Council Press Release, 16 June 2011
The following is an extract from the minutes of the Transport Council meeting held on 16 June 2011
The Council adopted conclusions on the special report No 14/2010 from the European Court of Auditors entitled "The Commission's management of the system of veterinary checks for meat imports following the 2004 hygiene legislation reforms".
The current system of veterinary checks for meat imports has contributed to the absence over the past 15 years of any major health crisis in the EU. The obligation to conduct these controls is enshrined in EU legislation, while the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), the Trade Control and Expert System (Traces), the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) inspection mission reports and other information from third countries serve as essential tools for ensuring an effective assessment of risks. Traces is a relatively new tool which should be used in every member state in a uniform manner: the implementation of the system is now almost complete within the EU.
The Council encourages the Commission to continue the development of Traces and RASFF and their utilities in order to provide appropriate responses to threats to food safety and to enhance the degree of coherence of import control legislation.
These conclusions are consistent with the Council conclusions of December 2008 on the safety of imported agricultural and agri-food products and compliance with community rules (17169/08 ADD1), and the Council conclusions on the international competitiveness of the European agri-food model adopted in June 2010 (11409/10 ADD 1).
See a copy of the Court of Auditors report available on this site: Special Report No 14/2010 “The Commission’s management of the system of veterinary checks for meat imports following the 2004 hygiene legislation reforms”