THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products, amending Regulations (EC) No 999/2001, (EC) No 396/2005, (EC) No 1069/2009, (EC) No 1107/2009, (EU) No 1151/2012, (EU) No 652/2014, (EU) 2016/429 and (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Regulations (EC) No 1/2005 and (EC) No 1099/2009 and Council Directives 98/58/EC, 1999/74/EC, 2007/43/EC, 2008/119/EC and 2008/120/EC, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 854/2004 and (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directives 89/608/EEC, 89/662/EEC, 90/425/EEC, 91/496/EEC, 96/23/EC, 96/93/EC and 97/78/EC and Council Decision 92/438/EEC (Official Controls Regulation), and in particular Article 127(2) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/625 supplements Regulation (EU) 2017/625 as regards the conditions for the entry into the Union of consignments of certain animals and goods intended for human consumption from third countries or regions thereof in order to ensure that they comply with the applicable requirements established in the rules on food safety referred to in Article 1(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 or with requirements recognised to be at least equivalent. Those conditions include the identification of the animals and goods intended for human consumption which can enter the Union only from third countries or regions listed in accordance with Article 126(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625.
(2)
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/626 establishes lists of third countries or regions thereof authorised for the entry into the Union from a food safety perspective, in particular of live, chilled, frozen or processed bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods for human consumption, of other fishery products and of frogs’ legs and snails prepared in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
(3)
The United Kingdom has provided the necessary guarantees required by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/625 in order for the United Kingdom and for the Crown Dependencies of Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey to be listed in Annexes I, II and III to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/626 after the end of the transition period provided for in the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (Withdrawal Agreement), without prejudice to the application of Union law to and in the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland in accordance with Article 5(4) of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland to the Withdrawal Agreement in conjunction with Annex 2 to that Protocol. Taking into account the guarantees provided by the United Kingdom, that third country and the Crown Dependencies should be included in Annexes I, II and III to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/626.
(4)
Annexes I, II and III to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/626 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(5)
As the transition period provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement ends on 31 December 2020, this Regulation should apply from 1 January 2021.
(6)
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: