(1)

Commission Decision 2007/777/EC (2) lays down, amongst other issues, the animal and public health conditions for the introduction into the Union of consignments of certain meat products and of treated stomachs, bladders and intestines which have undergone one of the treatments set out in Part 4 of Annex II thereto (‘the commodities’).

(2)

Part 2 of Annex II to Decision 2007/777/EC sets out a list of third countries or parts thereof from which the introduction into the Union of the commodities is authorised, provided that the commodities have undergone one of the treatments referred to therein. Part 4 of that Annex sets out a non-specific treatment ‘A’ and specific treatments ‘B’ to ‘F’ listed in descending order of severity of the animal health risk they are intended to eliminate.

(3)

Bosnia and Herzegovina has requested to be listed in Part 2 of Annex II to Decision 2007/777/EC as third country from which the introduction into the Union of commodities which have been obtained from poultry and farmed feathered game (except ratites) is authorised.

(4)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 (3) lays down, amongst other issues, a list of third countries, territories, zones or compartments from which consignments of poultry and certain poultry commodities may be imported into and transit through the Union. Regulation (EC) No 798/2008, as recently amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/298 (4), authorises the import into and transit through the Union of meat of poultry from Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the basis of the favourable outcome of a Commission audit to evaluate the animal health controls in place for meat of poultry intended for the Union. That audit evaluated also the animal health controls in place for meat products from poultry and farmed feathered game (except ratites), with a favourable outcome. Therefore, Decision 2007/777/EC should also authorise the introduction into the Union of commodities obtained from poultry and farmed feathered game (except ratites) which have undergone a non-specific treatment ‘A’ and Bosnia and Herzegovina should be listed in Part 2 of Annex II to Decision 2007/777/EC for that purpose. In addition, the current entry for that third country in that Annex needs to be adapted to cover this new authorisation. The entry for Bosnia and Herzegovina in that Annex should therefore be amended accordingly.

(5)

Decision 2007/777/EC currently authorises the introduction into the Union of commodities obtained from poultry and farmed feathered game (except ratites) from Russia, subject to those commodities having undergone a non-specific treatment ‘A’ and Russia is duly listed in Part 2 of Annex II to Decision 2007/777/EC for that purpose.

(6)

On 17 November 2016, Russia confirmed the presence of HPAI of subtype H5N8 on its territory. Since November 2016, Russia has confirmed several outbreaks of HPAI in poultry holdings on its territory. Due to those outbreaks since November, 2016 Russia cannot be considered as free from that disease. Therefore, in order to prevent the introduction of the HPAI virus into the Union, the introduction into the Union of commodities obtained from poultry and farmed feathered game (except ratites) from Russia should be authorised, but subject to such commodities having undergone the specific treatment ‘D’, as set out in Part 4 of Annex II to Decision 2007/777/EC. The entry for Russia in Part 2 of Annex II to Decision 2007/777/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(7)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,