Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/130 of 28 January 2025 amending Regulation (EC) No 865/2006 as regards developments in the framework of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and the possibility to issue retrospective permits

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (1), and in particular Article 19(4) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 865/2006 (2) lays down provisions implementing Regulation (EC) No 338/97 and ensuring full compliance with the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) (the Convention).

(2) Certain resolutions were adopted at the 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (CoP19) in Panama City in the Republic of Panama from 14 to 25 November 2022, and decisions were taken and recommendations made at the 75th and 77th meetings of the CITES Standing Committee.

(3) In particular, at CoP19, certain changes to Resolution Conf. 10.16 (Rev. CoP19), amending the definition of breeding stock, were agreed on. Those amendments need to be incorporated into Union law.

(4) The list of standard references for nomenclature annexed to Resolution Conf. 12.11 (Rev. CoP19), to be used to indicate the scientific names of species in permits and certificates, was also updated. Those changes should be reflected in Annex VIII to Regulation (EC) No 865/2006.

(5) The CoP19 decision on a change in nomenclature should also be reflected in Annex X to Regulation (EC) No 865/2006.

(6) CoP19 amended Resolution Conf. 12.3 with regard to different purposes of transaction and the codes to be used for designating those purposes. Those amendments should be reflected in Article 5c of Regulation (EC) No 865/2006 and in Annex IX to that Regulation. In particular, Resolution Conf. 12.3 was amended by inserting definitions for purpose-of-transaction codes Z, M, E, N and L. Those definitions should be included in Annex IX to Regulation (EC) No 865/2006.

(7) At the 75th and 77th meetings of the CITES Standing Committee, the guidelines on submitting annual reports were also revised. They consist of revised codes that are to be included in the description of specimens and units of measure to be used in permits and certificates. The revised codes and units of measure need to be reflected in Annex VII to Regulation (EC) No 865/2006.

(8) Resolution Conf. 11.17 (Rev. CoP19) set the deadline for submitting implementation reports as 31 October of the year before each Conference of the Parties to the Convention. Article 69 of Regulation (EC) No 865/2006 should be amended so that all intra-EU deadlines for Member State report submissions are 15 June, so that the Commission can fulfil its duty to report to the Secretariat of the Convention by 31 October of the year in question. The new amendment on submitting implementation reports clarifies the reference to Article 15(4), point (c), of Regulation (EC) No 338/97.

(9) To implement Resolution Conf. 12.10 (Rev. CoP15) and the recommendations the CITES Standing Committee adopted at its 77th meeting, certain provisions and annexes should be amended, and further provisions, as well as new Annex XIV, should be added to Regulation (EC) No 865/2006.

(10) Resolution Conf. 12.10 (Rev. CoP15) states that the exemption set out in Article VII, paragraph 4, of the Convention should be implemented through the registration by the Secretariat of the Convention of operations that breed specimens of animal species listed in Appendix I to the Convention in captivity for commercial purposes.

(11) At the 77th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee, it was determined that Article III and Article VII, paragraph 4, of the Convention were not being effectively implemented by the Union with regard to the registration of operations that breed specimens of Appendix I animal species in captivity for commercial purposes.

(12) The CITES Standing Committee urged CITES Management Authorities of the Union to ensure that facilities breeding specimens of animal species listed in Appendix I to the Convention in captivity for commercial purposes are registered with the Secretariat of the Convention in accordance with the procedures established in Resolution Conf. 12.10 (Rev. CoP15).

(13) The CITES Standing Committee also invited the Parties to the Convention to restrict imports for primarily commercial purposes of captive-bred specimens of animal species listed in Appendix I to the Convention to specimens produced by operations registered with the Secretariat of the Convention, and to reject any permit or certificate granted under Article VII, paragraph 4, if the specimens concerned did not originate from a registered facility.

(14) Given the potentially significant number of applications for the registration of operations with the Secretariat of the Convention and the time national authorities and the Secretariat of the Convention need to process applications, the application of the provisions on issuing permits and certificates for the import, export and re-export for commercial purposes of specimens of animal species listed in Appendix I to the Convention that are born and bred in captivity should be deferred.

(15) Finally, in exceptional cases, for legally exported dead specimens listed in Annex B to Regulation (EC) No 338/97, the competent authorities should, for reasons of proportionality, be allowed to issue a retrospective import permit where there is evidence of a genuine error and where the transaction otherwise complies with Regulation (EC) No 338/97, the Convention and the country of export’s relevant legislation.

(16) Regulation (EC) No 865/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(17) The measures set out in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 865/2006 is amended as follows:

(2) in Article 5c, paragraph 1 is replaced as follows: ‘1.   The purpose of a transaction shall be indicated using one of the codes in point 1 of Annex IX to this Regulation. Where non-commercial aspects are not clearly predominant, the purpose-of-transaction code T shall be used, except where there is an alternative code that more precisely reflects the nature of the transaction between the (re-)exporter and importer or the intended use by the importer, in which case that other code shall be used. Where non-commercial aspects of the transaction are clearly predominant, the code that best describes the nature of the transaction or the intended use shall be used.’

(3) in Article 15(2), the second subparagraph is replaced with the following: ‘As regards specimens imported or (re-)exported as personal and household effects, to which the provisions of Chapter XIV apply, as regards personally owned live animals, which are legally acquired and held for personal non-commercial purposes, and, in exceptional cases, as regards imported dead specimens listed in Annex B to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 which are legally exported, the derogation provided for in paragraph 1 shall also apply where the competent management authority of the Member State, in consultation with the relevant enforcement authority, is satisfied that there is evidence that a genuine error has been made and that there was no attempt to deceive and the import or (re-)export of the specimens concerned otherwise complies with Regulation (EC) No 338/97, the Convention and the country of export’s relevant legislation. This derogation shall not apply if the importer or (re-)exporter has made a similar error before.’;

(4) in Article 20, the following paragraph 5 is added: ‘5.   As regards applications for permits for import for commercial purposes of specimens of animal species listed in Appendix I to the Convention that are born and bred in captivity submitted after 31 December 2026, the applicant shall satisfy the management authority that the specimen originates from an operation that is registered by the Secretariat of the Convention for that species as an operation that breeds specimens of animal species listed in Appendix I to the Convention in captivity for commercial purposes.’

(5) in Article 26, the following paragraph 4a is inserted: ‘4a.   As regards applications for permits and certificates for export and re-export for commercial purposes of specimens of animal species listed in Appendix I to the Convention that are born and bred in captivity submitted after 31 December 2026, the applicant shall satisfy the management authority that the specimen originates from an operation that is registered by the Secretariat of the Convention for that species as an operation that breeds specimens of animal species listed in Appendix I to the Convention in captivity for commercial purposes.’

(6) the heading of Chapter XIII is replaced with the following: ‘ SPECIMENS BORN AND BRED IN CAPTIVITY, ARTIFICIALLY PROPAGATED SPECIMENS AND THE REGISTRATION OF OPERATIONS THAT BREED SPECIMENS OF ANIMAL SPECIES LISTED IN APPENDIX I TO THE CONVENTION IN CAPTIVITY FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES ’;

(9) in Article 66, paragraph 1 is replaced with the following: ‘1.   For the purposes of Article 33(1), Article 40(1), Article 54a, Article 59(5) and Article 65(4), paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall apply.’

(11) Annexes VII, VIII and IX are replaced by the text in Annex 1 to this Regulation;

(12) in Annex X, the entry Psephotus dissimilis is replaced with the entry Psephotellus dissimilis.

(13) Annex XIV, as set out in Annex 2 to this Regulation, is added.

Article 2

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

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

Done at Brussels, 28 January 2025.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 61, 3.3.1997, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1997/338/oj.

(2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 865/2006 of 4 May 2006 laying down detailed rules concerning the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (OJ L 166, 19.6.2006, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2006/865/oj).