Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on official controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules^f1, and in particular Article 43(1)(i) thereof,

Having consulted the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

Whereas:

Under Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 and in particular Article 4(6) thereof, the competent authorities of the Member States are required to carry out internal audits or have external audits carried out in order to ensure that they are achieving the objectives of that Regulation.

The Commission is required to draw up guidelines laying down criteria for the conduct of the audits referred to in Article 4(6) of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 and in so doing to reflect the relevant international bodies’ standards and recommendations regarding the organisation and operation of official services. The guidelines are not binding but serve to provide useful guidance to the Member States in the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004.

The European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) have developed standards, aspects of which are appropriate for the purpose of establishing the guidelines,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: