(1)

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1698 (2) supplements Regulation (EU) 2018/848 with rules on the checks for the certification of operators or groups of operators and on controls performed on those operators and groups of operators and their products by control authorities and control bodies recognised in accordance with Article 46(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 (‘compliance regime’).

(2)

Pursuant to Article 57(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/848, the recognition of control authorities and control bodies granted under Article 33(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 (3) (‘equivalence regime’) will expire by 31 December 2024.

(3)

From 1 January 2025, control authorities and control bodies must be recognised under the compliance regime to certify and control operators and groups of operators in third countries. Such recognition is based on the assessment of their requests for recognition, submitted in accordance with Article 46(4) of Regulation (EU) 2018/848, consisting of a technical dossier that must contain all the information that is necessary to ensure that the criteria for recognition set out in Article 46(2) of that Regulation are met.

(4)

Only a limited number of requests for recognition in accordance with Article 46(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 have been submitted to the Commission sufficiently in advance to allow control authorities and control bodies to prepare adequately the issuance of certificates for operators and groups of operators in third countries in accordance with the compliance regime.

(5)

Pursuant to Article 9, paragraphs (4) and (10), of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1698, the issuance of certificates of operators and groups of operators must be based on the results of the verification of compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/848, which includes a physical on-the-spot inspection. Due to the delays in recognition of control authorities and control bodies in accordance with the compliance regime caused by the delayed submission of requests for recognition, those control authorities and control bodies may not be able to perform all the necessary on-the-spot inspections allowing the timely issuance of certificates to operators and groups of operators in third countries in accordance with the compliance regime.

(6)

In order to avoid unnecessary trade disruptions for organic products pending the issuance of certificates to operators and groups of operators in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1698 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1378 (4), it is necessary to provide that, for a limited period of time, control authorities and control bodies already recognised under the compliance regime may issue certificates of inspection on consignments of products of those operators and groups of operators in third countries in possession of valid documentary evidence issued by control authorities and control bodies recognised under the equivalence regime, based on the verification of compliance of those consignments with the rules referred to in Article 33(1) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.

(7)

It is also necessary to provide that, for that purpose, documentary evidence issued by control authorities and control bodies recognised under the equivalence regime to the operators and groups of operators whose certification under the compliance regime is pending on 31 December 2024 remains valid after 31 December 2024 until its expiration date and, in any case, for a limited period of time.

(8)

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1698 should therefore be amended accordingly,