Directive 92/65/EEC lays down the animal health requirements governing trade in and imports into the Community of animals, semen, ova and embryos not subject to the animal health requirements laid down in the specific Community acts referred to therein. It also provides for the establishment of a list of those third countries or parts of third countries, able to provide guarantees equivalent to those provided for in Chapter II therein, from which Member States may import semen, ova and embryos of the ovine and caprine species.

Directive 92/65/EEC also provides for the establishment of a list of semen and embryo collection centres in third countries, for which those third countries are able to give the guarantees referred to in Article 11 of that Directive.

However, as regards collection centres for ova and embryos of the ovine and caprine species, for the sake of consistency of Community legislation, and taking into account international nomenclature, it is more appropriate to use the term ‘embryo collection teams’ instead of ‘collection centres’ in that case.

Directive 92/65/EEC provides that semen, ova and embryos of the ovine and caprine species to be imported into the Community are to be accompanied by health certificates, models of which are to be established in accordance with that Directive.

Directive 92/65/EEC also provides for the establishment of the specific animal health requirements or guarantees equivalent to those provided for in that Directive, for imports into the Community of semen, ova and embryos of the ovine and caprine species.

Commission Decision 94/63/EC of 31 January 1994 drawing up a list of third countries from which Member States authorise imports of semen, ova and embryos of the ovine and caprine species and ova and embryos of the porcine species2 provides that Member States are to authorise imports of semen, ova and embryos of the ovine and caprine species from the third countries appearing in the list in the Annex to Council Decision 79/542/EEC3, from which imports of live animals of the ovine and caprine species are authorised.

Decision 94/63/EC has now been repealed by Commission Decision 2008/636/EC4.

Accordingly, a list of third countries from which Member States are to authorise imports of semen, ova and embryos of the ovine and caprine species should be established by this Decision.

The lists of semen collection centres and embryo collection teams from which Member States are to authorise imports of semen, ova and embryos of the ovine and caprine species, originating in third countries, should also be established by this Decision.

Article 17(3) of Directive 92/65/EEC provides for the procedure of amendments to the lists of semen collection centres and embryo collection teams from which Member States are to authorise the imports of semen, ova and embryos of the ovine and caprine species. The amended lists are to be published on the website of the Commission5.

In the interests of consistency of Community legislation, the requirements governing intra-Community trade in ovine and caprine animals for breeding, and the specific test regimes for those animals, set out in Council Directive 91/68/EEC of 28 January 1991 on animal health conditions governing intra-Community trade in ovine and caprine animals6, should be taken into account in the model health certificate for imports of semen of the ovine and caprine species set out in this Decision.

The animal health conditions for the importation into the Community of animals of the ovine and caprine species intended for breeding are laid down in Decision 79/542/EEC. Those requirements should also be taken into account in the model health certificate for imports of semen of the ovine and caprine species set out in this Decision.

Certain infectious diseases of animals of the ovine and caprine species are transmissible via semen. Therefore, particular animal health tests identifying such diseases must be carried out according to specific test programmes reflecting the movements of the donors prior to, and during, the period of semen collection. Those tests and test programmes should be in line with international standards and therefore indicated in the model health certificate for imports of semen of the ovine and caprine species set out in this Decision.

Account should also be taken of the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies7 and of Commission Regulation (EC) No 546/2006 of 31 March 2006 implementing Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards national scrapie control programmes and additional guarantees and derogating from certain requirements of Decision 2003/100/EC and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1874/20038.

Sanitary conditions for the collection, processing, storage and transport of ova and embryos and the health conditions applied to donor females are laid down in Chapters III and IV of Annex D to Directive 92/65/EEC. However, it is necessary to provide for additional guarantees, in particular as regards the official veterinary supervision of embryo collection teams in this Decision.

In the interests of clarity of Community legislation, it is appropriate to set out in this Decision a list of third countries and approved semen collection centres from which Member States are to authorise imports into the Community of semen of the ovine and caprine species, a list of third countries and approved embryo collection teams from which Member States are to authorise imports into the Community of ova and embryos of those species, and the certification requirements relating to such imports in order to gather all these requirements under a single act.

In the application of the present Decision, account should be taken of the specific certification requirements provided for in point 7(b) of Chapter IX(B) of Appendix 2 of Annex 11 to the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products9, as approved by Decision 2002/309/EC, Euratom of the Council, and of the Commission as regards the Agreement on scientific and technological cooperation, of 4 April 2002 on the conclusion of seven Agreements with the Swiss Confederation10. Therefore, for consignments of semen, ova or embryos of ovine or caprine species from Switzerland to the Community, the certificates provided for in Commission Decision 95/388/EC of 19 September 1995 determining the specimen certificate for intra-Community trade in semen, ova and embryos of the ovine and caprine species11 should apply, as adopted in accordance with that Decision.

In application of the present Decision, account should be taken of the specific certification requirements and model health attestations which may be laid down in accordance with the Agreement between the European Community and the Government of Canada on sanitary measures to protect public and animal health in respect of trade in live animals and animal products12, as approved by Council Decision 1999/201/EC13.

In application of the present Decision, account should also be taken of the specific certification requirements and model health attestations which may be laid down in accordance with the Agreement between the European Community and New Zealand on sanitary measures applicable to trade in live animals and animal products14, as approved by Council Decision 97/132/EC15.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,