Detailed rules for the application of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 should be laid down, in particular as regards sales between Member States, in order that the labelling system will not lead to distortions of trade on the beef and veal market.

In order to ensure traceability, it is necessary, in the context of both the compulsory and voluntary systems of beef labelling, that operators and organisations keep an identification system and a comprehensive registration system for beef, at each of its various stages of production and sale.

In order to identify slaughterhouses for which no approval number exists, it is necessary, for a transitional period, to provide alternative methods of identification for such slaughterhouses.

In the context of the full indication of origin, in order to avoid unnecessary repetition of the indication on the label of the Member States or third countries where rearing took place, it is necessary to introduce a simplified presentation based on the time during which the animal from which the beef was derived was kept in the Member State or third country of birth or of slaughter.

It is necessary to clarify the situation with regard to the supplementary information which may be included on labels under the simplified labelling procedures for minced beef. Such supplementary information may, under Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000, be indicated until 1 September 2000. Certain information may only be indicated until 1 January 2002 if the Member State concerned has taken a decision to apply a national compulsory labelling system including such information or if the operator concerned indicates the information on a voluntary basis.

In the context of the voluntary beef labelling system, it is necessary to provide for an accelerated or simplified approval procedure for certain beef cuts labelled in a Member State according to an approved specification and introduced into the territory of another Member State.

With a view to guaranteeing the reliability of the specification, it is necessary for the independent body and the competent authority to have access to all records kept by the operators and organisations and to carry out regular spot checks on the basis of risk analysis.

Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 lays down certain provisions where the production of beef takes place, in full or in part, in a third country. It is appropriate to provide detailed implementing rules for the approval procedure for imports of beef from third countries.

In order to ensure that the labelling arrangements relating to imported beef are of equivalent reliability to those applicable to Community beef, the Commission shall examine notifications received from third countries. Complete notifications shall be transmitted to the Member States when the Commission reaches the conclusion that the procedures and/or criteria applied in the third country concerned are equivalent to the standards set out in Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000.

In order to guarantee the reliability of the labelling system in third countries the Commission may request additional information and should take the necessary measures in the light of the information received as a result of these requests.

The Commission may carry out checks in third countries. In order to be able to carry out checks in a third country, the Commission would need the prior consent of the third country concerned. If such consent is not forthcoming, the Commission should take the necessary measures.

It is necessary for Member States to carry out checks in order to guarantee sufficient accuracy of the voluntary labels used.

A framework for the sanctions to be imposed on operators should be established. Such a framework should take account of situations where an operator has not labelled beef in compliance with the rules of the compulsory labelling system or where an operator has labelled beef, in the context of the voluntary labelling system, without complying with the specification or where there is no approved specification. For a limited period, until 1 January 2001, in order to account for the difficulties of operators in the implementation of this regulation, the most severe sanctions should only take place when the label contains information which is misleading to the consumer or does not conform with the approved specification.

Provided no change has been made to approved voluntary specifications and on condition that they are in conformity with the new rules, it is appropriate that such specifications as well as those approved for third countries, should continue to be valid.

Regulation (EC) No 820/97 provides that, where sufficient details are available in the identification and registration system for bovine animals, Member States may decide that, for beef from animals born, raised and slaughtered in the same Member State, supplementary items of information must also be indicated on labels. Regulation (EC) No 2772/1999 permitted Member States to continue to have recourse to the possibility of imposing a compulsory labelling system for beef from animals born, fattened and slaughtered on their own territory, in accordance with Article 19(4) of Regulation (EC) No 820/97, on a provisional basis, until 31 August 2000.

In order to monitor the application of the voluntary labelling system, Member States should record the approved specifications and communicate to the Commission information on their national implementing rules and the voluntary indications approved within their territory. It is necessary to keep a regular update of such information.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Beef and Veal,