Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Decision 90/424/EEC of 26 June 1990 on expenditure in the veterinary field^f1, and in particular Article 24(5) and (6) thereof,

Whereas:

Commission Decision 2004/696/EC of 14 October 2004 on the list of programmes for the eradication and the monitoring of certain TSEs qualifying for a financial contribution from the Community in 2005^f2, lists the programmes submitted to the Commission by the Member States for the eradication and monitoring of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) qualifying for a Community financial contribution in 2005. That Decision also sets out the proposed rate and maximum amount of the contribution for each programme.

Commission Decision 2004/863/EC of 30 November 2004 approving the TSE eradication and monitoring programmes of certain Member States for 2005 and fixing the level of the Community's financial contribution^f3, approves the programmes which are listed in Decision 2004/696/EC and lays down the maximum amounts of the Community's financial contribution.

Decision 2004/863/EC also provides for reports on the progress of the TSE monitoring programmes and the costs paid, to be forwarded by the Member States to the Commission every month. An analysis of those reports indicates that certain Member States will not utilise their full allocation for 2005, while others will spend in excess of the allocated amount.

The Community's financial contribution to certain of those programmes therefore needs to be adjusted. It is appropriate to reallocate funding from programmes of Member States which are not using their full allocation to those that are exceeding it. The reallocation should be based on the most recent information on the expenditure actually incurred by the concerned Member States.

Decisions 2004/696/EC and 2004/863/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: