Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/273 of 4 February 2026 amending and correcting Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122 as regards certain categories of animals and goods exempted from official controls at border control posts

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 48, points (d) and (f), Article 53(1), point (d)(iv), and Article 77(1), point (k), thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2), lays down, among others, rules for compliance checks on non-commercial movements of pet animals into the Union from third countries or territories. That Regulation was repealed by Article 270(2), first subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) as from 21 April 2021. However, Article 277 of Regulation (EU) 2016/429 provides that, notwithstanding that repeal, Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 is to continue to apply until 21 April 2026 in respect of non-commercial movements of pet animals, in place of Part VI of Regulation (EU) 2016/429.

(2) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122 (4) lays down the conditions under which non-commercial movements of pet animals into the Union may be exempted from official controls at border control posts.

(3) As the measures provided for in Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 cease to apply upon the expiration of the transitional period provided for in Article 277 of Regulation (EU) 2016/429, in the interest of consistency, the rules for compliance checks on non-commercial movements of pet animals into the Union from third countries or territories should be integrated in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122, to align them with the conditions under which those pet animals may be exempted from official controls at border control posts. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(4) Article 7, point (c), of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122 is intended to apply only to products of animal origin and composite products. However, the term ‘goods’ in Article 7, point (c), of that Delegated Regulation includes other commodities such as animal by-products, which should not be exempted from official controls at border control posts as they can pose a serious risk to animal health, or plants, plant products and other objects, which are separately covered by point (d) of that Article. The existing wording of Article 7, point (c), of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122 is too broad and creates ambiguity about which goods are subject to an exemption from official controls at border control posts. Therefore, Article 7, point (c), of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122 should be corrected to replace the term ‘goods’ with the more precise wording ‘products of animal origin and composite products’. As a result, certain consequential corrections in Part 2 of Annex I to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122 are necessary.

(5) Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122 should therefore be amended and corrected accordingly.

(6) Since the amendments and corrections to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122 are substantively linked to one another insofar as they concern the cases where, and the conditions under which, goods which form part of passengers’ personal luggage and pet animals are exempted from official controls at border control posts, it is appropriate to make those amendments and corrections in one single act.

(7) As the transitional period related to the repeal of Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 ends on 21 April 2026, the amendments to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122 made by this Regulation should enter into force as a matter of urgency and apply from 22 April 2026,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Amendments to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122 is amended as follows:

(1) Article 1 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 1 Subject matter This Regulation lays down rules for the cases where and the conditions under which certain categories of animals and goods are exempted from official controls at border control posts, and the cases where and the conditions under which specific control tasks may be performed by customs authorities or other public authorities, insofar as those tasks are not already falling under the responsibility of those authorities, on passengers’ personal luggage and non-commercial movements of pet animals into the Union.’

Article 2

Correction of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122 is corrected as follows:

Article 3

Entry into force and application

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

Article 1 shall apply from 22 April 2026.

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

Done at Brussels, 4 February 2026.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 95, 7.4.2017, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/625/oj.

(2) Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 on the non-commercial movement of pet animals and repealing Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 (OJ L 178, 28.6.2013, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2013/576/oj).

(3) 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’) (OJ L 84, 31.3.2016, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/429/oj).

(4) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122 of 10 October 2019 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards certain categories of animals and goods exempted from official controls at border control posts, specific controls on passengers’ personal luggage and on small consignments of goods sent to natural persons which are not intended to be placed on the market and amending Commission Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 (OJ L 321, 12.12.2019, p. 45, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2019/2122/oj).