Activites

• 1996/05/23 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Directive 1996/23
  • OJ L 125 23.05.1996, p. 0010
• #1918
• 1996/04/29 Council Meeting
• 1996/04/29 End of procedure in Parliament
• 1996/04/29 Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
• #1908
• 1996/03/19 Council Meeting
• #1904
• 1996/02/26 Council Meeting
• 1994/07/07 Modified legislative proposal published
  • COM(1994)0294 summary

    The Commission's amended proposal incorporates the following amendments adopted by the European Parliament: - account to be taken of groups of producers who develop self-regulating systems in order to combat the illegal use of growth promoters, offering consumers a full guarantee that products do not contain hormones, and provision to be made for the possibility of granting aid, - the Commission to inform the Member States and the European Parliament every year of the application of national plans to fight hormones in the various regions of the Union, - Member States which consider that controls in another Member State are no longer being carried out to notify immediately the competent authority in that Member State, which will take suitable action to check the efficacy of controls, - if the event of failure to cooperate or obstruction by abattoir staff or animal keepers during monitoring inspections, appropriate criminal and/or administrative sanctions to be taken, - if it is proven that the person in charge of the abattoir has helped to conceal the use of illegal substances, Community aid to which the guilty party is entitled to be suspended for one year.�

• 1994/04/19 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T3-0226/1994 summary

    In 1981, a Council directive banned the use of certain fattening hormones but gave Member States the option of authorizing the use of other hormones. In 1988, a directive was passed introducing a general ban on hormones in animal production, while allowing the use of natural hormones to be authorised for therapeutic and zootechnical purposes. Finally, the Member States were called on to harmonise their legislation on the monitoring of residues. However, an investigation carried out between May 1990 and January 1992 demonstrated that growth promoters (hormones and beta-agonists) were easy to obtain and that this was contributing to their illegal use. The investigation also showed that residues of antibiotics and sulfamides were frequently traced in intensively reared stock. On the basis of this finding, Parliament called in May 1993 for new Community legislation on the use of beta-agonists, for possession of banned substances to be punished and for all Community aid for livestock treated illegally to be suspended. The Commission proposal submitted for Parliament's approval contains measures to check for residues of substances with hormonal action or beta-agonists in livestock and their products. The Commission intends to achieve this by making producers and anyone involved in the food production chain responsible (pharmaceutical companies, veterinarians, abattoirs, dealers, wholesalers etc.). Adopting the report by Mr APOLIN RIO (PSE, P), Parliament approved this principle and called for help for groups of producers to develop self-regulating systems which guarantee that their meat is free from hormones. It also called, if it is proven that the owner or person in charge of the abattoir has helped to conceal the illegal use of banned substances, for Community aid to the guilty party to be suspended for a period of twelve months. Finally, it called for persons illegally in possession or using banned substances or illegally using authorised substances to be named and shamed in the specialist agricultural press and/or the national or regional daily press.�

• 1994/04/18 Debate in Parliament
• 1994/03/22 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A3-0169/1994
• 1993/11/15 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 1993/09/22 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(1993)0441 summary

    This proposal for a regulation, on measures to monitor certain substances and residues thereof in live animals and animal products, clarified and improved existing procedures for the detection of residues. It required monitoring to be based essentially on targeted and unannounced inspections, the system of random sampling being of secondary importance. The keystone of the system remained the preparation by Member States of annual residue control plans, which had to employ a minimum rate of sampling but remain sufficiently flexible to take account of specific local circumstances and experience. The proposal prescribed the procedures to be used in the investigation and confirmation of cases of suspected fraud, which could include destruction of the batch of animals concerned where at least 10% of them tested positive for residues of illegal substances. Member States would also be asked to take the requisite measures to ensure that abattoirs cooperated on investigations into presumed infringements of the rules. This draft incorporated the Council's decisions on the powers and designation of Community reference laboratories for residue testing. The list of designated laboratories would have to be adjusted to take account of substances or residues not yet allocated. �

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(1993)0441
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A3-0169/1994
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T3-0226/1994
• Modified legislative proposal published: COM(1994)0294
• : Directive 1996/23
• : OJ L 125 23.05.1996, p. 0010

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)