Article 4

The competent authorities shall take all necessary steps to ensure the integrity of certification. In particular they shall ensure that certifying officers designated by them: have a status which ensures their impartiality and have no direct commercial interest in the animals or products being certified or in the holdings or establishments in which they originate; are fully aware of the significance of the contents of each certificate which they sign. Certificates shall be drawn up at least in a language understood by the certifying officer and at least in one of the official languages of the country of destination as provided for in Community legislation. Each competent authority shall be in a position to link certificates with the relevant certifying officer and ensure that a copy of all certificates issued is available for a period to be determined by it.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-10 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.