Financing of veterinary checks on live animals and animal products (amend. Direct. 91/496/EEC)

OBJECTIVE: to lay down harmonized rules on the financing of veterinary checks and inspections on animals. COMMUNITY MEASURE: Council Directive 96/43/EC amending and consolidating Directive 85/73/EEC in order to ensure financing of veterinary inspections and controls on live animals and certain animal products and amending Directives 90/675/EEC and 91/496/EEC. SUBSTANCE: the Directive confirms, in accordance with the principles laid down in Directive 85/73/EEC, that the costs of the health checks and inspections provided for by Community rules is to be financed by a health fee to be charged on all live animals and products of animal origin which are subject to such checks or inspections and which are placed on the EU market, whether they are of Community origin or from third countries. To ensure such financing, the text lays down the levels of standard fees, which the Member States may augment up to the level of actual costs. Where the meat of different species is concerned, the levels of the existing fees are confirmed, notably in respect of poultrymeat, by extending them by analogy to species which are not currently covered (meat of small game birds or ground game and rabbit meat). For fishery products landed from Community fishing boats, the fees to be charged must cover the inspection costs laid down in Directive 91/493/EEC, i.e. those provided for on landing (ECU 1 per tonne up to 50 tonnes, ECU 0.5 per tonne thereafter) and during subsequent processing, with the Member States being permitted to collect such fees on a single occasion; the amounts concerned may be reduced by 55% in certain cases where controls or costs are reduced, and capped for sensitive pelagic species. The text also lays down the standard fees to be charged for controls on residues in live animals for slaughter and meat (ECU 1.35 per tonne of slaughtered meat), aquaculture products (ECU 0.1 per tonne of marketed product), milk and milk products (ECU 0.02 per 1 000 litres of raw milk) and, for egg products and honey, the actual costs incurred. Finally, where live animals are concerned, the Member States must charge a fee in accordance with detailed rules to be laid down at a later date. With effect from 1 January 1997, all animals and products of animal origin imported from third countries will be subject to a standard fee of ECU 5 per tonne, to be collected on entry into EU territory, irrespective of the point of inspection, in order to avoid any competitive distortions between border inspection points. These amounts may, however, be reviewed in connection with current negotiations, in accordance with a mandate from the Council, on equivalence agreements, if a reduced frequency of checks is agreed, on a reciprocal basis, in the light of the guarantees offered by the exporting country. ENTRY INTO FORCE: 21/07/1996 �