{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2015-261/introduction",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2015-261/introduction.json",
  "legislation": "eudn/2015/261",
  "legislation_title": "Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/261 of 6 February 2015 amending Decisions 2010/470/EU and 2010/471/EU as regards the animal health certification requirements for trade in and for imports into the Union of semen, ova and embryos of animals of the equine species (notified under document C(2015) 548) (Text with EEA relevance)",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2015-261",
  "path": "introduction",
  "kind": "introduction",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Introductory text",
  "text": "Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/261\nof 6 February 2015\namending Decisions 2010/470/EU and 2010/471/EU as regards the animal health certification requirements for trade in and for imports into the Union of semen, ova and embryos of animals of the equine species\n(notified under document C(2015) 548)\n(Text with EEA relevance)\nTHE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,\nHaving regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,\nHaving regard to Council Directive 92/65/EEC of 13 July 1992 laying down animal health requirements governing trade in and imports into the Community of animals, semen, ova and embryos not subject to animal health requirements laid down in specific Community rules referred to in Annex A (I) to Directive 90/425/EEC, and in particular the fourth indent of Article 11(2), the third indent of Article 11(3), Article 17(2)(b), and the first indent of Article 18(1) thereof,\nWhereas:\n(1)\nDirective 92/65/EEC lays down the animal health requirements governing trade in and imports into the Union of semen, ova and embryos not subject to the animal health requirements laid down in specific Union acts. It includes requirements for trade in and for imports into the Union of semen, ova and embryos of animals of the equine species (‘the commodities’). In addition, it provides for model health certificates to be established for trade in and for imports into the Union of the commodities.\n(2)\nAnnex D to Directive 92/65/EEC sets out certain requirements for the commodities which shall be included in the model health certificates for trade in and for imports into the Union of the commodities.\n(3)\nCommission Decision 2010/470/EU laid down model health certificates for trade within the Union in semen, ova and embryos of, amongst others, animals of the equine species.\n(4)\nCommission Decision 2010/471/EU laid down the conditions for imports into the Union of semen, ova and embryos of animals of the equine species as regards lists of semen collection and storage centres and embryo collection and production teams and certification requirements.\n(5)\nFollowing the adoption of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 846/2014, amending Annex D to Directive 92/65/EEC, which introduced new rules concerning the supervision of semen collection centres and set out conditions to be applied to the donor animals of semen, ova and embryos of the equine species in addition to those laid down in Council Directive 2009/156/EC, it is necessary to establish new model health certificates for trade in and for imports into the Union of those commodities. Regulation (EU) No 846/2014 is applicable from 1 October 2014.\n(6)\nTherefore, in the interests of consistency of Union legislation, the model health certificates laid down in Decisions 2010/470/EU and 2010/471/EU should be amended. The commodities collected and dispatched after the date of application of Regulation (EU) No 846/2014 and present Decision should be accompanied by the new model health certificates laid down by this Decision.\n(7)\nAs the commodities have a long shelf life, therefore it is necessary to maintain model heath certificates for stocks of commodities which were collected, processed and stored in accordance with Directive 92/65/EEC before the date of application of the amendments introduced by Regulation (EU) No 846/2014, as well as those introduced by Commission Regulation (EU) No 176/2010.\n(8)\nIn addition, point I.11 ‘Place of origin’ of Part I of the model health certificates set out in Decision 2010/471/EU should be amended in order to allow only a single semen collection centre of origin of the semen or a semen storage centre of dispatch of the semen or an approved embryo collection or production team of origin of the ova or embryos and to align it with the model health certificates set out in Decision 2010/470/EU.\n(9)\nFurthermore, in the model health certificate for imports into the Union of semen of animals of the equine species set out as Model 1 in Section A of Part 2 of Annex I to Decision 2010/471/EU and in the model health certificate for imports into the Union of ova and embryos of animals of the equine species set out as Model 1 in Section A of Part 2 of Annex II to Decision 2010/471/EU, the animal health conditions in relation to vesicular stomatitis should be amended taking into account international standards for health testing set out in the Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals.\n(10)\nTo further reduce administrative burdens, because it is linked to the zootechnical requirements and is not relevant for the certification of animal health conditions, it is appropriate to delete the information on the breed from point I.31 of Part I of the model health certificates set out in Decision 2010/470/EU and point I.28 of Part I of the model health certificates set out in Decision 2010/471/EU.\n(11)\nDecisions 2010/470/EU and 2010/471/EU should therefore be amended accordingly.\n(12)\nThe measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,\nHAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "OJ L 268, 14.9.1992, p. 54."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "Commission Decision 2010/470/EU of 26 August 2010 laying down model health certificates for trade within the Union in semen, ova and embryos of animals of the equine, ovine and caprine species and in ova and embryos of animals of the porcine species (OJ L 228, 31.8.2010, p. 15)."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f3",
      "text": "Commission Decision 2010/471/EU of 26 August 2010 on imports into the Union of semen, ova and embryos of animals of the equine species as regards lists of semen collection and storage centres and embryo collection and production teams and certification requirements (OJ L 228, 31.8.2010, p. 52)."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f4",
      "text": "Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 846/2014 of 4 August 2014 amending Annex D to Council Directive 92/65/EEC as regards the conditions for donor animals of the equine species (OJ L 232, 5.8.2014, p. 5)."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f5",
      "text": "Council Directive 2009/156/EC of 30 November 2009 on animal health conditions governing the movement and importation from third countries of equidae (OJ L 192, 23.7.2010, p. 1)."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f6",
      "text": "Commission Regulation (EU) No 176/2010 of 2 March 2010 amending Annex D to Council Directive 92/65/EEC as regards semen collection and storage centres, embryo collection and production teams, and conditions for donor animals of the equine, ovine and caprine species and for handling semen, ova and embryos of those species (OJ L 52, 3.3.2010, p. 14)."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f7",
      "text": "Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals, Edition 2013, World Organisation for Animal Health."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudn/2015/261/introduction",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T15:14:27.857925+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}