Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/466Show full title

Article 1

This Regulation lays down temporary measures necessary to contain widespread risks to human, animal and plant health and animal welfare, in order to address serious disruptions in the functioning of Member States’ control systems in view of the crisis linked to COVID-19.

Article 2

Member States that wish to apply the temporary measures laid down in this Regulation shall inform the Commission and the other Member States thereof, as well as of measures taken to remedy their difficulties in carrying out official controls and other official activities in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/625.

Article 3

Official controls and other official activities may exceptionally be performed by one or more natural persons specifically authorised by the competent authority on the basis of their qualifications, training and practical experience, who are in contact with the competent authority by any available means of communication, and who are required to follow the instructions of the competent authority for the performance of such official controls and other official activities. Such persons shall act impartially, and they shall be free from any conflict of interest as regards the official controls and other official activities performed by them.

Article 4

Official controls and other official activities on official certificates and official attestations may exceptionally be performed by way of an official control performed on an electronic copy of the original of such certificates or attestations, or on an electronic format of the certificate or attestation produced and submitted in TRACES, provided the person responsible for presenting the official certificate or official attestation presents to the competent authority a statement affirming that the original of the official certificate or official attestation will be submitted as soon as technically feasible. When performing such official controls and other official activities, the competent authority shall take into account the risk of non-compliance of animals and goods concerned and operators’ past record as regards the outcome of official controls performed on them and their compliance with the rules referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625.

Article 5

Official controls and other official activities may exceptionally be performed:

(a)

in the case of analyses, testing or diagnoses to be performed by official laboratories, by any laboratory designated for this purpose by the competent authority on a temporary basis;

(b)

in the case of physical meetings with operators and their staff in the context of official control methods and techniques referred to in Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, via available means of distance communication.

Article 6

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply until 1 June 2020.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 30 March 2020.

For the Commission

The President

Ursula von der Leyen