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12.8.2006 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
C 190/5 |
Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 15 June 2006 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven –Netherlands) — G.J. Dokter, Maatschap Van den Top, W. Boekhout v Minister van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit
(Case C-28/05) (1)
(Agriculture - Control of foot-and-mouth disease - Directive 85/511/EEC - Directive 90/425/EEC - Examinations to detect foot-and mouth-disease carried out by a laboratory not listed in the annex to Directive 85/511/EEC - National authorities' discretion - Principle of proportionality - Principle of respect for the rights of the defence)
(2006/C 190/08)
Language of the case: Dutch
Referring court
College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicants: G.J. Dokter, Maatschap Van den Top, W. Boekhout
Defendant: Minister van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit
Re:
Reference for a preliminary ruling — College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven — Interpretation of Council Directive 85/511/EEC of 18 November 1985 introducing Community measures for the control of foot-and-mouth disease (OJ 1985 L 315, p. 11) — Article 11(1), first indent, Article 13(1), second indent, and Annex B — Direct effect — Laboratory not listed in Annex B — National authorities' discretion
Operative part of the judgment
The Court hereby rules:
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1. |
Council Directive 85/511/EEC of 18 November 1985 introducing Community measures for the control of foot-and-mouth disease, as amended by Council Directive 90/423/EEC of 26 June 1990, must be interpreted as meaning that changes to the particulars of a laboratory included in Annex B to that directive, which were not entered in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 17 of the directive, lead to that laboratory's losing its status as a laboratory included in that annex only if those changes are likely to have repercussions on the safety of the laboratory as regards the risk of dissemination of the foot-and-mouth virus during the examinations performed by the laboratory and thus increase the risk of contamination of susceptible local animals. Moreover, Directive 85/511 does not preclude a Member State from taking the measures to control foot-and-mouth disease provided for in Article 10(1) of Council Directive 90/425/EEC of 26 June 1990 concerning veterinary and zootechnical checks applicable in intra-Community trade in certain live animals and products with a view to the completion of the internal market on the basis of results of an examination carried out by a laboratory which is not included in Annex B to Directive 85/511. |
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2. |
The competent authority is required to follow up the results of examinations provided by a laboratory which has the status of a laboratory listed in Annex B to Directive 85/511 and to adopt, in principle, the measures provided for in that directive or any other measure required, given the need to control foot-and-mouth disease promptly and effectively. The competent authority is required to take into consideration even results provided by a laboratory which does not have that status in order to adopt, where necessary, the appropriate measures provided for by Community legislation. However, as that laboratory no longer necessarily offers the same guarantees of reliability as a laboratory having the status of a laboratory listed in Annex B, the competent authority must make sure, before taking the appropriate measures, that those results are reliable. In any event, the authority may adopt measures to control foot-and-mouth disease only in compliance with the general principles of Community law, including in particular the principle of proportionality and fundamental rights. |