Commission controls in third countries
Article 57
1. Commission experts may perform controls in a third country in order, as appropriate, to: (a) verify the compliance or equivalence of the third country's legislation and systems with the requirements laid down in this Regulation; (b) verify the capacity of the third country's control system to ensure that consignments of breeding animals and the germinal products thereof entering into the Union comply with relevant requirements in Chapter VIII of this Regulation; (c) collect information and data to elucidate the causes of recurring or emerging problems in relation to breeding animals and their germinal products from the third country entering into the Union. 2. The Commission controls referred to in paragraph 1 shall have particular regard to: (a) the zootechnical and genealogical legislation of the third country concerning breeding animals and their germinal products; (b) the organisation of the competent authorities of the third country, their powers and independence, the supervision to which they are subject and the authority they have to enforce the applicable legislation effectively; (c) the training of the staff in the third country responsible for the performance of the controls on, or the supervision of, breeding bodies; (d) the resources that are available to the competent authorities of the third country; (e) the existence and operation of documented control procedures and control systems based on priorities; (f) the extent and operation of controls performed by the competent authorities of the third country on breeding animals and their germinal products arriving from other third countries; (g) the assurances which the third country is able to give regarding compliance with, or equivalence to, the requirements laid down in this Regulation.