Peripheral veterinary office of the Health Ministry recognised by the European Community led by a veterinary surgeon and located in proximity of the external border of the Communitary territory for animal or product inspections.
The current system, based on border inspection posts (BIPs) under the control of individual Member State authorities, only covers products of animal origin. Furthermore it fails to provide a sufficiently well co-ordinated approach to border checks. The legal basis for border checks needs to cover all products, and to identify a more effective Community-level control system.