because the scientific assessment has taken longer than envisaged, the Commission report has been delayed. In order to be able to take the conclusions of the report sufficiently into consideration, it is therefore appropriate to extend the above transitional period.
Objective of the proposal
The objective of this Commission proposal is to extend the transitional period and to amend Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 accordingly.
This Commission proposal is linked to the Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council in connection with Article 23 of Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the animal health requirements applicable to the non-commercial movement of pet animals.