EU Accession

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EU Accession the Food Safety Acquis

• Dr. Kirstyn Inglis,
• Post-doc Research Fellow (FWO)
• Ghent University

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Some legal comments on the agri-food acquis in
the enlargement context

1. The evolution of EU food hygiene and safety rules
   in the context of enlargement
2. What is required of aspiring Member States ?
3. Is it possible to join the EU without
   implementing all the agri-food laws
4. Safeguards and crisis mechanisms in the agri-food
   acquis 

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1. EU food hygiene safety in an enlarging Union

• BSE crisis triggered the overhaul of acquis
  relating food
• Crisis in consumer confidence
• Crisis in governance at EU national levels
• New agri-food law Governance
• risk assessment is separate from risk management
• Institutional changes to come in 2010

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2. What is required of candidates?

• approximating to a moving target
• 7 sub-chapters of the agri-food acquis
• General Regulation 178/2002
• Placing on the market of food, feed and animal
  by-product
• Controls
• Food Safety
• 5. Animal health
• 6. Feed
• Phytosanitary

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 Approximation 

• 3rd Copenhagen criteria taking on the
  obligations of membership
• legal and administrative capacity criteria to
  be assessed in a forward looking and dynamic
  way
• Capacity building and credible commitments
• Imports to the EU have to be equivalent
• Membership requires approximation
• transposition
• implementation
• complianceenforcement

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Council Decision 2008/157, OJ 2008 L/51Short
term priorities at page 12

• Chapter 12 Food safety, veterinary and
  phytosanitary policy
• Adopt framework law on food, feed and veterinary
  matters for complete transposition of the EU
  acquis,
• Ensure the system for the identification and
  registration of bovines and registration of their
  movement to comply with EU acquis, and start
  implementing an appropriate system for sheep and
  goats in order to trace movements,
• take the necessary measures to allow the Thrace
  region to be recognised by the World Organisation
  on Animal Health as a foot-and-mouth disease-free
  zone with vaccination,
• classify all agri-food establishments by category
  based on the EU acquis and prepare a National
  Programme for upgrading those establishments.

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Medium term priorities, page 16

• Chapter 12 Food safety, veterinary and
  phytosanitary policy
• Adopt control measures for animal diseases and
  set up eradication plans where this is justified
  by the animal health situation,
• enhance laboratory and control capacities in the
  food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary domain,
  in particular as regards reference laboratories,
  residue testing (including control plans) and
  sampling procedures,
• align the legislation on Transmissible Spongiform
  Encephalopathies (TSE) and animal by-products and
  start to set up the necessary collection and
  treatment system

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3. Is it possible to join the EU without
implementing all the agri-food laws?

• Accession Treaties food safety is beyond
  negotiation
• Can extra time be negotiated for full compliance
  after accession?
• Typical restrictions on produce from the new
  Member States
• Crisis and emergency measures in the acquis

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Conclusion

• Advantages and disadvantages of full
  approximation compared to equivalence sooner
  rather than later
• Inadequate approximation on accession means legal
  uncertainty for industry and potential loss of
  market
• Potential costly actions against the new Member
  State fines and even exceptional safeguard
  measures under the accession treaty