Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to the Act of Accession of Bulgaria and Romania, and in particular Article 42 thereof,

Having regard to Council Directive 89/662/EEC of 11 December 1989 concerning veterinary checks in intra-Community trade with a view to the completion of the internal market^f1, and in particular Article 9(4) thereof,

Whereas:

Commission Decision 2007/31/EC^f2 lays down transitional measures as regards the dispatch from Bulgaria to other Member States of certain products of the meat and milk sectors, covered by Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin^f3. Those products should be dispatched from Bulgaria only if obtained in a processing establishment listed in the Annex to that Decision.

Commission Decision 2007/31/EC^f4 was amended by Decision 2007/213/EC to delete certain establishments from the list in the Annex to Decision 2007/31/EC at the request of the Bulgarian authorities.

The Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) carried out a new mission in Bulgaria from 12 to 23 March 2007 with a view to assessing the situation of the processing establishments.

Bulgaria is carrying out, with the support of the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO), an assessment of all processing establishments in those sectors. In this context, Bulgaria has requested that certain establishments be added to the list in the Annex to Decision 2007/31/EC. Bulgarian authorities have given guarantees that these establishments are now fully in compliance with Community requirements. Therefore, the list in that Annex should be updated accordingly. For the sake of clarity, it is appropriate to replace it by the Annex to this Decision.

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: