INTERNET SALES "Internet sales of animals and products - challenges for official control" 20.06 ...

INTERNET SALES
“Internet sales of animals and products –
    challenges for official control”

Why is Internet sales of animals and products
                 a challenge for official control?

An increasing share of trade is developing on internet and internet sales of food, feed,
veterinary medicines, live animals, etc. are becoming more popular

Together with a wide variety of food, feed, veterinary medicines and live animals are
being marketed online (at national level, intra or extra Community trade)

Complexity of internet sales and the new business models developed require the
application of different control strategies

Why is Internet sales of animals and products
                a challenge for official control?

E-commerce has changed the boundaries of traditional commerce

Throughout the world online buying has grown exponentially

Consumers may still be concerned about the security of online
shopping, but more and more of them are prepared to buy on the web

Which are the main risks that may occur under the conditions
           of uncontrolled electronic commerce

   food: food borne diseases, food poisoning (e.g.: ready-to-eat food online orders for small
   events/parties)

   animals: the spread of animal diseases and animal welfare issues

   veterinary drugs: uncontrolled use of veterinary drugs, with non-observance of waiting time,
   may result the occurrence of drugs residues in food

   different approaches of MS could become an obstacle

Debate raised by the Romanian Presidency
                   on this subject

RO Presidency at the EU Council raised the subject during the CVOs working group

All MS welcomed the idea, given the scale and importance of this issue, and felt
there was a need for a strategic and structured debate to identify ways for an
effective official control of internet sales of animals and products

Member States expressed their views
            to the main questions on this subject

1.   Is there a need for a more strategic and structured debate related to internet
     sales?

2. Is the current legal framework sufficient to respond to the challenges identified by
     the Member States?

3. Is there a need to develop guidelines for Member States on how to tackle official
     controls of food and animals sold over the Internet in a harmonized way?

4. Is there a need to have an uniform response at EU level regarding the non -
     compliances detected on commodities from third countries?

5. For which other aspects the Member States deem necessary to have a harmonized
    approach?

The outcome of MS‘s comments
                   to the questions raised by the RO Presidency

1. Is there a need for a more strategic and structured debate related to internet sales?

        - all those who have expressed their views have supported the idea of such a debate,
given the scale and importance of this subject.

The outcome of MS‘s comments
                 to the questions raised by the RO Presidency

2. Is the current legal framework sufficient to respond to the challenges identified by the Member
States?

- necessary to clarify, improve and complement existing legislation to cover all areas;

- better collaboration between Member States is required regarding RASFF / ACC notification

- necessary registration of the operators / intermediary sales companies

- instructions regarding directly buying from third-country, etc.

The outcome of MS‘s comments
              to the questions raised by the RO Presidency

3. Is there a need to develop guidelines for Member States on how to tackle official controls of food
     and animals sold over the Internet in a harmonized way?

- develop guidelines for internet sales of animals and identify other specific needs where guidelines
       are necessary
- periodically reviewing and updating the existing guidelines, considering the variety of situations.
- training on how to apply the guidelines
- guides to support the operators active in this area to comply with specific legislation
- brochures for consumer information and awareness

The outcome of MS‘s comments
               to the questions raised by the RO Presidency

4. Is there a need to have an uniform response at EU level regarding the non - compliances
    detected on commodities from third countries?

    - the need for a common procedure to be followed in case of a non-conformity,
    especially those linked to an e-commerce operator located in a third country
    - harmonized instructions for online sale of goods (food, feed) and live animals from
    third countries
    - agreements with third countries which have web-shops or online platforms that offer
    products for sale also to consumers located in EU

The outcome of MS‘s comments
                 to the questions raised by the RO Presidency

5. For which other aspects the Member States deem necessary to have a harmonized approach?

        - identification and registration of the sites / platforms for sale animals / products
        - cooperation with police, online platforms etc.
        - CAs collaboration in Member States with customs authorities and improving and
strengthening customs controls on fiscal legislation (import taxes/custom administration costs).
        - setting up a mark-up system (kite-marking) for online sellers so that the quality and safety
of goods can be ensured

Proposals for further development

Where we want to reach?
   common approach in the EU for the official control on sales of animals and products on internet

   guides and specific instructions available at the EU level

   harmonized approach for the response at EU level for non-compliance through e-commerce (specific
   procedures)

   agreements concluded by the COM with third countries

   development of a road map that should include actions / steps required and appropriate timing for priorities
   and long-term activities

Road map

A road map was developed and contain the following chapters :
   legal framework
   guidelines, procedures, instructions, brochures
   cooperation and consultation
   exchange of experience and training

Each chapter includes main objectives and actions required

Main objectives

To establish a common understanding as how to the existing regulatory framework on official
controls should be best applied to internet sales in order to ensure the protection of consumers
and mitigate the risks related to animal health and welfare
To raise the awareness of all actors (operators, platforms, competent authorities etc) involved
in the area of internet sales on the rules applicable to internet sales
To raise the awareness of the general public on the possible risk involved
To improve the cooperation and exchange of information between
 - all authorities involved in official control of internet sales
 - competent authorities and operators involved in the area of internet sales of animals and goods
 - competent authorities and online platforms, social media network and marketplaces

To exchange information on best practices related to this type of activity

Timing

Short – term priorities (2019 - 2020)

  - identification of possible gaps in the legislative framework
  - explore, in consultation with stakeholders, the most appropriate ways to apply the
  existing legal framework to internet sales
  - develop uniform approaches for competent authorities and guidance for operators
  on how to implement the existing legal provisions
  - develop brochure to consumers
  - initiate discussions with 3rd countries for cooperation in this area
  - develop a framework for cooperation between competent authorities at national
  and EU level

Timing

  Mid– term priorities (2020 - 2021)
    - establishment of cooperation with online platforms
    - development of plans for controlling online sale platforms

  Long – term priorities (2021 - 2025)
     - other remaining actions identified in the road map, such as: exchange of experience and
training

Conclusions from the informal CVOs meeting
            held in Romania between 12 - 14th of June

Road map proposed by the RO Presidency was discussed and appreciated during informal
CVOs working group (12 and 14th of June)
MS and EC views and conclusions:
- road map was appreciated and considered a good start to address the issues
- DG SANTE is prepared to support the activities related to R EC 625/2017; the necessity to set up
a Steering group to coordinate the work involved should be taken into consideration
- the degree of development of the platform need to be discussed and set up
- partnerships between different players involved should be established
- the conference from 24 – 26th June, in Berlin will be an important occasion for debates on the
e-commerce issue between all parties involved

Final Conclusions

– EC and MS welcomed the subject of internet sales of animals and products as a
  challenge of official controls proposed by the RO Presidency, being considered
  one of the main achievements of the RO Presidency within CVOs working group

– road map concluded and agreed by the EC and SM at the last meeting of CVOs
  (June 2019) is considered as a first step in addressing the challenges identified

– the subject will be taken and continued over by the Finnish Presidency

Thank you!