Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2886 of 18 December 2023 amending Annexes V and XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 as regards the entries for the United Kingdom and the United States in the lists of third countries authorised for the entry into the Union of consignments of poultry and germinal products of poultry, and of fresh meat of poultry and game birds

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on transmissible animal diseases and amending and repealing certain acts in the area of animal health (‘Animal Health Law’) ¹, and in particular Articles 230(1) and 232(1) and (3) thereof.

Whereas:

• (1) Regulation (EU) 2016/429 provides that consignments of animals, germinal products and products of animal origin must come from a third country or territory, or zone or compartment thereof, listed in accordance with Article 230(1) of that Regulation in order to enter the Union.

• (2) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/692 ² lays down the animal health requirements that consignments of certain species and categories of animals, germinal products and products of animal origin, from third countries or territories, or zones thereof, or compartments thereof in the case of aquaculture animals, must comply with in order to enter the Union.

• (3) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 ³ lays down the lists of third countries, or territories, or zones thereof, from which the entry into the Union of the species and categories of animals, germinal products and products of animal origin falling within the scope of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/692 is permitted. Those lists and certain general rules concerning those lists are set out in Annexes I to XXII to that Regulation.

• (4) More particularly, Annexes V and XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 set out the lists of third countries, or territories, or zones thereof authorised for the entry into the Union, respectively, of consignments of poultry and germinal products of poultry, and of fresh meat of poultry and game birds.

• (5) The United States notified the Commission of 35 outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry in the states of Arkansas (2), California (8), Colorado (1), Kansas (2), Michigan (1), Minnesota (7), North Dakota (1), Ohio (3), South Dakota (5) and Wisconsin (5), which were confirmed between 22 November 2023 and 13 December 2023 by laboratory analysis (RT-PCR).

• (6) Following those recent outbreaks of HPAI, the veterinary authorities of the United States established restricted zones of at least 10 km around the affected establishments and implemented a stamping-out policy to control the presence of HPAI and limit the spread of that disease.

• (7) The United States has submitted information to the Commission on the epidemiological situation on its territory, and the measures it has taken to prevent the further spread of HPAI.

• (8) That information has been evaluated by the Commission. The Commision considers that, in view of the animal health situation in the areas under restrictions established by the veterinary authorities of the United States, the entry into the Union of consigments of poultry and germinal products of poultry, and of fresh meat of poultry and game birds from those areas should be suspended, in order to protect the animal health status of the Union.

• (9) In addition, the United Kingdom and the United States have provided updated information to the Commission in relation to the epidemiological situation on their territories as regards HPAI that gave rise to the suspension of the entry of certain products into the Union, as set out in Annexes V and XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404.

• (10) The United Kingdom has submitted updated information on the epidemiological situation in relation to an outbreak of HPAI in backyard poultry in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, which was confirmed on 23 October 2023.

• (11) The United States have submitted updated information on the epidemiological situation in relation to three outbreaks of HPAI in poultry establishments in the states of Montana and South Dakota, which were confirmed on 10 October 2023 and 17 October 2023.

• (12) The United Kingdom and the United States have also submitted information on the measures they have taken to prevent the further spread of HPAI. In particular, following the outbreaks of HPAI, they have implemented a stamping out policy in order to control and limit the spread of that disease, and also completed the requisite cleaning and disinfection following the implementation of the stamping out policy on the infected poultry establishment on their territories.

• (13) The Commission has evaluated the information submitted by the United Kingdom and the United States, and considers that they have provided appropriate guarantees that the animal health situation that gave rise to the suspension of the entry of consignments of certain products into the Union from the concerned zones in those third countries, as set out in Annexes V and XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404, no longer represents a threat to animal or public health within the Union, and that, consequently, the entry into the Union of those consignments from the concerned zones of the United Kingdom and the United States, from which entry into the Union had been suspended, should be reauthorised.

• (14) Annexes V and XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 should, therefore, be amended to take account of the current epidemiological situation as regards HPAI in the United States and the United Kingdom.

• (15) Furthermore, Article 2 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2688 ⁴ provides for certain corrections to be made to Annexes V and XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 as regards the date of closing for a zone in the United Kingdom. An error has been detected as regards the reference to the Part of Annex XIV where one of those corrections should have been made. It is, therefore, appropriate to correct this error in Annex XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404. That Annex should, therefore, be corrected accordingly.

• (16) Taking into account the current epidemiological situation in the United States as regards HPAI, and in order to avoid unnecessary disruption of trade with the United Kingdom and the United States, the amendments to be made to Annexes V and XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 by this Regulation should take effect as a matter of urgency.

• (17) The correction of the error in Annex XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404, introduced by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2688, should apply from 16 November 2023, as this was the date of application of Part II of the Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2688.

• (18) 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

Amendments to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404

Annexes V and XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 are amended in accordance with Part I of the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

Correction to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404

Annex XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 is corrected in accordance with Part II of the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 3

Entry into force and applicability

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

However, Article 2 shall apply from 16 November 2023.

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

Done at Brussels, 18 December 2023.

For the Commission

The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN

ANNEX

PART I

Amendments to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404

Annexes V and XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 are amended as follows:

• (1) Annex V is amended as follows:

• (a) in Part 1, Section B is amended as follows:

• (i) in the entry for the United Kingdom, the row for the zone GB–2.323 is replaced by the following:

• (ii) in the entry for the United States, the row for the zone US–2.463 is replaced by the following:

• (iii) in the entry for the United States, the rows for the zones US–2.467 and US–2.468 are replaced by the following:

• (iv) in the entry for the United States, the following rows for the zones US–2.543 to US–2.577 are added after the row for the zone US–2.542:

• (b) in Part 2, in the entry for the United States, the following descriptions of the zones US–2.543 to US–2.577 are added after the description of the zone US–2.542:

• (2) in Annex XIV, in Part 1, Section B is amended as follows:

• (a) in the entry for the United Kingdom, the rows for the zone GB–2.323 are replaced by the following:

• (b) in the entry for the United States, the rows for the zone US–2.463 are replaced by the following:

• (c) in the entry for the United States, the rows for the zones US–2.467 and US–2.468 are replaced by the following:

• (d) in the entry for the United States, the following for the zones US–2.543 to US–2.577 are added after the row for the zone US–2.542:

PART II

Correction to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404

In Annex XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404, in Part 1, Section B, in the entry for the United Kingdom, the rows for the zone GB–2.323 are replaced by the following:

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2023/2886/oj

ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)