(1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 (3) lays down veterinary certification requirements for imports into and transit, including storage during transit, through the Union of poultry and poultry products (the commodities). It provides that the commodities are only to be imported into and transit through the Union from the third countries, territories, zones or compartments listed in columns 1 and 3 of the table in Part 1 of Annex I thereto.

(2)

Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 also lays down the conditions for a third country, territory, zone or compartment to be considered as free from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

(3)

Bosnia and Herzegovina is listed in Part 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 as a third country from which imports into and transit through the Union of meat of poultry is authorised from the whole of its territory.

(4)

Bosnia and Herzegovina has requested to be authorised also for imports into and transit through the Union of eggs and egg products. Based on the information gathered during the Commission audit in Bosnia and Herzegovina to evaluate the animal health controls in place for meat of poultry intended for export to the Union and given the favourable outcome of that audit, the Commission has concluded that Bosnia and Herzegovina satisfies the animal health requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 for the import into and transit through the Union of eggs and egg products. It is therefore appropriate to amend the entry for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the table in Part 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 to authorise that third country for imports into and transit through the Union of eggs and egg products.

(5)

In addition, Bosnia and Herzegovina has submitted to the Commission its national control programme for Salmonella in laying hens of Gallus gallus. However, that programme was not found to provide guarantees equivalent to the guarantees set out in Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) and the approval of that programme has not been finalised. Therefore, only imports of the type of eggs of Gallus gallus indicated under ‘S4’ in Part 2 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 are permitted from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

(6)

Israel is listed in Part 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 as a third country from which imports into and transit through the Union of certain poultry commodities are authorised from certain parts of its territory depending on the implementation of the stamping-out policy for Newcastle disease. That regionalisation was set out in Part 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008.

(7)

On 24 April 2019, Israel confirmed the presence of HPAI of subtype H5N8 in a poultry holding on its territory. Due to that confipormed outbreak of HPAI since April 2019 the territory of Israel can no longer be considered as free from that disease and the veterinary authorities of Israel can therefore no longer certify consignments of meat of poultry for human consumption for import into or transit through the Union.

(8)

The veterinary authorities of Israel have submitted preliminary information to the Commission on the outbreak of HPAI and have confirmed that since the date of confirmation of the outbreak of HPAI they have suspended issuing veterinary certificates for consignments of meat of poultry intended for import into, or transit through, the Union.

(9)

Therefore, no consignments of such products originating in Israel have been introduced into the Union since that date. For reasons of clarity and legal certainty, it is appropriate to document this situation and introduce in the table in Part 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 the relevant closing date. This also ensures that, where Israel regains freedom from HPAI and an opening date is established, consignments of such products produced after the closing date and before that opening date will not be eligible for introduction into the Union.

(10)

The entry for Israel in the table in Part 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 should therefore be amended to take account of the current epidemiological situation in that third country.

(11)

Following United nations (UN) facilitation, Athens and Skopje reached a bilateral agreement (‘Prespa agreement’) in June 2018, to change the UN provisional reference for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. This agreement has now been ratified by both countries and the Republic of North Macedonia has formally notified the EU about its entry into force. It is therefore appropriate to amend the name of that third country in the table in Part 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008.

(12)

In Part 2 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008, a model veterinary certificate is set out for egg products (EP). In that model veterinary certificate, Part I of the Notes refers to the Harmonised System (HS) codes that are to be indicated in Box I.19. of Part I of that certificate.

(13)

Enzymes deriving from eggs, such as lysozyme, are considered egg products and the relevant HS codes for those enzymes should be added to the HS codes to be indicated in Box I.19. of Part I of the model veterinary certificate for egg products. It is appropriate, therefore, to amend the model veterinary certificate for egg products (EP) accordingly.

(14)

Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(15)

A reasonable transitional period of two months should be allowed to elapse before the amended model veterinary certificate becomes mandatory in order to allow Member States and the industry to adapt to the new requirements set out in the amended model veterinary certificate.

(16)

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