TRACES constitutes a key element of how the European Union facilitates trade and improves health protection for the consumer, as laid down in the First Pillar principle.
At the establishment of the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1958, each country used its own national legislation to set standards for the health of internationally traded animals and their products.
Economic operators are able to start the process electronically by filling in the first part of the mandatory certificates for importing goods and animals into the EU.
At the moment, the legal basis for exchange of goods or live animals among non-EU countries and the EU is a paper certificate, even if the decision 2004/292/CE[6] says it mandatory for member states and economic operators to use TRACES since 31 December 2004.
[8] On 15 July 1991, the directive of the Council 91/496/CEE[9] defined the veterinary checks to be carried out on imported goods from non-EU countries.
ANIMO was used by member states, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Andorra, San Marin, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus.
ANIMO was able to trace the origin of animals and goods in the event of problems and to warn veterinary authorities if the relevant data had been added to system, but this was not done systematically.
SHIFT, the system to assist with the health controls of import of items of veterinary concern at frontier inspection posts from third countries, was first developed after the publication of decision 88/192/CEE of the Council[16] on 28 March 1988.
Article 1 stated, "The Commission shall be responsible for drawing up a programme for the development of computerization of veterinary importation procedures (Shift project)."
Both ANIMO and SHIFT failed to provide a useful tool to strengthen food safety and secure animal health in Europe.
AMINO and SHIFT predated common use of the internet, and staff at border inspection posts may not have been aware or concerned about being part of a national and European safety network.
After ANIMO and SHIFT proved to be particularly ineffective during the outbreak of swine fever at the end of the 1990s, the European Parliament in Resolution A5-0396/2000 of 13 December 2000:[18] Asks the Commission to ensure that the Animal Movement System (ANIMO) is managed and developed under the full control of the CommissionRegrets that three years after consideration of an assessment of the ANIMO system, improvements have yet to be introduced; asks the Commission to table without delay proposals for the modification of Council Directive 90/425/EEC taking into consideration the Court of Auditors’ observations and the above-mentioned assessment, as undertaken by the Commission itselfAgain, in 2002, following the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the UK, European Parliament stated: The Commission should without delay take measures to improve the existing system for monitoring the movement of live animals within the EU (Animo system).
[7] TRACES functions in all of the official languages of the EU except Irish, as well as in Chinese, Croatian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Russian and Turkish.
TRACES provides electronic, with the possibility to print, veterinary and sanitary certificates which are mandatory with consignments during import and movement in the EU.