Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2130 of 25 November 2019 establishing detailed rules on the operations to be carried out during and after documentary checks, identity checks and physical checks on animals and goods subject to official controls at border control posts (Text with EEA relevance)

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) (1), and in particular Article 52 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EU) 2017/625 establishes the rules for the competent authorities of Member States when they perform official controls on animals and goods entering the Union in order to verify compliance with the Union agri-food chain legislation.

(2) Pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2017/625, consignments of the categories of animals and goods referred to in its Article 47(1) are subject to official controls at border control posts for official controls, unless they are exempted from such controls on the basis of Article 48 of that Regulation. Those official controls are to include documentary checks, identity checks and physical checks. For the purpose of ensuring the uniform implementation of Articles 49, 50 and 51 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 and the efficient performance of official controls on the categories of animals and goods referred to above, detailed rules concerning the performance of documentary checks, identity checks and physical checks at border control posts should be laid down in this Regulation.

(3) The rules on the operations to be carried out during and after documentary checks, identity checks and physical checks at the border control posts of arrival or control points should also apply to certain categories of food and feed of non-animal origin subject to a temporary increase of controls, other conditions of entry into the Union and emergency measures provided for by the acts referred to in points (d), (e) and (f) of Article 47(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625.

(4) The operations carried out during documentary checks, identity checks and physical checks before the date of application of this Regulation have proven to be effective and ensure a high level of performance of checks. Therefore, the rules laid down in this Regulation should be based on the same principles as the requirements for the performance of documentary checks, identity checks and physical checks laid down in Council Directives 91/496/EEC (2), 97/78/EC (3) and 2000/29/EC (4), Commission Regulations (EC) No 136/2004 (5) and (EC) No 282/2004 (6) and Commission Decision 97/794/EC (7).

(5) All relevant documents which are required to accompany consignments of the categories of animals and goods referred to in Article 47(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 should be checked to ensure that they are based on the relevant model document, that the general certification requirements are fulfilled and that they provide the guarantees required under Union legislation or applicable national rules.

(6) When consignments of certain categories of goods referred to in Article 47(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 enter the Union, Union legislation provides that laboratory analyses, tests or diagnoses are to be carried out or that the means of transport are to be sealed to ensure a high level of consumer protection and to prevent any risk for public, animal and plant health. In such cases, the results of the laboratory analyses, tests or diagnoses or the seal numbers should be recorded in the Common Health Entry Document (CHED).

(7) To ensure traceability of the animals and goods entering the Union, the original and, where applicable, the copy of the official certificates or documents should be kept for a certain period at the border control post of arrival into the Union.

(8) Since this Regulation lays down provisions in the areas covered by Regulations (EC) No 136/2004 and (EC) No 282/2004 and Decision 97/794/EC, these acts should be repealed with effect from the date of application of this Regulation.

(9) Regulation (EU) 2017/625 applies from 14 December 2019. Accordingly, the rules laid down in this Regulation should also apply from that date.

(10) 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:

Article 1

Subject matter and scope

This Regulation lays down detailed rules on the operations to be carried out during and after the documentary checks, identity checks and physical checks referred to in Articles 49, 50 and 51 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 on consignments of the categories of animals and goods referred to in Article 47(1) of that Regulation.

Article 2

Detailed rules for documentary checks

(a) they are issued by the competent authority of the third country, where applicable;

(b) they fulfil the requirements set out in Articles 89(1) and 91(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 and in the implementing acts referred to in Article 90 of that Regulation;

(c) they correspond to the model established by the rules referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625;

(d) the information contained in the certificates or documents complies with the rules referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625

Article 3

Detailed rules for identity checks

(a) the number of animals, their species, breed, sex, age and category, where applicable;

(b) the content of the consignments;

(c) the quantity of the consignments;

(d) the appropriate stamps and identification marks or codes, where applicable;

(e) the identification of the means of transport, where applicable;

(f) seals on containers or means of transport, where applicable.

(a) the consignments are not selected for physical checks;

(b) the consignments have been loaded in transport units which are closed and locked by a seal;

(c) seals on containers or means of transport are intact and not tampered with;

(d) the seals on containers or means of transport were fixed by or under the supervision of the competent authority issuing the official certificate; and

(e) the information available on seals corresponds to that given in the accompanying official certificate required by the rules referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625.

(a) for animals for which individual identification is required by Union legislation, at least 10 % of the animals with a minimum of 10 animals shall be selected from the consignment so as to constitute a representative sample. Where the consignment contain less than 10 animals, the identity checks shall be carried out on each animal in the consignment;

(b) for animals for which individual identification is not required by Union legislation, the marking shall be checked of a representative number of packages or containers;

(c) if the identity checks laid down in points (a) and (b) have not been satisfactory, the number of animals checked shall be increased and may reach the total number of animals in the consignment concerned.

Article 4

Detailed rules for physical checks

(a) consignments of ungulates sampled in line with sampling requirements referred in part III of Annex I, where no immediate danger to public health or animal health is suspected from those ungulates; and

(b) consignments of other animals referred to in point (a) of Article 47(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, where no immediate danger to public health or animal health is suspected from those animals.

Article 5

Operations to be carried out after documentary checks, identity checks and physical checks

(a) close and identify with an official mark the packages which it has opened for the purpose of identity checks or physical checks;

(b) in the cases required by Union legislation, seal the means of transport and enter the seal number in the CHED.

However, the original certificate or documents for the plants, plant products and other objects referred to in point (c) of Article 47(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 may be kept by means of electronic storage of information provided that such information is generated by the competent authority on the basis of the original certificate or documents. In such cases, the original certificate or document shall be invalidated or destroyed by the competent authority.

Article 6

Repeals

However, Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 136/2004 shall continue to apply until 20 April 2021 in respect of the list of countries authorised and listed in Annex V to that Regulation.

Article 7

Entry into force and date of application

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

It shall apply from 14 December 2019.

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

Done at Brussels, 25 November 2019/

For the Commission The President Jean-Claude JUNCKER

(1) OJ L 95, 7.4.2017, p. 1.

(2) Council Directive 91/496/EEC of 15 July 1991 laying down the principles governing the organisation of veterinary checks on animals entering the Community from third countries and amending Directives 89/662/EEC, 90/425/EEC and 90/675/EEC (OJ L 268, 24.9.1991, p. 56).

(3) Council Directive 97/78/EC of 18 December 1997 laying down the principles governing the organisation of veterinary checks on products entering the Community from third countries (OJ L 24, 30.1.1998, p. 9).

(4) Council Directive 2000/29/EC of 8 May 2000 on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community (OJ L 169, 10.7.2000, p. 1).