
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2019/2098 of 28 November 2019 on temporary animal health requirements for consignments of products of animal origin for human consumption originating in and returning to the Union following a refusal of entry by a third country (notified under document C(2019)8092) (Text with EEA relevance) 

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
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 the third indent of point 5 of Article 8 thereof,
Whereas:

(1) Directive 2002/99/EC lays down the general animal health rules governing the introduction into the Union of products of animal origin intended for human consumption from third countries. More particularly, it provides for the adoption by the Commission of rules concerning certain types of introduction of those products. The animal health rules laid down in that Directive do not affect, and are applied in parallel with, the rules on veterinary checks laid down in Council Directive 97/78/EC.

(2) Directive 97/78/EC lays down rules governing the organisation of veterinary checks on consignments of products of animal origin entering the Union from third countries, including products falling within the scope of Directive 2002/99/EC. Article 15 of Directive 97/78/EC provides that Member States are to authorise the re-importation of such products where they have been refused by a third country, subject to certain conditions. Those conditions include certification requirements, and they are intended to protect public and animal health.

(3) Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council repealed Directive 97/78/EC with effect from 14 December 2019. That Regulation established a new legal framework for official controls and other official activities to verify the correct application of Union agri-food chain legislation. It lays down rules concerning, inter alia, official controls on consignments of products of animal origin entering the Union, including food. In addition, Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council repealed Directive 2002/99/EC with effect from 21 April 2021. Regulation (EU) 2016/429 lays down rules for the prevention of animal diseases, including rules for the entry into the Union of products of animal origin. The rules laid down in those two Regulations are applied in parallel, but while the rules laid down in Regulation (EU) 2017/625 are horizontal in nature, those laid down in Regulation (EU) 2016/429 are more sector-specific as they concern animal health.

(4) Supplementary rules have now been established by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2074 under Regulation (EU) 2017/625 for the performance of official controls on consignments of animals and goods originating from and returning to the Union following a refusal of entry by a third country. Those supplementing rules aim to verify compliance of the returning consignments with, inter alia, animal health requirements and refer to those requirements as set out in Union animal health rules. That Delegated Regulation applies from 14 December 2019, in line with the date of application of Regulation (EU) 2017/625.

(5) Commission acts for the implementation of Directive 2002/99/EC currently do not lay down specific animal health requirements for the re-entry into the Union of products of animal origin, which have been exported from the Union and have been refused entry by a third country. Therefore animal health requirements specific for the re-entry into the Union of consignments of products of animal origin destined for human consumption, which have been exported from the Union and have been refused entry by third countries should be laid down to provide legal certainty as regards the animal health requirements applicable to those consignments, and to mitigate potential animal health risks after 14 December 2019, following the repeal of Directive 97/78/EC.

(6) In particular, the unloading, storage and re-loading of these products in third countries should not lead to risks for the spread and introduction into the Union of pathogens of certain listed animal diseases referred to in Annex I to Directive 2002/99/EC.

(7) In addition to the original documents issued by the competent authority of the Member State of export, it should also be permissible to verify the origin of consignments of products of animal origin for human consumption on the basis of the electronic equivalent of the original official certificate submitted in the information management system for official controls referred to in Article 131 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 (IMSOC) and established by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1715.

(8) A consignment of products of animal origin for human consumption which has been returned to the Union following refusal of entry by a third country should be allowed to be transported to a place of destination in the Union, where the competent authority of the place of destination in the Union has agreed to receive that consignment.

(9) It is necessary to ensure that consignments of products of animal origin for human consumption which have been returned to the Union following a refusal of entry by a third country arrive at their place of destination in the Union. Therefore, the procedural requirements laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/1666 should apply to the monitoring of the transport and arrival of such consignments, from the border control post of arrival into the Union to the establishment at the place of destination.

(10) The animal health requirements laid down in this Implementing Decision should apply until 21 April 2021, as Regulation (EU) 2016/429 and the Commission Delegated Regulation on animal health rules for the entry into the Union, movement and handling after the entry of certain animals, germinal products and products of animal origin from third countries or territories, apply from that date.

(11) 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:

Article 1 

1. Where the requirements specified in paragraph 1A are met, the competent authority at a border control post must authorise the entry into Great Britain of a consignment of products of animal origin which—
(a) has been refused entry by a third country; and
(b) is being returned to its territory of origin in Great Britain or in any of the Crown Dependencies via a border control post in Great Britain.
(1A.) The requirements specified in this paragraph are that the consignment being returned is accompanied by—
(a) the original official certificate or document issued by the competent authority in Great Britain or in any of the Crown Dependencies responsible for the territory from which the returned consignment originated or an authenticated copy or electronic equivalent of that certificate or document;
(b) a declaration from the competent authority responsible for the territory of destination of the returned consignment agreeing to receive the consignment and indicating the place of its destination;
(c) a document or declaration indicating—
(i) the reason for the refusal of entry by the third country;
(ii) where applicable, the place and date of unloading, storage and re-loading in the third country; and
(d) in the case of—
(i) containers or packages with an intact original seal, a declaration by the operator responsible for the consignment that—(aa) transportation of the consignment has taken place under conditions appropriate for the type of product of animal origin contained in the consignment; and(bb) the contents of the consignment were not altered during transportation; or
(ii) any other consignment, an attestation by the competent authority or other public authority of the third country that—(aa) the products of animal origin did not undergo any handling other than (where applicable) unloading, storage and re-loading in the third country;(bb) effective measures were put in place to avoid the contamination of the products of animal origin with disease agents causing any of the transmissible animal diseases listed in paragraph 1B during any unloading, storage and re-loading; and(cc) the place of any unloading, storage or re-loading was not, at the time of the unloading, storage or re-loading, subject to animal health movement restrictions imposed in connection with any of the transmissible animal diseases listed in paragraph 1B.
(1B.) The transmissible animal diseases listed in this paragraph are—
 — Classical swine fever;
 — African swine fever;
 — Foot and mouth disease;
 — Avian influenza;
 — Newcastle disease;
 — Rinderpest;
 — Sheep and goat plague;
 — Swine vesicular disease;
 — Aquaculture diseases.
(1C.) In this Decision—
 ‘aquaculture disease’ means a disease listed in Annex 1A to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1251/2008 implementing Council Directive 2006/88/EC as regards conditions and certification requirements for the placing on the market and the import into the Community of aquaculture animals and products thereof and laying down a list of vector species;
 ‘Crown Dependency’ means the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey or the Isle of Man;
 ‘entry into Great Britain’ or  ‘entering Great Britain’ has the meaning given in Article 3(40) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625;
 ‘entry point’ means the point at which animals and goods enter Great Britain, including, but not limited to, a border control post;
 ‘products of animal origin’ has the meaning given in point 8.1 of Annex 1 to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004;
 ‘third country’ means any country or territory outside the British Islands.
2. By way of derogation from paragraph  1A(a), in cases where the documentation referred to in that provision was not issued by the competent authority  responsible for the constituent territory of Great Britain or for the Crown Dependency from which the consignment originated, the origin of the consignment shall be authenticated in another way based on documented evidence presented by the operator responsible for the consignment.
3. The competent authority at the border control post shall monitor the transport to and arrival at the place of the destination of the consignment of the products of animal origin in accordance with Articles 2 and 3 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/1666.
Article 2 
This Decision shall apply from 14 December 2019 to 21 April 2021.
Article 3 
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Transitional derogations and modifications
Article 4 

(1.) The provisions of this Decision apply subject to the transitional derogations and modifications specified in Annex 6 to Regulation (EU) 2017/625  and in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article during the transitional staging period, in relation to relevant goods being returned to Great Britain after having been refused entry by a relevant third country, as if those goods had originated in that third country.
(2.) In Article 1—
(a) in paragraph 1, for  “a border control post”, in both places where it occurs, substitute “
                              an entry point
                            ”;
(b) omit paragraph 3.
(3.) In this Article  “transitional staging period”,  “relevant goods” and  “relevant third country” have the meanings given in Annex 6 to Regulation (EU) 2017/625.
Done at Brussels, 28 November 2019.
For the Commission
Vytenis ANDRIUKAITIS
Member of the Commission