(1)

Pursuant to the first subparagraph of Article 53(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, the Commission has examined France's application for the approval of amendments to the specification for the protected designation of origin ‘Moules de bouchot de la Baie du Mont-Saint-Michel’, registered under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 636/2011 (2).

(2)

Since the amendments in question are not minor within the meaning of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, the Commission published the amendment application in the Official Journal of the European Union (3) as required by Article 50(2)(a) of that Regulation.

(3)

As no statement of opposition under Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 has been received by the Commission, the amendments to the specification should be approved,

(1)

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1145 (2) requires the withdrawal from the market of feed additives which were placed on the market and entered in the Community Register of Feed Additives as existing products in accordance with Article 10(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003, and for which no applications in accordance with Article 10(2) and (7) of that Regulation were submitted before the deadline provided for in those provisions, or for which an application was submitted but subsequently withdrawn. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1145 also repeals the regulations or deletes the provisions authorising those additives.

(2)

By mistake, Annex II to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1145 setting out the list of additives to be withdrawn from the market in respect of certain animal species included the feed additive coccidiostat authorised by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1463/2004 (3), although an application was submitted in due time in accordance with Article 10(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003. That Regulation was therefore repealed by mistake by Article 3 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1145. By mistake, Commission Regulation (EC) No 833/2005 (4) was mentioned in recital 3 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1145, both as to be amended and as to be repealed. It should be corrected to indicate that Regulation (EC) No 833/2005 should be only repealed. By mistake, Commission Regulation (EC) No 1459/2005 (5) was not repealed by Article 3 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1145, while it authorises certain iodine compounds that are to be withdrawn from the market in accordance with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1145. Commission Regulation (EC) No 1443/2006 (6) was erroneously repealed by Article 3 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1145. Only Article 1 of and Annex I to that Regulation should be deleted as only those provisions concern certain enzymes that are to be withdrawn in accordance with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1145. Those errors should be corrected.

(3)

By mistake, the provisions of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1334/2003 (7) authorising some iron compounds, to be withdrawn from the market in accordance with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1145, were not deleted by Article 8 of that Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1334/2003. That Article should be corrected.

(4)

In Part A of Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1145 setting out the feed additives to be withdrawn for all species and categories of animals, in the table concerning vitamins, the L form of the vitamin menadione sodium bisulphite is included. This should be corrected as no reference to this L form was made in the authorisation.

(5)

Parts A and B of Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1145 should be corrected as regards some colourants as the species and categories of animals for which those colourants are required to be withdrawn from the market and the functions of those colourants were not indicated correctly. The requirement to withdraw the additive from the market for some of them applies only for certain species and the use as colourant is restricted to certain functions.

(6)

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1145 should therefore be corrected accordingly.

(7)

The erroneous provisions have given rise to confusion for the feed business operators as regards the actual regulatory status of the additives concerned. That situation has created legal uncertainty as to the applicable regulatory framework. Those errors have therefore resulted in some market disturbance linked to the questioned authorisation to place on the market and use certain additives. The corrections to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1145 should therefore apply retroactively on the day of entry into force of that Implementing Regulation, in order to restore legal certainty in relation to the regulatory status of the additives subject to the errors, to avoid any detrimental consequences for the operators concerned and consequently to bring stability back to the market.

(8)

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

(1)

Recital 3 is corrected as follows:

(2)

Article 3 is replaced by the following:

(3)

In Article 8 the following points are inserted after the words ‘The Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1334/2003, is amended as follows:’ and the existing points are renumbered accordingly:

(4)

The following Article 25a is inserted:

(5)

Annex I is corrected in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

(1)

Point 1 of Section B.IV of Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 provides that, for the classification of pig carcases, the lean-meat content has to be assessed by means of grading methods authorised by the Commission and only statistically proven assessment methods based on the physical measurement of one or more anatomical parts of the pig carcase may be authorised. The authorisation of grading methods should be subject to compliance with a maximum tolerance for statistical error in assessment. That tolerance is defined in Article 23(3) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1249/2008 (2).

(2)

By Commission Decision 87/293/EC (3), the use of two methods for grading pig carcases in Ireland was authorised.

(3)

Ireland has requested the Commission to remove the method ‘Fat-O-Meat'er (FOM)’ from the list of authorised methods for grading pig carcases in Ireland, as it is no longer used, to authorise three new methods for grading pig carcases on its territory and to update the existing equation for the instrument ‘Hennessy Grading Probe 2 (HGP2)’.

(4)

Ireland has presented a detailed description of the dissection trial, indicating the principles on which those new methods are based, the results of its dissection trial and the equations used for assessing the percentage of lean meat in the protocol provided for in Article 23(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1249/2008.

(5)

Examination of that request has revealed that the conditions for authorising the new grading methods and updating the equation are fulfilled. Those grading methods should therefore be authorised in Ireland.

(6)

For reasons of clarity and legal certainty, a new decision should be adopted. Decision 87/293/EC should therefore be repealed.

(7)

Modifications of the apparatuses or grading methods should not be allowed, unless they are explicitly authorised by Commission Implementing Decision.

(8)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for the Common Organisation of the Agricultural Markets,

(a)

the ‘Hennessy Grading Probe 2 (HGP 2)’ apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, details of which are given in Part I of the Annex;

(b)

the ‘Hennessy Grading Probe 7 (HGP 7)’ apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, details of which are given in Part II of the Annex;

(c)

the ‘Fat-O-Meat'er II (FOM II)’ apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, details of which are given in Part III of the Annex;

(d)

the ‘AutoFom III’ apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, details of which are given in Part IV of the Annex.

(1)

Pursuant to Article 6(1) of Joint Action 2004/570/CFSP, the Council authorised the Political and Security Committee (PSC) to take the relevant decisions on the appointment of the EU Force Commander for the European Union military operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the ‘EU Force Commander’).

(2)

On 29 March 2017, the PSC adopted Decision (CFSP) 2017/682 (2) appointing Brigadier General Anton WALDNER as EU Force Commander.

(3)

The EU Operation Commander has recommended the appointment of Major General Martin DORFER as the new EU Force Commander to succeed Major General Anton WALDNER as from 28 March 2018.

(4)

The EU Military Committee agreed to that recommendation on 30 January 2018.

(5)

Decision (CFSP) 2017/682 should therefore be repealed.

(6)

In accordance with Article 5 of Protocol No 22 on the position of Denmark, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Denmark does not participate in the elaboration and the implementation of decisions and actions of the Union which have defence implications.

(7)

On 12 and 13 December 2002, the Copenhagen European Council adopted a declaration stating that the ‘Berlin plus’ arrangements and the implementation thereof will apply only to those Member States of the Union which are also either NATO members or parties to the ‘Partnership for Peace’, and which have consequently concluded bilateral security agreements with NATO,