(1)

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1698 (2) lays down provisions dealing with controls on operators and groups of operators in third countries carried out by control authorities and control bodies that are recognised in accordance with Article 46(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 and establishes the rules on the verification of the consignments of organic and in-conversion products intended for import into the Union that are to be carried out by those control authorities and control bodies.

(2)

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2306 (3) lays down rules on the official controls at border control posts and points of release for free circulation in respect of consignments of organic products and in-conversion products intended for import into the Union.

(3)

Both Delegated Regulations (EU) 2021/1698 and (EU) 2021/2306 set out specific rules on the controls in respect of consignments of high-risk products intended for import into the Union as organic or in-conversion products.

(4)

Pursuant to Article 8 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1698, high-risk products originating from third countries are to be listed in an implementing act adopted pursuant to Article 46(8) of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 on the basis of a selection made after major, critical or repetitive cases of non-compliance affecting the integrity of organic or in-conversion products or their production.

(5)

Pursuant to Article 16(6) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1698, systematic physical checks and at least one representative sample for each consignment of high-risk organic products to be imported into the Union are to be carried out as part of other control requirements.

(6)

Experience with controls on imports into the Union of products from third countries substantially involved in notifications that have been opened by Member States in the Organic Farming Information System (OFIS) due to suspicions of non-compliance with the Union organic legislation, including notifications of contaminations with products and substances not authorised for use in organic production, shows that the compliance with the conditions and measures for the import of organic products and in-conversion products into the Union can be ensured by subjecting a share of consignments lower than 100 % to identity and physical checks and sampling. Subjecting different shares of consignments to identity and physical checks and sampling by control authorities and control bodies in third countries and by the competent authorities of the Member States, does not affect the efficiency of controls.

(7)

Reduced identity and physical checks and sampling on consignments of high-risk products would enable lower control costs for operators, control authorities and control bodies operating in third countries and for the competent authorities of the Member States, which may have a lowering effect on final consumer prices for organic products in the Union, given that perceived high final consumer prices for organic products constitute one of the main obstacles to increasing the demand for organic products in the Union.

(8)

Furthermore, reduced identity and physical checks and sampling on consignments of high-risk products would avoid undue decreases in trading volumes and values between the third country in which the high-risk products originate and the Union.

(9)

It is therefore necessary to focus on the control of high-risk products originating from certain third countries and to provide that the list of high-risk products contains the country of origin of those products as well as the necessary amount of identity checks, physical checks and sampling percentages for consignments of those products.

(10)

Pursuant to Article 6(2) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2306, each consignment of high-risk products to be imported into the Union is subject to systematic identity and physical checks and representative sampling at border control posts and at points of release for free circulation. In order to ensure a consistent approach to the frequency of checks on consignments of high-risk organic and in-conversion products, this requirement should be aligned with the approach to be taken under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1698.

(11)

Delegated Regulations (EU) 2021/1698 and (EU) 2021/2306 should therefore be amended accordingly,

(1)

Article 8 is replaced by the following:

(2)

the first sentence of Article 16, paragraph (6), is replaced by the following:

‘For consignments of high-risk products referred to in Article 8, the relevant control authority or control body shall carry out physical checks and take at least one representative sample in accordance with the applicable percentage laid down in the implementing act referred to in Article 8.’.