(1)

Article 20 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 (2) sets out that when customs formalities are being fulfilled by or on behalf of the holder of a Binding Tariff Information (BTI) decision in respect of goods covered by a BTI decision, this shall be indicated in the customs declaration by stating the BTI decision reference number. The obligation to indicate the Binding Origin Information decision reference number in the customs declaration is only stipulated in Annex B to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 (3) as a note to data element 12 12 001 000.

(2)

To allow a proper monitoring by the customs authorities of the usage of a decision relating to binding origin information by its holder and of compliance with the obligations resulting from that decision, the requirement to indicate the reference number of the decision in the customs declaration, laid down in Article 20 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447, should apply to all decisions relating to binding information.

(3)

During the first technical meeting on transitional rules of origin held in Brussels on 5 February 2020, the Union and 20 other Contracting Parties to the Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin (the PEM Convention) (4) agreed to implement the revised rules of the PEM Convention (5) (‘the transitional rules of origin’) in parallel with the rules of the PEM Convention, on a transitional basis as of 1 September 2021, pending the adoption of the revised rules of the PEM Convention.

(4)

Since 1 September 2021, 13 bilateral protocols on rules of origin between the Union and Contracting Parties to the PEM Convention have already entered into force rendering the transitional rules applicable (6). The process of implementing the transitional rules with the remaining Contracting Parties is progressing, subject to the completion by the parties of the adoption procedures.

(5)

The objective of the transitional rules of origin is to introduce more relaxed rules in order to facilitate the qualification of the preferential originating statusfor goods. As the transitional rules of origin are in general more relaxed than those of the PEM Convention, goods fulfilling these latter could also qualify as originating under the transitional rules of origin, with the exception of some agricultural products classified under Chapters 2, 4 to 15, 16 (except for processed fishery products) and 17 to 24, where the transitional rules of origin are not more relaxed than the rules of origin of the PEM Convention Therefore, Articles 61 and 62 should be amended to introduce the possibility for EU exporters to apply for the issue of a movement certificate or to make out an origin declaration based on supplier’s declarations made in the context of the PEM Convention.

(6)

The transitional rules of origin are applicable in parallel with the rules of origin of the PEM Convention creating two distinctive zones of cumulation. Therefore, an indication of the legal framework used for determining the origin of goods should be made in the supplier’s declaration by the supplier, allowing the exporter to determine the originating status of goods under the correct framework for those materials that are fulfilling both sets of rules of origin.

(7)

The supplier’s declaration in Annexes 22-17 and 22-18 to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 is used for products not having preferential originating status. Considering that those products may only be produced by using non-originating materials, it should be optional to fill in the second point of the declaration. Therefore, footnotes 4 and 5 of Annex 22-17 to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 and footnotes 5 and 6 of Annex 22-18 should be amended accordingly.

(8)

According to Article 61(3) of the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 suppliers may provide the supplier’s declarations at any time even after the goods have been delivered and according to Article 62(2), point (b), of that Regulation, the long term supplier’s declarations shall be made out for consignments dispatched during a period of time which may not be more than 12 months before or more than 6 months after the date of issue of long term supplier’s declaration. In order to use supplier’s declarations issued before the date of entry into force of this amending regulation for stocks of materials constituted after 1 September 2021, this Regulation should apply from 1 September 2021, the date of entering into force of the transitional rules of origin between the Union and several Contracting Parties to the PEM Convention.

(9)

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(10)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,

(1)

On 1 October 2015, the Council adopted Decision (EU) 2015/2169 (1) on the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part.

(2)

The Protocol on Cultural Cooperation (the ‘Protocol’) (2) annexed to the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part (3) (the ‘Agreement’) sets up the framework within which the Parties are to cooperate for the facilitation of exchanges regarding cultural activities, goods and services, including in the audiovisual sector.

(3)

The Protocol includes provisions on an entitlement of audiovisual co-productions to benefit from the respective schemes of the Parties to the Agreement.

(4)

Pursuant to Article 5(8), point (b), of the Protocol, following the initial period of three years, the entitlement will be renewed for further successive periods of the same duration, unless a Party terminates the entitlement by giving notice in writing at least three months before the expiry of the initial or any subsequent period.

(5)

In accordance with Article 3(1) of Decision (EU) 2015/2169, the Commission is to provide notice to the Republic of Korea of the Union’s intention not to extend the period of entitlement to co-production unless, on a proposal from the Commission, the Council unanimously agrees four months before the end of the period of entitlement to continue the entitlement.

(6)

In its judgement of 1 March 2022 in case C-275/20, Commission v Council (4), the Court of Justice decided that the procedure established in Article 3(1) of Decision (EU) 2015/2169 does not comply with Article 218 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) insofar as it requires the Council to vote by unanimity. The applicable voting rule for the adoption of decisions such as those envisaged by Article 3(1) of Decision (EU) 2015/2169 should be that laid down in Article 218(8), first subparagraph, TFEU, namely qualified majority voting in the Council.

(7)

Therefore, the requirement that the Council act by unanimity for the purpose of deciding on the continuation of the entitlement should be deleted.

(8)

In accordance with Article 266 TFEU, in order to implement the judgement expeditiously, this Decision should enter into force on the date of its adoption,

(1)

The average specific CO2 emissions of a manufacturer should be determined on the basis of data reported by Member States and manufacturers pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/956 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) for vehicles of that manufacturer.

(2)

The average specific CO2 emissions of all new heavy-duty vehicles registered in the Union should be based on those data reported for vehicles from all manufacturers.

(3)

The zero- and low-emission factor for each manufacturer should be determined taking into account the zero- and low-emission heavy-duty vehicles so reported.

(4)

The CO2 emission reduction trajectory and the emission credits per manufacturer should be determined on the basis of the number of new heavy-duty vehicles excluding vocational vehicles so reported.

(5)

The data presented in the Annex to this Decision is based on the data available to the Commission on 1 August 2022.

(6)

The Commission may have to update the data published herein, should it receive additional data which would affect the results of those calculations,

(1)

With Commission Recommendation 2003/670/EC of 19 September 2003 concerning the European schedule of occupational diseases (1), the Commission recommended to the Member States that they implement a series of measures with the objective of updating and improving various aspects of their policies relating to occupational diseases. These measures relate to the recognition of, compensation for, and prevention of occupational diseases, the setting of national objectives for the reduction of occupational illnesses, the reporting and recording of occupational diseases, the collection of data concerning the epidemiology of diseases, the promotion of research in the field of ailments linked to an occupational activity, the improvement of diagnosis of occupational diseases, the dissemination of statistical and epidemiological data on occupational diseases, and the promotion of an active role for national public health and healthcare systems in preventing occupational diseases.

(2)

The outbreak of COVID-19 has affected all Member States since early 2020, causing major disruptions to all sectors and services, and affecting the health and safety of workers across the European Union (EU). Today, the epidemiological situation in the EU linked to COVID-19 has improved, thanks mainly to the wide availability of vaccines, but it remains challenging, particularly in view of possible new waves of COVID-19 and the emergence of variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as of long COVID cases.

(3)

In this context, the Commission, among other measures, announced, in its Communication ‘EU strategic framework on health and safety at work 2021-2027 – Occupational safety and health in a changing world of work’ (2) (the ‘EU Strategic Framework’), that it would update Commission Recommendation 2003/670/EC to include COVID-19, with a view to promote the recognition of COVID-19 as an occupational disease by Member States and encourage convergence.

(4)

Following the adoption of the EU Strategic Framework, the Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work (ACSH) set up a dedicated Working Party with the mandate to prepare a draft opinion for adoption by the ACSH on the subject of the update of Commission Recommendation 2003/670/EC to include COVID-19. On 18 May 2022, the ACSH adopted the related opinion, which recommends the inclusion of COVID-19 in Annex I of Commission Recommendation 2003/670/EC by adding a new entry No 408 referring to COVID-19 caused by work in disease prevention, in health and social care and in domiciliary assistance, or, in a pandemic context, in sectors where there is an outbreak in activities in which a risk of infection has been proven.

(5)

The present Recommendation takes into account the opinion of the ACSH and inserts COVID-19 in Annex I of the Recommendation. The term ‘health and social care’ should be understood as referring to the economic activities under section Q of the NACE Rev. 2 statistical classification (3). As regards the economic activities apart from those falling under section Q of the NACE Rev. 2 statistical classification, the conditions laid down, i.e. the existence of a ‘pandemic context’ and the existence of an ‘outbreak in activities in which a risk of infection has been proven’, should be understood as being laid down cumulatively. In this regard, a ‘pandemic context’ should be understood as when competent international bodies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), declare certain disease outbreaks a global pandemic. An ‘outbreak’ in the sense of the new provision of the Recommendation should be defined by Member States in accordance with national law or practice. A ‘proven’ risk of infection exists in activities for which, in accordance with national law or practice, a causal link has been established between work in these activities and increased exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

(6)

In line with the principle of subsidiarity and in view of the respective competences of the EU and of the Member States in the areas of public health and social policy under the Treaties, the determination of the public health measures to be taken in the context of any pandemic, including those applying to workplaces and companies, as well as the finding of the existence of an outbreak in activities in which a risk of infection has been proven, should be up to the Member States, acting in full compliance with EU law, including EU occupational safety and health legislation. In this context, account should be taken in particular of the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on serious cross-border threats to health and repealing Decision No 1082/2013/EU (2020/0322(COD)) (4).

(7)

Eurostat’s 2021 report ‘Possibility of recognising COVID-19 as being of occupational origin at national level in EU and EFTA countries’ (5) shows that most Member States recognise COVID-19 as an occupational disease or as an accident at work, in line with the conditions defined at national level.

(8)

Even though the recognition of occupational diseases is a matter closely linked to the design of social security systems, which is a Member State competence, the Commission promotes the recognition of occupational diseases listed in the European schedule of occupational diseases by Member States. As stated in the EU Strategic Framework, there remains a need to increase focus on occupational diseases. In line with the general principles of prevention which form the core of the 1989 Framework Directive on Safety and Health at Work (6) and the related health and safety at work directives, this Recommendation should be a principal instrument for the prevention of occupational diseases at EU level. Moreover, it is also important to support workers infected, especially by Covid-19, and families who have lost family members because of work exposure.

(9)

In line with the EU Strategic Framework, Member States should be called on to actively involve all players, in particular social partners, in developing measures for the effective prevention of occupational diseases.

(10)

The EU Strategic Framework refers to the need for a strengthened evidence base to underpin legislation and policy, and for research and data collection, both at EU and national level, as a pre-condition for the prevention of work-related diseases and accidents. Cooperation and exchange of information, experience and best practice is critical for improved analysis and prevention across the EU.

(11)

The recommendation to the Member States to forward to the Commission and make available to interested parties statistical and epidemiological data on occupational diseases recognised at national level remains relevant, taking into account Regulation (EC) No 1338/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7) as well as in light of developments linked to the pilot works on European Occupational Diseases Statistics (EODS).

(12)

The role of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, established by Regulation (EU) 2019/126 of the European Parliament and of the Council (8), is, inter alia, to supply the Union institutions and bodies and the Member States with the objective technical, scientific and economic information available and the qualified expertise they require to formulate and implement judicious and effective policies designed to protect the safety and health of workers, and to collect, analyse and disseminate technical, scientific and economic information in the Member States. Accordingly, the Agency should also play an important part in the exchange of information, experience and best practice on the prevention of occupational diseases.

(13)

National public health and healthcare systems can play an important part in improving prevention of occupational illnesses, for example by raising awareness among medical staff with a view to improving knowledge and diagnosis of these illnesses.

(14)

In view of the above considerations, and taking into account, on the one hand, the fact that the inclusion of COVID-19 in Annex I of this Recommendation is time-sensitive, especially in light of possible new waves of COVID-19 and the emergence of variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and, on the other hand, the fact that Recommendation 2003/670/EC remains largely relevant and fit for purpose, this Recommendation should include COVID-19 in its Annex I and reiterate the content of Recommendation 2003/670/EC, without prejudice to further updates to this Recommendation at a later stage,