Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/372 of 17 February 2023 laying down rules on the recording, storing and sharing of written records of official controls performed on livestock vessels, on contingency plans for livestock vessels in the event of emergencies, on the approval of livestock vessels and on minimum requirements applicable to exit points (Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 of 22 December 2004 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations and amending Directives 64/432/EEC and 93/119/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1255/97 ¹, and in particular Article 30(2) thereof,

Whereas:

• (1) Article 20(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 requires Member States’ competent authorities to inspect livestock vessels before any loading of domestic animals. In particular, the competent authorities are to verify that vessels are built and equipped for the number and the type of animals to be transported and the equipment referred to in Chapter IV of Annex I to that Regulation remains in good working order.

• (2) Member States’ competent authorities currently record the certifications of the approval of livestock vehicles in their own electronic databases, to which other Member States’ competent authorities do not have access. While a documentary check cannot replace the physical inspection of the vessel itself, an examination, as part of an official control, of the certification details held in a vessel’s certificate of approval, can provide some information on the vessel’s compliance with the requirements of Chapter IV, Section 1, of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1/2005. Therefore, the uploading and storage of the certificates of approval along with any certification details in a common electronic database should allow competent authorities to access this information to reduce administrative burden and facilitate their work when carrying out an official control.

• (3) The certification details, which Member States’ competent authorities record in the single electronic database, should include the expiry date of the certificates, information concerning the maximum surface area available for the animals and the type of animals the vessels can transport. That should allow competent authorities performing official controls to assess whether the approval is valid at the time of the control and whether the vessel is fit for transporting the animals in question.

• (4) Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council ² integrates into a single legislative framework the rules applicable to official controls on animals to verify compliance with Union agri-food chain legislation.

• (5) Article 13(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 requires competent authorities to draw up records of every official control performed on paper or in electronic form. It also lists the information that these records are to include. The inspections required by Article 20(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 before loading domestic Equidae and domestic animals of bovine, ovine, caprine or porcine species on livestock vessels should therefore be recorded.

• (6) Article 9(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 requires competent authorities to perform official controls taking account of, amongst other things, the operators’ past record as regards the outcome of official controls and their compliance with Union rules, including Regulation (EC) No 1/2005. Competent authorities do not have access to the outcome of official controls performed by other Member States’ competent authorities. These records are however necessary to make well-informed decisions when carrying out inspections for the purposes of Article 20(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005. It is therefore necessary, for the proper implementation of Article 20(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005, to establish a common electronic database that collects and shares the details of the certificates of approval of livestock vessels and the outcome of their inspection history. This should allow competent authorities to rapidly access this information, reduce administrative burden and facilitate their work when carrying out an official control.

• (7) Pursuant to Directive 2009/16/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ³, all Member States with maritime ports are to carry out port State control inspections of the ships which call at their ports. The results of the port State control inspections are objective and verifiable, and may be relevant for the inspections required by Article 20(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005, such as detected deficiencies relating to water-tightness, ventilation, buoyancy or fire-fighting equipment. It is therefore necessary to include the relevant publicly available results of port State control inspections in the common electronic database.

• (8) The Commission has carried out a series of audits on Member States’ official control systems to protect the welfare of animals during transport by sea to third countries using livestock vessels. Following the detection of weaknesses in Member States’ systems of official controls on the authorisation of sea transporters as a result of these audits, competent authorities should make sure that the contingency plans presented by transporters pursuant to Article 11(1), point (b)(iv), of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 are adapted to handle the main emergencies they may face during the journey concerned.

• (9) In order to have sufficient time to assess the information contained in the documentation received from an applicant for a certificate of approval provided for in Article 19(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005, to prepare for a thorough physical inspection of a livestock vessel and to check whether a livestock vessel complies with the requirements for the granting of a certificate of approval, the applicant should submit to the competent authorities the application for approval at least 20 days prior to the date of inspection of the livestock vessel.

• (10) Based on their experience of the transport of animals by livestock vessels, Member States’ experts, including national contact points for the protection of animals during transport, developed in 2014 a network document ⁴, to provide guidance for official controls of animal welfare during export by livestock vessels, as required by Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 (‘the network document’). The guidelines in the network document were updated in January 2020 in the light of the experience gained in applying the network document and of Commission’s audits.

• (11) Inspectors from the competent authorities that carry out inspections on livestock vessels are mostly official veterinarians. Veterinary competency alone is not sufficient to check the functioning of the mechanical and management systems of livestock vessels that may have an impact on the welfare of the animals being transported. As proposed in the network document, the teams performing inspections for the purpose of granting a certificate of approval, provided for in Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005, should consist of official veterinarians and maritime experts with appropriate expertise on those mechanical and management systems and practical experience of the operation of livestock vessels.

• (12) The approval of a livestock vessel provided for in Article 19(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 or the renewal of such approval should be subject to the results of an inspection by an official veterinarian on board the first journey with consignments of animals to check that the mechanical and management systems of the livestock vessel are not detrimental to the welfare of the animals on board during the journey.

• (13) In order to ensure that animals transported either from other Member States or on long road journeys from their place of departure to exit points at seaports can be unloaded safely and be fed, watered and rested, at least one control post referred to in Article 1(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1255/97 ⁵ should be available at the exit points at seaports, or within a two-hour distance by road from the exit point concerned.

• (14) In order for Member States to allocate staff and resources to the new tasks and obligations laid down in this Regulation, to ensure a smooth and seamless adaptation to the new rules, and to ensure that Member States have sufficient time to build control posts at exit points, if needed, Article 10 of this Regulation, concerning the presence of a veterinarian on board, and Article 11 of this Regulation, concerning the control posts at exit points, shall only apply from 1 January 2024.

• (15) 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:

• (a) sets out detailed rules necessary for the performance of inspections provided for in Article 20(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005;

• (b) specifies the content of the contingency plans referred to in Article 11(1), point (b)(iv), of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 when these refer to livestock vessels;

• (c) specifies the minimum requirements for exit points when these are seaports.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, ‘port State control inspection’ means an inspection carried out by port State competent authorities in accordance with Directive 2009/16/EC.

Article 3

Electronic database

• (a) the certification details of the certificates of approval of livestock vessels in a manner enabling Member States’ competent authorities to rapidly identify the livestock vessels;

• (b) records of past inspections carried out by Member States’ competent authorities on livestock vessels for the purposes of Article 20(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005;

• (c) publicly available information on the outcome of port State control inspections.

Article 4

Recording of the certifications of the approval of livestock vessels

Article 5

Recording of inspections

Article 6

Access to certificates of the approval of livestock vessels and previous inspection records

• (a) verify that livestock vessels have a valid certificate of approval;

• (b) carry out well-informed decisions when inspecting livestock vessels during loading for the purposes of Article 20 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005.

Article 7

Contingency plans in the event of emergencies for livestock vessels

Contingency plans in the event of emergencies, submitted by transporters intending to transport animals by sea using livestock vessels pursuant to Article 11(1), point (b)(iv), of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005, shall include a risk analysis of the most likely animal welfare hazards related to such journeys.

Article 8

Application for approval of livestock vessels

The applicant shall send to the relevant competent authorities or body designated by a Member State the application for the certificate of approval for a livestock vessel in accordance with Article 19(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 at least 20 working days prior to the date of inspection referred to in Article 19(1), point(c), of that Regulation.

Article 9

Teams of inspectors for livestock vessels

• (a) an official veterinarian; and

• (b) a maritime expert authorised by the maritime authorities of the Member State.

• (a) appropriate qualifications from a marine or nautical institution recognised by the Member States and relevant seagoing experience as a certificated ship officer holding a valid certificate of competence STCW II/2 or III/2 provided for in the International Convention on Standard of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) and which is not limited as regards the operating area, propulsion power or tonnage;

• (b) completed examination as a naval architect, mechanical engineer or an engineer related to the maritime field, which is recognised by the responsible maritime authorities, and worked in that capacity for at least five years; or

• (c) relevant university degree or equivalent degree from a tertiary institution, within a relevant field of engineering or science, recognised by the Member State.

Article 10

Official controls by an official veterinarian on board livestock vessels

• (a) the controls referred in paragraph 1 demonstrate that the construction and equipment of the livestock vessel are not detrimental to the welfare of the animals on board; and

• (b) effective corrective measures are taken by the transporter if the results of the controls referred to in paragraph 1 identify any other deficiencies.

Article 11

Minimum requirements for control posts at the exit points at seaports

When operations involve transport of animals by road from other Member States or long journeys by road from the place of departure to seaports, the competent authorities shall ensure that control posts approved for the relevant categories of animals, in accordance with Article 3(1), first subparagraph, of Regulation (EC) No 1255/97, are available at exit points at seaports or are within a two-hour journey by road from the exit point concerned.

Article 12

Entry into force

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

Article 10 and 11 shall apply from 1 January 2024.

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

Done at Brussels, 17 February 2023.

For the Commission

The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN

ANNEX

REPORT OF PHYSICAL CHECKS ON BOARD DURING THE JOURNEY

(referred to in Article 10)