Keywords
Summary

Keywords

1 Agriculture - Harmonisation of laws - Directives 77/504 and 87/328 on the acceptance for breeding purposes of pure-bred breeding animals of the bovine species with a view to eliminating zootechnical barriers to the free movement of semen - Requirement of authorisation for the distribution of and insemination with imported semen - Whether permitted, with reference also to Article 30 of the Treaty - Condition - Requirement imposed for the purpose of controls not provided for in the harmonised system - Not permissible

(EC Treaty, Art. 30; Council Directives 77/504 and 87/328, Art. 2(1))

2 Agriculture - Harmonisation of laws - Directives 87/328 and 91/174 on the acceptance for breeding purposes of pure-bred breeding animals of the bovine species with a view to eliminating zootechnical barriers to the free movement of semen - Prohibition or subjection to authorisation of the use of semen from bulls accepted for artificial insemination in another Member State - Refusal on grounds relating to characteristics inherent to the breed concerned - Not permissible - Preamble to Directive 87/328 not authorising such a rule

(Council Directives 87/328, Art. 2(1), and 91/174; Commission Decision 86/130)

Summary

3 Article 2(1) of Directive 87/328 on the acceptance for breeding purposes of pure-bred breeding animals of the bovine species does not preclude national rules under which authorisation is required for the distribution of and insemination with semen of bovine animals from another Member State, provided that the sole purpose of that authorisation is to ensure that the person authorised possesses the necessary qualifications for the operation intended. Such rules do not fall within the scope of Article 30 of the Treaty.

On the other hand, the requirement of authorisation for insemination activities may not be used for the purpose of controlling the genetic quality of breeding animals in a manner not provided for in that directive or Directive 77/504, since those directives have harmonised the conditions of acceptance for breeding of pure-bred breeding animals of the bovine species and their semen with a view to eliminating zootechnical barriers to the free movement of bovine semen, so that a requirement whose purpose or effect is to control or verify imports of bovine semen by reference to zootechnical or pedigree considerations could be laid down only in conformity with the directives.

4 Since the zootechnical and pedigree conditions relating to intra-Community trade in bovine semen have been fully harmonised under Directives 87/328 and 91/174, Article 2(1) of the former directive precludes national rules which prohibit or subject to authorisation the use in the territory of that Member State of semen from bulls of the Belgian Blue breed, where they have been accepted for artificial insemination in another Member State on the basis of tests carried out in accordance with Decision 86/130 laying down performance monitoring methods and methods for assessing cattle's genetic value for pure-bred breeding animals of the bovine species.

More particularly, the national authorities are not entitled to reject the use of semen of that breed on the ground that it carries the muscular hypertrophy gene, or that use of the semen would be likely to entail suffering for the animals or affect their natural behaviour, or that the breed is regarded by those national authorities as carrying genetic defects, since the genetic peculiarities and defects of an animal may be defined only in the Member State in which the breed of cattle has been accepted for artificial insemination, by the bodies officially authorised to determine those characteristics, in agreement with the breeders' organisations or associations which maintain herd-books for pure-bred breeding animals of the bovine species.

Such rules cannot, moreover, be authorised by the preamble to Directive 87/328, since, first, the preamble to a Community act has no binding legal force and cannot be relied on as a ground for derogating from the actual provisions of the act in question and, second, the passage in question does not show any contradiction between it and the actual provisions of the directive.