Delegated regulation 2017/1182 - Supplement to Regulation 1308/2013 as regards the Union scales for the classification of beef, pig and sheep carcasses and as regards the reporting of market prices of certain categories of carcasses and live animals - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 171/74

Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 has repealed and replaced Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 (2). Section 1 of Chapter I of Title I of Part II of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 contains rules on public intervention and aid for private storage, including the classification of beef, pig and sheep carcasses and the reporting of prices thereof and empowers the Commission to adopt delegated and implementing acts in that respect. In order to ensure the smooth functioning of the Union scales for the classification of beef, pig and sheep carcasses and to establish comparable market prices for carcasses and live animals in the new legal framework, certain rules should be adopted by means of such acts. The new rules should replace the implementing rules of Commission Regulations (EC) No 315/2002 (3), (EC) No 1249/2008 (4) and (EU) No 807/2013 (5).

Article 10 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 provides that Union scales for the classification of carcasses laid down in point A of Annex IV to that Regulation are to apply to bovine animals aged eight months or more. In order to ensure a uniform application, it is appropriate to allow Member States to make the application of the Union scale compulsory for carcasses of bovine as of a specific age determined on the basis of the identification and registration system provided for by Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6). That identification and registration system should also be used for the division of carcasses into categories as referred to in point A.II of Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.

In order to reduce administrative burden, Member States should have the possibility to grant derogations from the general obligation to classify carcasses to small scale establishments. On the basis of experience gained with the application of the Union scale for classification, it is appropriate to provide for such derogations for slaughterhouses which slaughter, as an annual average per week, less than 150 bovine animals aged eight months or more or less than 500 pigs. Nevertheless, Member States may determine lower limits depending on their national conditions, especially in order to ensure the representativeness of price reporting.

As certain slaughterhouses fatten, in their own establishments, bovine animals aged eight months or more and pigs, there is no market price to be recorded for the carcasses of such animals. Therefore, the application of the compulsory Union classification scales is unnecessary in these cases. It is therefore appropriate to allow the Member States having this practice to derogate from the rules on compulsory carcass classifications as regards these carcasses. This derogation should be also allowed for the classification of carcasses of local pig breeds with a particular anatomical body composition or particular modes of marketing when they make the homogeneous and standardised classification of carcasses...