(1)

Directive 91/496/EEC provides, inter alia, that if a disease or any other phenomenon liable to present a serious threat to animal or human health occurs or spreads in the territory of a third country, or if any other serious animal health reason so warrants, the Commission, acting on its own initiative or at the request of a Member State, is permitted to adopt measures without delay, including special conditions in respect of animals coming from all or part of the third country concerned.

(2)

Commission Regulation (EU) No 206/2010 ( 2 ) lays down, inter alia, the veterinary certification requirements for the introduction into the Union of certain consignments of live animals. It provides that consignments of ungulates are to be introduced into the Union only if they comply with certain requirements and they are accompanied by the appropriate veterinary certificate, drawn up in accordance with the relevant model set out in Part 2 of Annex I to that Regulation.

(3)

The animal health requirements set out in the model veterinary certificates provide for guarantees regarding animal diseases which may endanger the Union animal health status. The fulfilment of such requirements is therefore essential in order to protect the Union from outbreaks of exotic diseases.

(4)

A notification by the United States to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) ( 3 ) shows that Novel Swine Enteric Coronavirus Disease caused by emerging porcine alphacoronaviruses including porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus and a new Porcine deltacoronavirus has emerged in North America. Canada informed the Commission about positive results of tests for the presence of the both the alpha and the deltacoronavirus carried out in Canadian pig holdings.

(5)

Porcine epidemic diarrhoea caused by the emerging alphacoronavirus and the new porcine deltacoronavirus may constitute a risk for the animal health status of the Union. It affects pigs and the clinical disease is more evident in piglets in which it has caused high percentages of mortalities.

(6)

Therefore it is necessary to review the animal health requirements for the entry of consignments of porcine animals into the Union from the areas in which the disease caused by these viruses is present in order to provide the necessary guarantees at the holding of origin and avoid the introduction of porcine epidemic diarrhoea caused by those viruses in the Union.

(7)

Due to the need to protect animal health in the Union and the serious threat posed by the introduction into the Union of live pigs for breeding and/or production the Commission should adopt provisional safeguard measures for consignments of those animals from affected third countries listed in Annex I to this Regulation. Accordingly, consignments of those animals should be accompanied by a health certificate in accordance with the model set out in Annex II to this Regulation which provides for specific guarantees in regard of porcine epidemic diarrhoea caused by the emerging alphacoronavirus and the new porcine deltacoronavirus

(8)

Due to the serious risk to animal health posed by those consignments, those provisional safeguard measures should enter into force on the day following that of the publication of this Regulation and apply for a period of 6 months.

(9)

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