JOINT MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

4 April 2001

pursuant to Rule 37(4) of the Rules of Procedure by

• –Reimer Böge and Albert Jan Maat on behalf of the PPE-DE Group
• –Georges Garot on behalf of the PSE Group
• –Jan Mulder on behalf of the ELDR Group
• –Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf and Danielle Auroi on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
• –Dimitrios Koulourianos on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group
• –Rijk van Dam on behalf of the EDD Group

replacing the motions by the following groups:

• –PSE (B5‑0304/2001),
• –PPE-DE (B5‑0305/2001),
• –GUE/NGL (B5‑0306/2001),
• –EDD (B5‑0307/2001),
• –Verts/ALE (B5‑0308/2001),
• –ELDR (B5‑0309/2001),

on the statement of the European Comission on foot and mouth disease in the European Union

European Parliament resolution on the statement of the European Comission on foot and mouth disease in the European Union

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the policy of non-vaccination since 1991, as introduced by Council Directive 92/119/EC and Council Directive 85/511, as amended by Directive 90/423, on Community measures for the control of foot and mouth disease (FMD),

–  having regard to Commission decisions following the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the UK on 20 February 2001 (2001/145/EC, 2001/172/EC, 2001/190/EC, 2001/208/EC, 2001/223/EC),

–  having regard to the report ‘Strategy for emergency vaccination against foot and mouth disease’, adopted on 10 March 1999 by the Commission’s Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare,

A.  whereas the rapid spread of foot and mouth disease has had disastrous effects on rural economies, affecting farming, processing, trade and tourism and having severe consequences for entire rural regions,

B.  whereas there are problems relating to the current non-vaccination policy and the destruction of healthy animals seriously compromises animal welfare,

C.  whereas there are alternatives to the non-vaccination policy which have been successfully applied in certain European states before 1991 and which are still applied in third countries,

D.  whereas in the current vaccination situation a general vaccination is not possible,

E.  whereas the EU export markets for pork and beef reduced dramatically due to the recent BSE and foot and mouth disease crisis,

F.  whereas the origin of the epidemic in the United Kingdom is believed to be in smuggled meat used in a restaurant providing swill to a pig farm,

G.  whereas repeated animal health crises should be managed in a sustainable budgetary way,

H.  whereas live animal transport within and between Member States and third countries have facilitated the spread of foot and mouth disease,

1.  Calls on the Commission to review immediately the basic non-vaccination policy of the European Union and urges the Commission to bring forward possible alternatives which can be accepted worldwide, permitting free trade in animal products;

2.  Calls on the Commission and the Council of Ministers to endorse the following points in their policy against foot and mouth disease:

• 2.1to allow the use of protective emergency vaccination (ring vaccination) in a certain region with an outbreak of foot and mounth disease at the request of a Member State;
• 2.2to allow temporary emergency vaccination in a region free of foot and mouth disease, as a ‘buffer’ to a region or Member State with recorded cases;
• 2.3to allow the emergency vaccination of high-value animals and rare breeds, including bulls in artificial insemination stations or animals in zoos;

3.  Calls upon the Commission to carry out a clear registration of foot and mouth disease vaccinated animals and to allow strictly controlled marketing and processing of these animals and their products within that specific region;

4.  Calls on the Commission to step up efforts to develop a marker vaccine, as well as the NSP testing technology, making it possible to differentiate between infection and vaccination, which does not necessarily have to lead to culling healthy animals in case of disease;

5.  Urges the EU’s trading partners to adopt a regionalised policy which allows the countries and regions not affected by foot and mouth disease to continue exporting and calls on the Commission to start negotiations with these trading partners immediately;

6.  Urges the Commission to consider a proposal for registration of the sources, uses and treatment of swill in order to prevent untreated or insufficiently sterilised swill being used in animal feed;

7.  Calls on the Commission to participate with Member States to put in place a compensation package for food, phytosanitary or veterinary crises;

8.  Urges the Member States to step up controls from a veterinary point of view on goods, passengers and luggage entering the EU and to maintain these controls on a permanent basis;

9.  Calls on the Commission and the Council to set strict limits and, where necessary, impose strict bans on transport of live animals and animal products throughout the EU in order to prevent further spread of the disease and to devise a common strategy for an overall reduction of animal transport in the future;

10.  Calls on the Member States to increase health inspection to stop animal products entering the EU food chain from countries and regions where foot and mouth disease is present;

11.  Asks the Commission to prepare a study and report to the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers regarding the steps necessary to minimise the risk of foot and mouth disease in the European Union and the best means of dealing with any infection which does occur in the future;

12.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and the Council.