(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 of 18 May 2006 (2) provides for a freezing of the assets of President Lukashenko and certain officials of Belarus.

(2)

By Decision 2011/357/CFSP, the Council has decided to take certain additional restrictive measures in relation to Belarus, in particular by imposing an arms embargo and a prohibition on internal repression equipment.

(3)

Some elements of these measures fall within the scope of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and regulatory action at the level of the Union is therefore necessary in order to implement them, in particular with a view to ensuring their uniform application by economic operators in all Member States.

(4)

In view of the gravity of the situation in Belarus and in accordance with Council Decision 2011/357/CFSP, additional persons and entities should be included in the list of persons and entities subject to restrictive measures set out in Annex IA to Regulation (EC) No 765/2006.

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(6)

In order to ensure that the measures in this Regulation are effective, this Regulation should enter into force immediately,

(1)

The title of Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 is replaced by the following:

‘Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 of 18 May 2006 concerning restrictive measures in respect of Belarus’.

(2)

Article 1 is amended as follows:

(3)

The following Articles are inserted:

(3)   OJ C 86, 18.3.2011, p. 1.’."

(1)

The world market prices for sugar have been at a constant high level during the first months of the 2010/11 marketing year, which has slowed down the pace of imports in particular from third countries benefiting from certain preferential agreements.

(2)

Confronted with this situation, the Commission recently adopted a series of measures with the purpose to bring additional supply to the Union market. Those measures included Commission Regulation (EU) No 222/2011 of 3 March 2011 laying down exceptional measures as regards the release of out-of-quota sugar and isoglucose on the Union market at reduced surplus levy during marketing year 2010/2011 (2), which increased the combined availability of sugar and isoglucose on the Union market by 526 000 tonnes, and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 302/2011 of 28 March 2011 opening an exceptional import tariff quota for certain quantities of sugar in the 2010/11 marketing year (3), which suspended the import duties for sugar falling within CN 1701 for a quantity of 300 000 tonnes.

(3)

Imports of sugar under Inward Processing in accordance with Chapter 3 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (4) have been reduced and the processing industry has increased the use of quota sugar in exported products. Those developments have maintained the tight supply situation on the Union market, which threaten to cause undersupply during the last months of the marketing year, until the arrival of the new harvest.

(4)

The high prices on the world market for sugar therefore threaten the availability of supply on the Union market. For that reason it is necessary to increase, by a quantity of 200 000 tonnes, the quantity of 300 000 tonnes set out in Implementing Regulation (EU) No 302/2011, for which the import duty of sugar is to be suspended.

(5)

In accordance with Article 11 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 891/2009 of 25 September 2009 opening and providing for the administration of certain Community tariff quotas in the sugar sector (5) the opening of the tariff quotas for imports of sugar products pursuant to Article 187 of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 with order number 09.4380 (exceptional import sugar), the quantities of those products for which import duties are to be suspended and the tariff quota period have to be determined by a separate legal act. Implementing Regulation (EU) No 302/2011 suspends the import duties for sugar falling within CN 1701 for a quantity of 300 000 tonnes.

(6)

Implementing Regulation (EU) No 302/2011 should be amended accordingly.

(7)

The Management Committee for the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets has not delivered an opinion within the time limit set by its Chair,

(1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 (2) has set out a relatively short period for the control bodies and control authorities to send their application for recognition for the purpose of compliance in accordance with Article 32 of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007. As there is no experience with the direct application of Union rules on organic production and labeling of organic products outside the territory of the Union, more time should be given to control bodies and control authorities wishing to request their inclusion in the list for the purpose of compliance.

(2)

In accordance with Article 33(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 has established a list of third countries whose system of production and control measures for organic production of agricultural products are recognised as equivalent to those laid down in Regulation (EC) No 834/2007. In the light of a new application and information received by the Commission from third countries since the last publication of the list, certain modifications should be taken into consideration and the list should be adapted accordingly.

(3)

Certain agricultural products imported from Canada are currently marketed in the Union pursuant to the transitional rules provided for in Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008. Canada submitted a request to the Commission to be included in the list provided for in Annex III to that Regulation. It submitted the information required pursuant to Articles 7 and 8 of that Regulation. The examination of this information and consequent discussion with the Canadian authorities have led to the conclusion that in that country the rules governing production and controls of agricultural products are equivalent to those laid down in Regulation (EC) No 834/2007. The Commission has carried out an on-the-spot check of the rules of production and the control measures actually applied in Canada, as provided for in Article 33(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.

(4)

The Costa Rican, Indian, Israeli, Japanese and Tunisian authorities have asked the Commission to include new control and certification bodies and have provided the Commission with the necessary guarantees that they meet the preconditions laid down in Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008.

(5)

The duration of inclusion of Costa Rica and New Zealand in the list provided for in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 expires on 30 June 2011. In order to avoid trade disruption, there is a need to prolong the inclusion of Costa Rica and New Zealand. In the light of the experience, the inclusion should be prolonged for an unlimited period.

(6)

New Zealand transmitted editorial amendments to the relevant specifications provided in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 following the recent amalgamation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the New Zealand Food Safety Authority.

(7)

Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(8)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the regulatory Committee on organic production,

(1)

in Article 4, ‘31 October 2011’ is replaced by ‘31 October 2014’;

(2)

Annex III is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

(1)

Council Regulation (EU) No 57/2011 of 18 January 2011 fixing for 2011 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in EU waters and, for EU vessels, in certain non-EU waters (2), lays down quotas for 2011.

(2)

According to the information received by the Commission, catches of the stock referred to in the Annex to this Regulation by vessels flying the flag of or registered in the Member States referred to therein have exhausted the quota allocated for 2011.

(3)

It is therefore necessary to prohibit fishing activities for that stock,

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 533/2007 opened tariff quotas for imports of poultrymeat products.

(2)

The applications for import licences lodged during the first seven days of June 2011 for the subperiod from 1 July to 30 September 2011 relate, for some quotas, to quantities exceeding those available. The extent to which import licences may be issued should therefore be determined by establishing the allocation coefficient to be applied to the quantities requested,

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 539/2007 opened tariff quotas for imports of egg products and egg albumin.

(2)

The applications for import licences lodged during the first seven days of June 2011 for the subperiod from 1 July to 30 September 2011 relate, for some quotas, to quantities exceeding those available. The extent to which import licences may be issued should therefore be determined by establishing the allocation coefficient to be applied to the quantities requested,

(1)

According to the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the Treaty on European Union, to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, the legal effects of the acts of the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union adopted prior to the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon are preserved until those acts are repealed, annulled or amended in implementation of the Treaties.

(2)

Accordingly, Article 25 of Decision 2008/615/JHA is applicable and the Council must unanimously decide whether the Member States have implemented the provisions of Chapter 6 of that Decision.

(3)

Article 20 of Decision 2008/616/JHA provides that decisions referred to in Article 25(2) of Decision 2008/615/JHA are to be taken on the basis of an evaluation report based on a questionnaire. With respect to automated data exchange in accordance with Chapter 2 of Decision 2008/615/JHA, the evaluation report is to be based on an evaluation visit and a pilot run.

(4)

According to Chapter 4, point 1.1 of the Annex to Decision 2008/616/JHA, the questionnaire drawn up by the relevant Council Working Group concerns each of the automated data exchanges and has to be answered by a Member State as soon as it believes it fulfils the prerequisites for sharing data in the relevant data category.

(5)

France has completed the questionnaire on data protection and the questionnaire on dactyloscopic data exchange.

(6)

A successful pilot run has been carried out by France with Spain, Germany and Luxembourg.

(7)

An evaluation visit has taken place in France and a report on the evaluation visit has been produced by the Spanish/German/Luxembourgish evaluation team and forwarded to the relevant Council Working Group.

(8)

An overall evaluation report, summarising the results of the questionnaire, the evaluation visit and the pilot run concerning dactyloscopic data exchange has been presented to the Council,

(1)

On 22 December 2009 and on 18 January 2010, the Council adopted Decisions 2009/1014/EU (1) and 2010/29/EU (2) appointing the members and alternate members of the Committee of the Regions for the period from 26 January 2010 to 25 January 2015.

(2)

Five members’ seats on the Committee of the Regions have become vacant following the end of the terms of office of Mr Aleš ČERIN, Ms Irena MAJCEN, Ms Jasmina VIDMAR, Mr Franci VOVK and Mr Anton Tone SMOLNIKAR. Three alternate members’ seats on the Committee of the Regions have become vacant following the end of the terms of office of Mr Jure MEGLIČ, Mr Siniša GERMOVŠEK and Ms Darja DELAČ FELDA,

(a)

as members:

and

(b)

as alternate members:

(1)

On 25 October 2010, the Council adopted Decision 2010/639/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against certain officials of Belarus (1).

(2)

In view of the gravity of the situation in Belarus, additional restrictive measures should be imposed.

(3)

Moreover, additional persons and entities should be included in the list of persons subject to restrictive measures as set out in Annex IIIA to Decision 2010/639/CFSP.

(4)

Decision 2010/639/CFSP should be amended accordingly,

1.

The title of Decision 2010/639/CFSP is replaced by the following:

‘Council Decision 2010/639/CFSP of 25 October 2010 concerning restrictive measures against Belarus’.

2.

The following Articles are inserted:

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 lays down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) in animals. It requires each Member State to carry out an annual monitoring programme for TSEs in accordance with Annex III to that Regulation.

(2)

Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 provides that the annual monitoring programmes are to cover as a minimum certain subpopulations of bovine animals referred to in Article 6 thereof. Those subpopulations are to include all bovine animals above 24 or 30 months of age, the age limit depending on the categories listed in points 2.1, 2.2 and 3.1 of Part I of Chapter A of Annex III to that Regulation.

(3)

The Annex to Commission Decision 2009/719/EC of 28 September 2009 authorising certain Member States to revise their annual BSE monitoring programmes (2) lists 17 Member States authorised to revise their annual monitoring programme in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 999/2001. That list includes all the Member States that were Members of the Union before 1 May 2004, as well as Slovenia and Cyprus.

(4)

On 9 December 2010, the Panel on Biological Hazards (Biohaz) of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) adopted a scientific opinion on a second update on the risk for human and animal health related to the revision of the BSE monitoring regime in some Member States (3) (the EFSA opinion of 9 December 2010). For the EFSA opinion of 9 December 2010, the Biohaz was asked to analyse the data available for the 17 Member States listed in Decision 2009/719/EC and eight other Member States. The Biohaz assumed that all 25 Member States had implemented for at least six years a BSE surveillance system and control measures, as provided for in Regulation (EC) No 999/2001. The EFSA opinion of 9 December 2010 confirms that the BSE epidemic has been declining in the 17 Member States listed in Decision 2009/719/EC.

(5)

The EFSA opinion of 9 December 2010 also concludes that if the age limit for BSE testing would be raised to 72 months in healthy slaughtered cattle, less than one classical BSE case could be expected to be missed in 2011. In addition, it concludes that if BSE testing for healthy slaughtered cattle would stop as from 1 January 2013, less than one classical BSE case would be missed each calendar year from 2013 onwards. It can be inferred from that findings that the risk for human and animal health would be negligible if the current BSE testing is adapted accordingly.

(6)

Taking into account the conclusions of the EFSA opinion of 9 December 2010, the ages of the categories of bovine animals should be increased for animals covered by the revised annual monitoring programmes of the Member States listed in the Annex to Decision 2009/719/EC. Therefore, Member States that have been authorised to revise their annual monitoring programmes should be given the option to apply alternative but equally effective sampling plans while adapting to the epidemiological situation from 1 January 2013 onwards.

(7)

Regarding the eight Member States not listed in Decision 2009/719/EC, the EFSA opinion of 9 December 2010 concludes that the classical BSE epidemiological situation is different for a group of five Member States comprised of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary and Malta and another group comprised of three Member States, namely the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.

(8)

In the group of five Member States, no BSE cases have been detected since full implementation of the Union surveillance system on 1 May 2004, and the classical BSE epidemiological situation should be considered to be ‘at least equivalent’ to that of the 17 Member States listed in Decision 2009/719/EC. Therefore, a similar testing regime should be applied to that group of 22 Member States as the epidemiological situation is comparable in all of them.

(9)

In addition, the EFSA opinion of 9 December 2010 concludes that the trend of the classical BSE epidemic in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia shows two waves in the classical BSE incidence per birth cohort and in the average age of the classical BSE cases detected. This second wave pattern compromises the establishment of clear similarities between the trend of the classical BSE epidemic in the 17 Member States already listed in Decision 2009/719/EC and this group of three Member States. For these three Member States, it concludes that at present, it would not be informative to estimate the number of undetected classical BSE cases, should the testing age be changed in this group.

(10)

On 26 March 2010, Latvia submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(11)

On 16 June 2010, Estonia submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(12)

On 7 October 2010, Lithuania submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(13)

On 21 October 2010, Luxembourg submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(14)

On 27 October 2010, Germany submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(15)

On 24 November 2010, Greece submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(16)

On 26 November 2010, Slovenia submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(17)

On 30 November 2010, Sweden submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(18)

On 13 December 2010, Spain submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(19)

On 13 December 2010, Belgium submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(20)

On 13 December 2010, Finland submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(21)

On 14 December 2010, Denmark submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(22)

On 15 December 2010, United Kingdom submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(23)

On 15 December 2010, Austria submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(24)

On 20 December 2010, Ireland submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(25)

On 23 December 2010, Portugal submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(26)

On 5 January 2011, Cyprus submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(27)

On 13 January 2011, Italy submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(28)

On 18 January 2011, the Netherlands submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(29)

On 19 January 2011, France submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(30)

On 11 February 2011, Hungary submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(31)

On 14 February 2011, Malta submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(32)

The applications submitted by those 22 Member States were found to meet all the requirements for the revision of the annual monitoring programmes laid down in Article 6(1b) of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 and set out in point 7 of Part I of Chapter A of Annex III thereto. Therefore, they should be authorised to revise their BSE annual monitoring programmes.

(33)

Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 706/73 of the Council of 12 March 1973 concerning the Community arrangements applicable to the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man for trade in agricultural products (4) provides that Union veterinary and food legislation are to apply, under the same conditions in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man as in the United Kingdom, to the agricultural products imported into those islands or exported from them to the Union. However, Decision 2009/719/EC does not currently apply to the islands as the United Kingdom did not provide the relevant data at the time of its adoption.

(34)

The United Kingdom has now provided the relevant data concerning the epidemiological situation and the implementation of the Union legislation regarding BSE in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. That data shows that the BSE epidemiological situation in those islands is comparable to that of the United Kingdom and that all the relevant requirements laid down in the Article 6(1b) and set out in point 7 of Part I of Chapter A of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 are met. Decision 2009/719/EC should therefore apply to those islands.

(35)

Subsequently, on 15 February 2011, the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health delivered a positive opinion on a draft Decision amending Decision 2009/719/EC authorising certain Member States to revise their annual BSE monitoring programmes. That draft Decision which, however, has not yet been adopted by the Commission, authorises the 22 Member States to apply a revised and harmonised BSE testing regime as from 1 July 2011.

(36)

On 13 April 2011, EFSA adopted a scientific opinion on the review on the risk for human and animal health related to the revision of the BSE monitoring regime in three EU Member States (5). That opinion concludes that with the additional data of a further year of monitoring results, namely the data for 2010, the model employed shows that the confidence in the predictions of the number of cases in the cohorts since 2000 for the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia has increased substantially. Due to this and based on the results of the analysis performed, EFSA concludes that the decline of the BSE epidemic is now significant in these three Member States.

(37)

The EFSA opinion of 13 April 2011 also concludes that if the age limit for BSE testing would be raised to 72 months in healthy slaughtered cattle, less than one classical BSE case could be expected to be missed in 2012. It can be inferred from that findings that the risk for human an animal health would be negligible if the current BSE testing is adapted accordingly.

(38)

On 10 February 2011, the Czech Republic submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(39)

On 15 February 2011, Slovakia submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme.

(40)

On 26 April 2011, Poland submitted to the Commission an application to revise its annual BSE monitoring programme

(41)

The applications submitted by those three Member States were found to meet all the requirements for the revision of the annual monitoring programmes laid down in Article 6(1b) of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 and set out in point 7 of Part I of Chapter A of Annex III thereto. Therefore, they should be authorised to revise their BSE annual monitoring programmes and the BSE testing regime in these three Member States should be aligned to that which received a positive opinion from the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health on 15 February 2011.

(42)

Taking into consideration the new circumstances that have arisen after the vote, the draft Decision which received on 15 February 2011 a positive opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health should not be adopted and a new draft Decision extending the provisions already voted to the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia should be presented for a opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health.

(43)

Decision 2009/719/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(44)

This Decision should apply from 1 July 2011 in order to give sufficient time to Member States to align their BSE monitoring procedures with the amendments made to Decision 2009/719/EC by this Decision.

(45)

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

(1)

Article 2 is replaced by the following:

(*1)   OJ L 99, 20.4.1996, p. 14.’;"

(2)

the Annex is replaced by the text in the Annex to this Decision.