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 are to be dispatched from Bulgaria only if obtained in a processing establishment listed in the Annex to Decision 2007/31/EC.

The Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) carried out a mission in Bulgaria from 22 to 27 April 2007 with a view to assessing the situation of the processing establishments. The Bulgarian authorities have demonstrated that they now have the capacity and capability to evaluate establishments correctly for approval for intra-Community trade and have solved the former problems of controls. Decision 2007/31/EC should therefore be repealed.

Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs^f4 and Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 provide for certain structural requirements for establishments falling within the scope of those Regulations.

In Bulgaria certain establishments in the meat and milk sectors need more time to comply with the relevant structural requirements of Regulations (EC) No 852/2004 and (EC) No 853/2004. Accordingly the structural requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Annex II, Chapter II and in Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, Annex III, Section I, Chapters II and III, Section II, Chapters II and III, and Section V, Chapter I, should not apply to establishments listed in the Annex to this Decision until 31 December 2009, subject to certain conditions.

As long as those establishments are in transition, products originating from those establishments should only be placed on the domestic market or used for further processing in Bulgarian establishments in transition. For the purposes of checking that the products produced in those establishments are traded and placed only on the national market the products should bear a different health or identification mark from that provided for in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 and that mark should be communicated to the other Member States.

Bulgaria should ensure gradual compliance with the relevant structural requirements in accordance with an upgrading plan, approved by the competent national veterinary authority, for each of those establishments. The plan should include a list of all shortcomings and the planned date of their correction. Bulgaria should ensure that only those establishments which fully comply with these requirements by 31 December 2009 may continue to operate.

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: