L 327/74 Official Journal of the European Communities 22.12.2000 COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2000/75/EC of 20 November 2000 laying down specific provisions for the control and eradication of bluetongue THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, (7) A procedure for close cooperation between the Member Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Directive 92/119/EEC of 17 December 1992 introducing general Community measures for the control of certain animal diseases and specific measures relating to swine vesicular disease(!), and in particular the second indent of Article 15 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Whereas: (1)  In accordance with Article 15 of Directive 92/119/EEC, specific measures to control and eradicate bluetongue should be introduced. (2)  The epidemiological characteristics of bluetongue are comparable to those of African horse sickness. (3)  The Council has adopted Directive 92/35/EEC laying down control rules and measures to combat African horse sickness (2). (4) To combat bluetongue, therefore, the overall measures laid down by Directive 92/35[EEC to combat African horse sickness should be used as a model, making appropriate adjustments due to the characteristics of the rearing of species susceptible to bluetongue. (5 Rules should be laid down on the movement of susceptible species and their semen, ova and embryos from areas subject to restrictions arising from an outbreak of the disease. (6)  Article 3 of Council Decision 90/424/EEC of 26 June 1990 on expenditure in the veterinary field (%), applies in the event of an outbreak of bluetongue. () OJ L 62, 15.3.1993, p. 69. Directive as amended by the 1994 Act of Accession. ( OJ L 157, 10.6.1992, p. 19. Directive as amended by the 1994 Act of Accession. () O] L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 19. Decision as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999 (OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 103). States and the Commission must be introduced, HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: Article 1 This Directive lays down control rules and measures to combat and eradicate bluetongue. Article 2 For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply: (@ ‘holding: agricultural or other establishment where animals of species susceptible to bluetongue are permanently or temporarily reared or kept; (b) ‘susceptible species” all ruminants; (c) ‘animal(s): animal(s) belonging to a susceptible species, excluding wild animals with regard to which specific provisions may adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 20(2); (d) ‘owner’ or ‘holder: the natural or legal person(s) owning the animals or responsible for their upkeep, whether in return for payment or not; (e) ‘vector: an insect of the species Culicoides imicola or any other insect of the genus Culicoides capable of transmitting bluetongue, to be identified according to the procedure laid down in Article 20(2), on the advice of the Scientific Veterinary Committee; (f) ‘suspicion: appearance of any clinical sign suggesting bluetongue in a susceptible species, together with a set of epidemiological data enabling such a possibility to be reasonably envisaged; (@ ‘confirmation” the declaration by the competent authority, based on laboratory results, that the bluetongue virus is circulating in a specific area; however, in the event of an epidemic, the competent authority may also confirm the presence of the disease on the basis of clinical and/or epidemiological results;