. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/EEC/190
3 March 2003
(03-1224)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
NOTIFICATION
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
If applicable, name of local government involved:
2. Agency responsible:   Commission of the European Communities. Health & Consumer
Protection General Directorate, Directorate E - Food safety: plant health, animal health and
welfare, international questions.
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where
applicable):  Live bovine, swine, ovine and caprine animals (CN 0102 to 0104 and 0106).
Meat and edible meat offal (CN 0201 to 0206).  Minced meat of bovine, ovine and caprine
(CN 020230, 020329, 020423, 0204539, 0204579) as such or in meat preparations under
CN position 1606.  Game meat (subheading CN 0208-90).  (See certificates for more
details on Combined Nomenclature).
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:  EC
member States and third countries exporting these products to the European Communities.
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:
SANCO/10167/2002-Rev.13 Draft Commission Decision on Community health conditions
on imports of animals and fresh meat including minced meat from third countries and
amending Council Decision 79/542/EEC, a nd Commission Decisions 2000/572/EC and
2000/585/EC
6. Description of content:  This proposal aims to simplify Community legislation and to
facilitate trade by repealing 31 Community legal acts and modifying three others by recastinginto a single text several existing model vete rinary certificates with the corresponding list of
authorised countries and updating the certificates for:
• live animals of domestic bovine, ovine, caprine, porcine animals
• fresh meat from domestic bovine, ovine, caprine, porcine and equine animals
• game meat from farmed suidae  and other cloven-hoofed animals, and
• game meat from wild suidae , other cloven-hoofed animals and solipeds,
to better address particular health conditions.
The Decision also includes new models of certificates for the harmonization of importation
into the Community of certain Artiodactylae  and Proboscidae animals .  The veterinary
certificate models, inter alia :
1. Include notes for guidance for certifying veterinarians.
2. Incorporate explanations on certain definitions, on supplementary guarantees under
specific conditions and on the health requirements of holdings, premises and animals
that should accompany each model of certificate as appropriate.G/SPS/N/EEC/190
Page 2
3. Follow United Nations' guidelines for drawing up commercial documents and Office
International des Epizooties on the use of electronic certification between the
veterinary or health authorities of both the exporting and importing country.
4. Include details concerning description of live animals, their meats and other derivatives
in different categories by designating specific numeric codes and definitions.
7. Objective and rationale:  [    ] food safety, [ X ] animal health, [   ] plant protection,
[   ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease,  [   ]  protect territory from other
damage from pests
8. International standard, gu ideline or recommendation:
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission, [ X ] Office International des Epizooties,
[ X ] International Plant Protec tion Convention, [   ] None
If an international standard , guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:   To the extent this is possible, the model
certificates incorporate recommendati ons from the United Nations and OIE.
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  Commission
Document SANCO/10167/2002-Re v.13 Draft Commission Decision on Community health
conditions on imports of animals and fresh meat including minced meat from third
countries and amending Council Decisi on 79/542/EEC, and Co mmission Decisions
2000/572/EC and 2000/585/EC (available in all Community languages).  When adopted itwill be published in the Official Journal available at:
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/oj/index.html
10. Proposed date of adoption:   May 2003
11. Proposed date of entry into force:   Thirty days after adoption with a transitional period of a
maximum of sixty days for the use of old certificates.
12. Final date for comments:  Sixty days after the date of notification
Agency or authority designated to handle co mments:  [ X ] EC notification authority,
[   ] National enquiry point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of
other body:
13. Texts available from:  [   ] National notification authority,  [ X ] EC enquiry point, or
address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body: