
COMMISSION DECISION of 18 February 2008 amending Decision 2006/766/EC as regards the list of third countries and territories from which imports of fishery products in any form for human consumption are permitted (notified under document number C(2008) 555) (Text with EEA relevance) (2008/156/EC) 

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption, and in particular Article 11(1) thereof,
Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 lays down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin. Article 11 of that Regulation provides for the establishment of lists of third countries and parts of third countries from which imports of specific products of animal origin are permitted, and sets out criteria to be taken into account in the establishment of such lists.

(2) Commission Decision 2006/766/EC of 6 November 2006 establishing the lists of third countries and territories from which imports of bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates, marine gastropods and fishery products are permitted lists those third countries which satisfy the criteria referred to in Article 11(4) of Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 and are therefore able to guarantee that those products exported to the Community meet the sanitary conditions laid down to protect the health of consumers.

(3) Annex II of that Decision lists the third countries and territories from which imports of fishery products in any form for human consumption are permitted.

(4) Armenia is currently listed in that Annex but only for imports of ‘live non-farmed crayfish’. A Commission inspection carried out in that country in March 2007 showed that the relevant sanitary requirements for heat-processed and frozen non-farmed crayfish are met. Therefore, the listing for Armenia should be extended to also include heat processed non-farmed crayfish and frozen non-farmed crayfish.

(5) Montenegro, which is currently listed in Annex II to Decision 2006/766/EC but only for imports of ‘whole fresh fish from wild seawater catches’, has provided scientific information and submitted an additional application for the approval of imports of freshwater crayfish from that third country. The current limitation should therefore be deleted. Imports of fishery products should be authorised.

(6) Bosnia and Herzegovina is currently not listed in Annex II to Decision 2006/766/EC. A Commission inspection to that country was carried out from 29 August to 2 September 2005. It has been proven that the competent authorities have provided all necessary guarantees to satisfy the relevant sanitary conditions. Bosnia and Herzegovina should therefore be included in the list of third countries from which Member States may authorise imports of fishery products.

(7) Bulgaria and Romania are currently listed in Annex II to Decision 2006/766/EC. However, as the list refers only to third countries, the application of those entries ceased upon their accession to the European Union. The listings for those two Member States should therefore be deleted.

(8) Annex I of that Decision lists the third countries from which imports of bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods in any form for human consumption are permitted. Footnote 6 of Annex II referring to Morocco concerns additional requirements for certain processed bivalve molluscs. For reasons of consistency, it is therefore appropriate to move those requirements to Annex I.

(9) Decision 2006/766/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(10) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1 
Annexes I and II to Decision 2006/766/EC are replaced by the text in the Annex to this Decision.
Article 2 
This Decision shall apply from 1 March 2008.
Article 3 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 18 February 2008.
For the Commission
Markos KYPRIANOU
Member of the Commission
ANNEX


ANNEX I 

List of third countries from which imports of bivale molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods in any form for human consumption are permitted(Countries and territories referred to in Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 854/2004)ISO code Countries Remarks
AU AUSTRALIA 
CL CHILE Only frozen or processed bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods
JM JAMAICA Only marine gastropods
JP JAPAN Only frozen or processed bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods
KR SOUTH KOREA Only frozen or processed bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods
MA MOROCCO Processed bivalve molluscs belonging to the species Acanthocardia tuberculatum must be accompanied by: (a) an additional health attestation in accordance with the model set out in Part B of Appendix V of Annex VI to Commission Regulation (EC) No 2074/2005 (OJ L 338, 22.12.2005, p. 27); and (b) the analytical results of the test demonstrating that the molluscs do not contain a paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) level detectable by the bioassay method.
NZ NEW ZEALAND 
PE PERU Only frozen or processed bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods
TH THAILAND Only frozen or processed bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods
TN TUNESIA 
TR TURKEY 
UY URUGUAY 
VN VIETNAM Only frozen or processed bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods
ANNEX II 

List of third countries and territories from which imports of fishery products in any form for human consumption are permitted(Countries and territories referred to in Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 854/2004)ISO code Countries Remarks
AE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 
AG ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA Only live crustaceans
AL ALBANIA 
AM ARMENIA Only live non-farmed crayfish, heat processed non-farmed crayfish and frozen non-farmed crayfish.
AN NETHERLANDS ANTILLES 
AR ARGENTINA 
AU AUSTRALIA 
BA BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA 
BD BANGLADESH 
BR BRAZIL 
BS THE BAHAMAS 
BY BELARUS 
BZ BELIZE 
CA CANADA 
CH SWITZERLAND 
CI IVORY COAST 
CL CHILE 
CN CHINA 
CO COLOMBIA 
CR COSTA RICA 
CU CUBA 
CV CAPE VERDE 
DZ ALGERIA 
EC ECUADOR 
EG EGYPT 
FK FALKLAND ISLANDS 
GA GABON 
GD GRENADA 
GH GHANA 
GL GREENLAND 
GM GAMBIA 
GN GUINEA CONAKRY Only fish that has not undergone any preparation or processing operation other than heading, gutting, chilling or freezing.The reduced frequency of physical checks, provided for by Commission Decision 94/360/EC (OJ L 158, 25.6.1994, p. 41), shall not be applied.
GT GUATEMALA 
GY GUYANA 
HK HONG KONG 
HN HONDURAS 
HR CROATIA 
ID INDONESIA 
IN INDIA 
IR IRAN 
JM JAMAICA 
JP JAPAN 
KE KENYA 
KR SOUTH KOREA 
KZ KAZAKHSTAN 
LK SRI LANKA 
MA MOROCCO 
ME MONTENEGRO 
MG MADAGASCAR 
MR MAURITANIA 
MU MAURITIUS 
MV MALDIVES 
MX MEXICO 
MY MALAYSIA 
MZ MOZAMBIQUE 
NA NAMIBIA 
NC NEW CALEDONIA 
NG NIGERIA 
NI NICARAGUA 
NZ NEW ZEALAND 
OM OMAN 
PA PANAMA 
PE PERU 
PF FRENCH POLYNESIA 
PG PAPUA NEW GUINEA 
PH PHILIPPINES 
PM ST PIERRE & MIQUELON 
PK PAKISTAN 
RS SERBIANot including Kosovo as defined by the United Nations security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999 Only whole fresh fish from wild seawater catches
RU RUSSIA 
SA SAUDI ARABIA 
SC SEYCHELLES 
SG SINGAPORE 
SN SENEGAL 
SR SURINAME 
SV EL SALVADOR 
TH THAILAND 
TN TUNISIA 
TR TURKEY 
TW TAIWAN 
TZ TANZANIA 
UA UKRAINE 
UG UGANDA 
US UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
UY URUGUAY 
VE VENEZUELA 
VN VIETNAM 
YE YEMEN 
YT MAYOTTE 
ZA SOUTH AFRICA 
ZW ZIMBABWE 
