Given the important health and economic implications of zoonoses, the ESC finds it unacceptable, despite the fact that a number of private programmes have been implemented, that a number of Member States have been unable to go further towards implementing the 1992 Directive and that the Commission did not take legal action far sooner to enforce implementation and did not submit proposals for changes.
A rough unofficial estimate of the number of cases of salmonellarelated illness reported in the European Union puts the figure at more than 200,000 a year. The actual number of cases is thought to be 10 to 50 times greater, and the direct cost is esthr> Internal Market Council
This is an illustration of the EU's unacceptable habit of setting deadlines which neither the institutions nor the Member States take seriously. In future, every effort should be made to set realistic deadlines which are then respected.
The Commission must lose no time in reviewing the state of play and submitting appropriate proposals to bring the situation under control as soon as possible. Failing that, there are likely to be serious problems in the workings of the internal market. Available statistics should also be published and a scientific conference organized without delay.