Commission Decision of 18 February 2008 amending Decision 2006/766/EC as regards the list of third countries and territories from which imports of fishery products in any form for human consumption are permitted (notified under document number C(2008) 555) (Text with EEA relevance) (2008/156/EC)

Commission Decision

of 18 February 2008

amending Decision 2006/766/EC as regards the list of third countries and territories from which imports of fishery products in any form for human consumption are permitted

(notified under document number C(2008) 555)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2008/156/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption(1), and in particular Article 11(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 lays down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin. Article 11 of that Regulation provides for the establishment of lists of third countries and parts of third countries from which imports of specific products of animal origin are permitted, and sets out criteria to be taken into account in the establishment of such lists.

(2) Commission Decision 2006/766/EC of 6 November 2006 establishing the lists of third countries and territories from which imports of bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates, marine gastropods and fishery products are permitted(2) lists those third countries which satisfy the criteria referred to in Article 11(4) of Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 and are therefore able to guarantee that those products exported to the Community meet the sanitary conditions laid down to protect the health of consumers.

(3) Annex II of that Decision lists the third countries and territories from which imports of fishery products in any form for human consumption are permitted.

(4) Armenia is currently listed in that Annex but only for imports of ‘live non-farmed crayfish’. A Commission inspection carried out in that country in March 2007 showed that the relevant sanitary requirements for heat-processed and frozen non-farmed crayfish are met. Therefore, the listing for Armenia should be extended to also include heat processed non-farmed crayfish and frozen non-farmed crayfish.

(5) Montenegro, which is currently listed in Annex II to Decision 2006/766/EC but only for imports of ‘whole fresh fish from wild seawater catches’, has provided scientific information and submitted an additional application for the approval of imports of freshwater crayfish from that third country. The current limitation should therefore be deleted. Imports of fishery products should be authorised.

(6) Bosnia and Herzegovina is currently not listed in Annex II to Decision 2006/766/EC. A Commission inspection to that country was carried out from 29 August to 2 September 2005. It has been proven that the competent authorities have provided all necessary guarantees to satisfy the relevant sanitary conditions. Bosnia and Herzegovina should therefore be included in the list of third countries from which Member States may authorise imports of fishery products.

(7) Bulgaria and Romania are currently listed in Annex II to Decision 2006/766/EC. However, as the list refers only to third countries, the application of those entries ceased upon their accession to the European Union. The listings for those two Member States should therefore be deleted.

(8) Annex I of that Decision lists the third countries from which imports of bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods in any form for human consumption are permitted. Footnote 6 of Annex II referring to Morocco concerns additional requirements for certain processed bivalve molluscs. For reasons of consistency, it is therefore appropriate to move those requirements to Annex I.

(9) Decision 2006/766/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(10) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1 U.K.

Annexes I and II to Decision 2006/766/EC are replaced by the text in the Annex to this Decision.

Article 2 U.K.

This Decision shall apply from 1 March 2008.

Article 3 U.K.

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 18 February 2008.

For the Commission

Markos Kyprianou

Member of the Commission

ANNEX U.K.

“ANNEX I

List of third countries from which imports of bivale molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods in any form for human consumption are permitted

(Countries and territories referred to in Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 854/2004)

ISO code	Countries	Remarks
AU	AUSTRALIA
CL	CHILE	Only frozen or processed bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods
JM	JAMAICA	Only marine gastropods
JP	JAPAN	Only frozen or processed bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods
KR	SOUTH KOREA	Only frozen or processed bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods
MA	MOROCCO	Processed bivalve molluscs belonging to the species Acanthocardia tuberculatum must be accompanied by: (a) an additional health attestation in accordance with the model set out in Part B of Appendix V of Annex VI to Commission Regulation (EC) No 2074/2005 (OJ L 338, 22.12.2005, p. 27); and (b) the analytical results of the test demonstrating that the molluscs do not contain a paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) level detectable by the bioassay method.
NZ	NEW ZEALAND
PE	PERU	Only frozen or processed bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods
TH	THAILAND	Only frozen or processed bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods
TN	TUNESIA
TR	TURKEY
UY	URUGUAY
VN	VIETNAM	Only frozen or processed bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods

ANNEX II

List of third countries and territories from which imports of fishery products in any form for human consumption are permitted

(Countries and territories referred to in Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 854/2004)

ISO code	Countries	Remarks
AE	UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
AG	ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA	Only live crustaceans
AL	ALBANIA
AM	ARMENIA	Only live non-farmed crayfish, heat processed non-farmed crayfish and frozen non-farmed crayfish.
AN	NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
AR	ARGENTINA
AU	AUSTRALIA
BA	BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA
BD	BANGLADESH
BR	BRAZIL
BS	THE BAHAMAS
BY	BELARUS
BZ	BELIZE
CA	CANADA
CH	SWITZERLAND
CI	IVORY COAST
CL	CHILE
CN	CHINA
CO	COLOMBIA
CR	COSTA RICA
CU	CUBA
CV	CAPE VERDE
DZ	ALGERIA
EC	ECUADOR
EG	EGYPT
FK	FALKLAND ISLANDS
GA	GABON
GD	GRENADA
GH	GHANA
GL	GREENLAND
GM	GAMBIA
GN	GUINEA CONAKRY	Only fish that has not undergone any preparation or processing operation other than heading, gutting, chilling or freezing. The reduced frequency of physical checks, provided for by Commission Decision 94/360/EC (OJ L 158, 25.6.1994, p. 41), shall not be applied.
GT	GUATEMALA
GY	GUYANA
HK	HONG KONG
HN	HONDURAS
HR	CROATIA
ID	INDONESIA
IN	INDIA
IR	IRAN
JM	JAMAICA
JP	JAPAN
KE	KENYA
KR	SOUTH KOREA
KZ	KAZAKHSTAN
LK	SRI LANKA
MA	MOROCCO
ME	MONTENEGRO
MG	MADAGASCAR
MR	MAURITANIA
MU	MAURITIUS
MV	MALDIVES
MX	MEXICO
MY	MALAYSIA
MZ	MOZAMBIQUE
NA	NAMIBIA
NC	NEW CALEDONIA
NG	NIGERIA
NI	NICARAGUA
NZ	NEW ZEALAND
OM	OMAN
PA	PANAMA
PE	PERU
PF	FRENCH POLYNESIA
PG	PAPUA NEW GUINEA
PH	PHILIPPINES
PM	ST PIERRE & MIQUELON
PK	PAKISTAN
RS	SERBIA Not including Kosovo as defined by the United Nations security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999	Only whole fresh fish from wild seawater catches
RU	RUSSIA
SA	SAUDI ARABIA
SC	SEYCHELLES
SG	SINGAPORE
SN	SENEGAL
SR	SURINAME
SV	EL SALVADOR
TH	THAILAND
TN	TUNISIA
TR	TURKEY
TW	TAIWAN
TZ	TANZANIA
UA	UKRAINE
UG	UGANDA
US	UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
UY	URUGUAY
VE	VENEZUELA
VN	VIETNAM
YE	YEMEN
YT	MAYOTTE
ZA	SOUTH AFRICA
ZW	ZIMBABWE”

(1)

OJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 206, as corrected by OJ L 226, 25.6.2004, p. 83. Regulation as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 (OJ L 363, 20.12.2006, p. 1).

(2)

OJ L 320, 18.11.2006, p. 53.