THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Directive 89/662/EEC of 11 December 1989 concerning veterinary checks in intra-Community trade with a view to the completion of the internal market, and in particular Article 9(4) thereof,
Having regard to Council Directive 90/425/EEC of 26 June 1990 concerning veterinary and zootechnical checks applicable in intra-Community trade in certain live animals and products with a view to the completion of the internal market, and in particular Article 10(4) thereof,
Having regard to Council Directive 2002/99/EC of 16 December 2002 laying down the animal health rules governing the production, processing, distribution and introduction of products of animal origin for human consumption, and in particular Article 4(3) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Commission Implementing Decision 2014/709/EU lays down animal health control measures in relation to African swine fever in certain Member States. The Annex to that Decision demarcates and lists certain areas of those Members States differentiated by the level of risk based on the epidemiological situation. That list includes certain areas of Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
(2)
Article 7 of Implementing Decision 2014/709/EU, providing for a derogation from the prohibition on the dispatch of consignments of animal by-products from porcine animals from the areas listed in Parts III and IV of the Annex to that Implementing Decision, should be reviewed in order to allow for a safe disposal of animal by-products of porcine origin other than feral pigs, including unprocessed bodies of dead animals, from holdings located in the areas listed in Part III of the Annex in a manner that is in line with the risk represented by these animal by-products.
(3)
In the period from January to February 2015, an outbreak of African swine fever in domestic pigs was reported in Poland and several cases in wild boar were reported in Lithuania and Poland in the restricted area listed in Part II of the Annex to Implementing Decision 2014/709/EU. In February and March 2015 few cases were reported in Latvia in the restricted areas listed in Part I and Part III of the Annex to Implementing Decision 2014/709/EU.
(4)
The evolution of the current epidemiological situation should be considered in the assessment of the risk represented by the animal health situation in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. In order to focus animal health control measures and to prevent the spread of African swine fever, as well as to prevent any unnecessary disturbance to trade within the Union and to avoid unjustified barriers to trade by third countries, the Union list of areas subject to the animal health control measures provided for in the Annex to Implementing Decision 2014/709/EU should be amended to take into account the current animal health situation as regards that disease in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
(5)
Implementing Decision 2014/709/EU should therefore be amended accordingly.
(6)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: