The European Commission's Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health also approved transitional measures for imports of animal origin which enter Bulgaria and Romania before 1 January 2007.Transitional measures for a considerable number of Bulgarian milk establishments that currently donot comply with EU food safety laws were also approved.
The measures are intended to ensure the safety of the food supply chain within the EU once thetwo countries join the bloc, scheduled for 1 January 2007. Both countries are already major foodimporters into the EU. Earlier this year processors were banned from importing poultry from mostparts of Romania which was particularly hard hit by the avian influenza virus.
Earlier this month the committee voted on a number of other veterinary and food safety issues related to Romanian and Bulgarian accession.The committee is made up of veterinary experts from EU member states.
Such decisions are a normal part of the EU's pre-accession preparations, and similar measures were agreed for the 10 newmember states prior to the last enlargement of the EU in 2004.
The two countries contingency plans outline the operational arrangements that Bulgaria and Romania would put in place to deal with any occurrence of avian influenza, Newcastle disease, classical swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).
Each plan is dedicated to one of these diseases in order to ensure that all necessary control measures foreseen in the relevant EU veterinary legislation can be rapidly applied. The plans include, amongst other things, the details on operating disease control centres, how resources would be organised and how emergency control measures would be performed, in the event of a serious animal disease outbreak.
Under EU legislation, every member state is required to have such contingency plans in place.
The committee also endorsed transitional measures for products of animal origin which were either imported into Bulgaria and Romania before 1 January 2007, or are still under customs supervision on that date.
As these goods were imported before the date of enlargement, they may not be in compliance with all EU veterinary rules. Therefore, non-compliant products will only be allowed to be sold on the domestic markets, and will be specially marked.
Bulgaria and Romania may export these products to third countries under strict conditions,including the requirement that the importing third country has authorised the shipment. The consignment mustalso be officially sealed and may not cross the territory of another member state.
By the end of 2007, all stocks of the non-compliant imported animal products in question should be used up or else removed from themarket, the European Commission said in a press release. Those products still under customs supervision on 1 January 2008 must be destroyed at the expense of the owner of the consignment.
The committee also backed a Commission proposal grant transitional measures to a number of Bulgarian milkestablishments. A considerable proportion of raw milk delivered for processing in Bulgaria is currently not in compliance with EUrequirements and is therefore not eligible for export to member states, the Commission stated.
Under the plans agreed on yesterday, a series of processors across Bulgaria have been added to the list ofthose who may continue to receive non-compliant milk until 31 December 2009.
The allowance is based on the condition that their products are only sold on the domestic market. The produce from these establishments will carry a special identification mark.
Specified other dairy establishments, which have shown that they can ensure the complete separation of compliant and non-compliant milk in the production process, will be allowed to participate inintra-EU trade.
"This, however, is on the strict condition that they keep the compliant and non-compliant milk separate from point of collection, right through the processing chain, to the point ofdelivery," the Commission stated. "Only products made from compliant milk may be dispatched to other parts of the EU. The Bulgarian authorities will be responsible for checking that these conditions are adhered to."