Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/361 of 17 February 2025 amending Annexes V, XIV and XV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 as regards the entries for Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United Kingdom and the United States in the lists of third countries, territories or zones thereof authorised for the entry into the Union of consignments of poultry and germinal products of poultry, of fresh meat of poultry and game birds, and of meat products from poultry

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, territories, or zones thereof, from which the entry into the Union of the consignments 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 Implementing Regulation.

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

• (5) On 11 February 2025, Bosnia and Herzegovina notified to the Commission an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). That outbreak is located in the municipality of Rogatica in Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina and was confirmed on 10 February 2025 by laboratory analysis (RT-PCR).

• (6) The lists of third countries, territories, or zones thereof set out in Section B of Part 1 of Annex XIV and in Section A of Part 1 of Annex XV to Regulation (EU) 2021/404 specify that the entry into the Union from Bosnia and Herzegovina of consignments of fresh meat of poultry and meat products from poultry are authorised. In addition, Section A of Part 1 of Annex XV to Regulation (EU) 2021/404 currently specifies that no risk-mitigating treatment is required for meat products from poultry for the entry into the Union from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

• (7) Due to the risk of the introduction of HPAI into the Union linked with the entry of consignments of fresh meat of poultry and of meat products from poultry from Bosnia and Herzegovina that have not undergone a risk mitigating treatment, it is necessary to protect the animal health status of the Union. As a consequence, and in the absence of guarantees allowing for regionalisation of that third country, the entry into the Union of consignments of fresh meat of poultry from Bosnia and Herzegovina should no longer be authorised and risk mitigation treatment D, in accordance with Annex XXVI to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/692, should be required for the entry into the Union of consignments of meat products from poultry from that third country.

• (8) The entries for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the lists of third countries, territories, or zones thereof set out in the table in Section B of Part 1 of Annex XIV and in the table in Section A of Part 1 of Annex XV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 should therefore be amended to take account of the current epidemiological situation in that third country.

• (9) In addition, the United Kingdom has notified the Commission of four outbreaks of HPAI in poultry in the counties of Cornwall, Merseyside and Yorkshire, England, which were confirmed between 7 February 2025 and 9 February 2025, respectively, by laboratory analysis (RT-PCR).

• (10) Furthermore, the United States has notified the Commission of 35 outbreaks of HPAI in poultry in the states of California (3), Maryland (1), Missouri (6), North Carolina (2) and Ohio (23), which were confirmed between 27 January 2025 and 5 February 2025 by laboratory analysis (RT-PCR).

• (11) Following those recent outbreaks of HPAI in the United Kingdom and the United States, the veterinary authorities of those third countries 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.

• (12) The United Kingdom and the United States have submitted information to the Commission on the epidemiological situation on their territories and the measures taken to prevent the further spread of HPAI following these recent outbreaks of HPAI.

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

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

• (15) On 10 February 2025 and 13 February 2025, the United Kingdom has submitted updated information on the animal health situation and the measures they have taken in relation to three outbreaks of HPAI in poultry in the county of Yorkshire, England, and an outbreak of HPAI in poultry in the county of Angus, Scotland, which were confirmed between 10 December 2024 and 10 January 2025 by laboratory analysis (RT-PCR).

• (16) The United Kingdom informed the Commission that, following these outbreaks of HPAI, it has 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 establishments.

• (17) The Commission has evaluated the information submitted by the United Kingdom and considers that it has 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, as set out in Annexes V and XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404, no longer represents a threat to animal or public health in the Union, and that, consequently, the entry into the Union of those consignments from the concerned zones of the United Kingdom, from which entry into the Union had been suspended, should be reauthorised.

• (18) Annexes V and XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 should, therefore, be amended to take account of the new HPAI outbreaks in the United Kingdom and the United States and the resolved HPAI outbreaks in the United Kingdom.

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

• (20) 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, XIV and XV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 are amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

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.

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

Done at Brussels, 17 February 2025.

For the Commission

The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN

ANNEX

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-2.334 is replaced by the following:

• (ii) in the entry for the United Kingdom, the rows for the zones GB-2.341 and GB-2.342 are replaced by the following:

• (iii) in the entry for the United Kingdom, the row for the zone GB-2.348 is replaced by the following:

• (iv) in the entry for the United Kingdom, the following rows for the zones GB-2.355 to GB-2.358 are added after the row for the zone GB-2.354:

• (v) in the entry for the United States, the following rows for the zones US-2.880 to US-2.914 are added after the row for the zone US-2.879:

• (b) Part 2 is amended as follows:

• (i) in the entry for the United Kingdom, the following descriptions of zones GB-2.355 to GB-2.358 are added after the description of the zone GB-2.354:

• (ii) in the entry for the United States, the following descriptions of the zones US-2.880 to US-2.914 are added after the description of the zone US-2.879:

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

• (a) the entry for Bosnia and Herzegovina is replaced by the following:

• (b) in the entry for the United Kingdom, the rows for the zone GB-2.334 are replaced by the following:

• (c) in the entry for the United Kingdom, the rows for the zones GB-2.341 and GB-2.342 are replaced by the following:

• (d) in the entry for the United Kingdom, the rows for the zone GB-2.348 are replaced by the following:

• (e) in the entry for the United Kingdom, the following rows for zone GB-2.355 to GB-2.358 are added after the rows for the zone GB-2.354:

• (f) in the entry for the United States, the following rows for zones US-2.880 to US-2.914 are added after the rows for the zone US-2.879:

• (3) in Section A of Part 1 of Annex XV, the entry for Bosnia and Herzegovina is replaced by the following:

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2025/361/oj

ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)