TRACES
Encyclopedia
TRACES is a web-based veterinarian certification tool controlling the import
Import
The term import is derived from the conceptual meaning as to bring in the goods and services into the port of a country. The buyer of such goods and services is referred to an "importer" who is based in the country of import whereas the overseas based seller is referred to as an "exporter". Thus...

 and export
Export
The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...

 of live animals and animal products to and from the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

. This network is under the responsibility of the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

. The name is an acronym
Acronym and initialism
Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations formed from the initial components in a phrase or a word. These components may be individual letters or parts of words . There is no universal agreement on the precise definition of the various terms , nor on written usage...

 for Trade Control and Expert System.

Background

Since the end of the nineteenth century, following the development of modern veterinary medicine
Veterinary medicine
Veterinary Medicine is the branch of science that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, disorder and injury in non-human animals...

 and food safety
Food safety
Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potentially severe health hazards....

, European states have built, in parallel with customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...

 structures, veterinary inspection structures located at borders known as Border Inspection Posts. These structures check all goods of animal origin and live animals as well, in order to avoid outbreaks of zoonoses and epizooties
Epizootic
In epizoology, an epizootic is a disease that appears as new cases in a given animal population, during a given period, at a rate that substantially exceeds what is "expected" based on recent experience . Epidemic is the analogous term applied to human populations...

.
Following the development of office computerisation and computer networking in the 1980s, many countries started to think about veterinary computer certification.

In the 1990s, according to the First Pilar
Three pillars of the European Union
Between 1993 and 2009, the European Union legally consisted of three pillars. This structure was introduced with the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993, and was eventually abandoned on 1 December 2009 with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, when the EU obtained a consolidated legal...

, the European Union began studying how to provide a European scale computer network dedicated to food safety and animal health with the aim of strengthening the Single Market and the protection of consumers.

The TRACES network started up in April 2004 as a replacement for the older ANIMO and SHIFT networks.

Definition

TRACES is a veterinary and sanitary network which controls movement, import and export of live animals and animal products in Europe.
The Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection, Directorate G, unit
G2, sector TRACES, is in charge of the workload.

TRACES stands for "Trade Control and Expert System", this acronym enhances the traceability
Traceability
Traceability refers to the completeness of the information about every step in a process chain.The formal definition: Traceability is the ability to chronologically interrelate uniquely identifiable entities in a way that is verifiable....

 aspect which constitutes the core element of the system and is a key factor of food safety.
The first mention of this system is the decision of the Commission 2003/623/CE of 19 August 2003.

TRACES is based on a network using internet veterinary authorities of Members States and participating third countries. Central and local authorities, border inspection posts and economics operators are linked via TRACES.

TRACES uses all the languages of the EU plus Russian.

TRACES provides electronic sanitary certificates mandatory for tracking goods and live animals: common veterinary entry document, CVED as defined in decision 2003/279/CE of the Commission of 15 April 2003 for products (CVED P) and in regulation 2004/282/CE of the Commission of the 18 February 2004 for CVED for live animals (CVED A).

TRACES sends an electronic message from the departure point to the transfer point and the arrival point to notify that a consignment is arriving. Similarly, every concerned point sends a message to others points which enables a well-developed follow up of the consignment (goods or animals) movement.

TRACES provides the ad-hoc European Union legislation, manages the Third country establishment list which is the establishment agreed for importing into the EU, and keeps on file the rejected consignments and the reason for rejection.

Economic operators are able to start the process electronically by filling in the first part of the mandatory certificates for importing goods and animals into the EU.

The next step of TRACES will be electronic certification without any paper work.

At the moment, the legal basis for exchange of goods or live animals among third countries and the EU is a paper certificate, even if the decision 2004/292/CE says it mandatory for Member States and economic operators to use TRACES since 31 December 2004.

The TRACES page in europa.eu. website.

History

Before TRACES, the European Union tried twice to create a computer-based network dedicated to food safety and animal health for exchange of goods and live animals.

ANIMO network

ANIMO stands for "ANimal MOvement system". It is a computer-based tracking system for animal movements whereas the SHIFT network is devoted to goods movements.

The directive of Council
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...

 90/425/CEE about veterinary and zoo-technical checks says, art 20,
Alinea 1:
The Commission shall introduce, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 18, a computerized system linking veterinary authorities, with a view, in particular, to facilitating the exchange of information between the competent authorities....

The directive of the Council 91/496/CEE of 15 July 1991 defined the veterinary checks to be carried out on third countries imported goods.

Following these directives of the Council, the Commission began to create the structure of TRACES.
The decision of the Commission 91/398/CEE of 19 July 1991 is in relation to a computer-based network linking veterinary authorities (ANIMO).

The Commission launched an invitation to tender in December 1991. Decision of the Commission 91/638/CEE of 3 December 1991 concerns the designation of the host centre.

The decision of the Commission 92/373/CEE of 2 July 1992 states in art 1:
The host centre of the company Eurokom, Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée 1, B-1050 Bruxelles, is designated as the common host centre for the computerized network 'Animo'.


The decision of the Commission 92/486/CEE of 25 September 1992 states how the common host will work with Member States.

The decision of the Commission 93/70/CEE of 21 December 1992 specifies the message ANIMO will send using its own coding system.
This coding system is different from the ISO code used by the World Customs Organisation and now in use in TRACES.

Finally the décision de la Commission 2002/459/CE of 4 June 2002 defines the list of ANIMO units and repeals Decision 287/2000/CE.

ANIMO was used by Member States, Switzerland, Norway; Iceland, Andorra, San Marin, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus. ANIMO was only able to send messages and lacked interactivity with veterinary authorities.

It must be noted that at the beginning of the 1990s, the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

 and all other networks were not common tools; this may explain why people were so reluctant to use AMINO.

ANIMO was able to trace the origin of animals and goods in case of problems and to warn veterinary authorities providing that data had been introduced into the system which was not systematically the case.

The system was lacking a database on European legislation about importation from third countries. This resulted in a loss of time at border inspection posts, waiting for the proper legislation to be found.

ANIMO was devoted only to live animals. It did not keep track of data concerning rejected animals or goods; a rejected consignment was able to try at another entry point at another border post.

More generally, ANIMO did not keep track of movements of animals or goods in the EU or importation.

For all these reasons the Commission tried to develop another tool: the network "SHIFT".

SHIFT network

SHIFT stands for "System to assist with the Health controls of Import of items of veterinary concern at Frontier inspection posts from Third countries".

The need for developing SHIFT is expressed in the decision 88/192/CEE of the Council of 28 March 1988.
Art 1 states that:
"The Commission shall be responsible for drawing up a programme for the development of computerization of veterinary importation procedures (Shift project)."

More accurately the decision 92/438/CEE of the Council specifies the computerization of veterinary import procedures (SHIFT project) and is amending Directives 90/675/EEC, 91/496/EEC and 91/628/EEC and Decision 90/424/EEC, and repeal Decision 88/192/EEC.
Again this Decision gives the Commission the responsibility of organising a computer network.

SHIFT was designed to electronically manage the sanitary aspects of animal and animal products coming from third countries. It was divided into three parts:

CIRD SHIFT

CIRD: "Community Import Requirement Database". This database dispatches to veterinary officials in border inspection posts the legislation necessary for imports. This part was also supposed to control the valid data of consignments. The impossibility of updating this database in real time was the main reason for the failure of the system.

RCS SHIFT

RCS: "Rejected Consignments System". All information regarding rejected animals and animal products is kept in a database to make sure a rejected consignment would not try to enter through the border somewhere else. This part worked as a prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...

 in Greece and Belgium.

LMS SHIFT

LMS: "List Management System". This part was managing the third countries establishments list. These establishments were approved to import into the EU by the veterinary authority of their country and listed by the Commission in this database.

SHIFT has never operated except partially in Belgium and Greece. The two systems, ANIMO and SHIFT, failed to provide a useful tool to strengthen food safety and secure animal health in Europe and to help build the single European market.

The reasons for failure

The failure happened not only because of a technical defect.
  • Members States were probably not ready to delegate responsibility in such sensitive matter as food safety and public health.
  • The World Wide Web (or on a smaller scale the European wide web) was not in current use at that time and even professionals did not understand its full potential.
  • Possibly the people at border inspection posts were not aware and not concerned about being part of a national and European safety network.
  • The Commission itself was mildly enthusiastic and was waiting until the beginning of the 21st century to start development.

Origin of TRACES

Following the failure of ANIMO and SHIFT, which proved to be ineffective during the outbreak of classical swine fever
Classical swine fever
Classical swine fever or hog cholera is a highly contagious disease of pigs and wild boar.-Clinical Signs:...

 at the end of the 1990s, the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

 in the Resolution A5-0396/2000 of 13 December 2000 stated:

Alinea 23:
Asks the Commission to ensure that the Animal Movement System (ANIMO) is managed and developed under the full control of the Commission;


Alinea 24, in cauda venenum:
Regrets that three years after consideration of an assessment of the ANIMO system, improvements have yet to be introduced; asks the Commission to table without delay proposals for the modification of Council Directive 90/425/EEC taking into consideration the Court of Auditors’ observations and the above-mentioned assessment, as undertaken by the Commission itself;


Again, in 2002, following the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease or hoof-and-mouth disease is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids...

 during 2001 the Parliament asked the Commission alinea 123:
The Commission should without delay take measures to improve the existing system for monitoring the movement of live animals within the EU (Animo system). In addition, the system for the monitoring of imports into the EU (Shift system) should be introduced quickly.


The Decision of the Commission 24/2003/EC of 30 December 2002 foresees that the Commission will elaborate the new computer system and decision 2003/623/CE of 19 August 2003 announces the development of an integrated computerized veterinary system known as TRACES:
Article 1
In connection with the establishment provided for in Decision 2003/24/EC, of the single architecture known as TRACES, combining the functions of the ANIMO and SHIFT systems, the Commission shall develop the new ANIMO system and make it available to the Member States.

This new network will provide (non exhaustive list)
  • An internet based architecture between Member States veterinary structures (specially border inspection posts), Members States central veterinary authorities, the European Commission and the third countries central authorities and local inspection posts;

  • An access to EU legislation;

  • Tracking of rejected goods or live animals;

  • Management of third countries lists of approved establishments to import into the EU.


TRACES has been developed with inside competencies and not with an external host centre. TRACES is under the responsibility of the Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection or DG-SANCO.

Working flow

N.B. TRACES functions in all the European languages
Languages of Europe
Most of the languages of Europe belong to Indo-European language family. These are divided into a number of branches, including Romance, Germanic, Balto-Slavic, Greek, and others. The Uralic languages also have a significant presence in Europe, including the national languages Hungarian, Finnish,...

 (except Gaelic) and in Chinese, Croatian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Russian and Turkish.

Providing certificates

TRACES provides electronic, with the possibility to print, veterinary and sanitary certificates which are mandatory with consignments during import and movement in the EU. These certificates follow both live animals and animal products as they travel to and through the EU.
  • Certificates of intra-community trade, Regulation 599/2004 of the Commission;
  • Certificates for importing into the EU from a third country, Decision 2007/240/CE of the Commission;
  • Common Veterinary Entry Document for animals, Regulation 282/2004/CE of the Commission and for products, Regulation 136/2004/CE of the Commission.

Notification

Notification is just an extemporaneous exchange of information as defined in Directive of the Council 90/425/CEE, laid down in Articles 4 and 8 and 10 and 20.
Art 20, alinea 1:
The Commission shall introduce, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 18, a computerized system linking veterinary authorities, with a view, in particular, to facilitating the exchange of information between the competent authorities of regions where a health certificate or document accompanying the animals and products of animal origin has been issued and the competent authorities of the Member State of destination.


At each step of the journey, at the border inspection post for example, TRACES provides an electronic message to whomever is concerned by this movement. If a main problem of public health or animal health is identified during an inspection, this notification is twinned by a notification in the RASFF alert network.

Management of third country establishments lists

These establishments have to be approved by the veterinary authorities of their country before being listed by the Commission. This procedure allows them the right to import to the European Union.
When filling in the certificate the economic operator has only to call up his own establishment in the list and tick the box.
Third country Establishment List.
Regulation 854/2004 of the European Parliament.

Serious threats

TRACES provides European Union legislation covering the required field for each certificate, imposes the physical checks applicable and the reinforced checks. In case of serious threat or disease outbreak the Commission can activate via TRACES the necessary safeguard measures through a decision of the Commission 94/360/CE of 20 May 1994 which deals with reinforced checks and safeguard measures.

Traceability

Traceability is the core element of the system.
TRACES keeps track of every importation or movement in the EU of animals or animal products which allows tracing instantaneously the journey in case of serious problem.

More precisely data about rejected consignments, and especially the reasons of rejection, are kept for the same purpose.

Supranational networks

Existing supranational networks managing movement of animal and animal products from a food safety point of view:
  • TRACES: European Union.

  • AFSIS : Asean Food Security Information System all the ASEAN countries and Japan, China and Korea. This network is based on gathering and exchanging food safety data, it might be considered as the next TRACES network.

Free trade agreements

Free trade agreements that potentially include sanitary and veterinary aspects:
  • MERCOSUR
    Mercosur
    Mercosur or Mercosul is an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people,...

    : South America countries economic community

  • UNASUR created on 23 May 2008 seems to aim for the same goals as the European Union.

  • The North American Free Trade Agreement
    North American Free Trade Agreement
    The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...

     (NAFTA) is only a free trade agreement. Sanitary concerns are laid down in Articles 712/713/714 without mention of any common network. These agreements are dedicated to improve trade among countries but do not include a veterinary network able to protect consumers health and to facilitate trade on a continental scale.

Conclusions

TRACES constitutes a key element of how the European Union facilitates trade and improves health protection for the consumer, as laid down in the "First Pilar Principle".

Many countries are using computer networks to provide veterinary certification, New-Zealand, the United States of America and Canada, but TRACES is the only supranational network in the world working at a continental scale of 27 countries and almost 500 million people.

See also

  • European Commission
    European Commission
    The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

  • Three pillars of the European Union
    Three pillars of the European Union
    Between 1993 and 2009, the European Union legally consisted of three pillars. This structure was introduced with the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993, and was eventually abandoned on 1 December 2009 with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, when the EU obtained a consolidated legal...

  • Council of the European Union
    Council of the European Union
    The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...

  • European parliament
    European Parliament
    The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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