THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament2,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee3,

Whereas poultry is listed in Annex II of the Treaty and whereas the marketing of poultry constitutes an important source of revenue for the agricultural population;

Whereas, it is necessary to establish at Community level the control measures to be taken in the event of an outbreak of Newcastle disease in order to ensure development of the poultry sector and contribute to the protection of animal health in the Community;

Whereas minimum Community control measures should furthermore be provided for against Newcastle disease to apply to certain other species;

Whereas an outbreak of Newcastle disease can quickly take on epizootic proportions, causing mortality and disturbances on a scale liable to reduce sharply the profitability of farming or poultry as a whole;

Whereas action must be taken as soon as the presence of the disease is suspected so that immediate and effective control measures can be implemented when its presence is confirmed; whereas such measures must be modulated by the competent authorities to take account of whether or not a country carries out a prophylactic vaccination programme in all or part of its territory;

Whereas it is necessary to prevent any spread of the disease as soon as an outbreak occurs, by carefully monitoring movements of animals and the use of products liable to be contaminated, and, where appropriate, by vaccination;

Whereas diagnosis of the disease must be carried out under the auspices of responsible national laboratories, the coordination of which must be ensured by a Community reference laboratory;

Whereas it is necessary to make provision for the Member States which vaccinate to draw up vaccination plans and to inform the Commission and other Member States about those plans;

Whereas Article 4 of Council Decision 90/424/EEC of 26 June 1990 on expenditure in the veterinary field4 applies in the event of the occurrence of Newcastle disease;

Whereas it is appropriate to confer upon the Commission the task of taking the necessary applicatory measures,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: