(1)

In 2013, the Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) No 185/2013 (2) providing for deductions from the mackerel quota allocated to Spain in 2013 and subsequent years in ICES division 8c, ICES subareas 9 and 10 and Union waters of CECAF 34.1.1 and from the anchovy quota in ICES subarea 8 on account of overfishing of the mackerel quota in 2009.

(2)

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1244 (3) amended Implementing Regulation (EU) No 185/2013 as regards the deductions from fishing quotas allocated to Spain in 2020 and 2023. Spain had requested to use the 3 341 tonnes unfished in 2019 for deductions for 2019 and to decrease the deductions provided by Implementing Regulation (EU) No 185/2013 for the years 2020 and 2023. The deduction to operate on the relevant mackerel quota for the year 2019 as set in the Annex to Regulation (EU) 2020/1244 should have been increased with these 3 341 unfished tonnes. As this addition was inadvertently omitted, the quantities for deductions for 2019 should be corrected. Spain did not fish 114 tonnes of the relevant mackerel quota in 2020, thus exercising a lower fishing pressure on that stock compared to the maximum quantity allowed by the fishing opportunities allocated for that year. Spain has requested to use those unfished quantities for deductions for 2020 and to decrease the deductions provided by Implementing Regulation (EU) No 185/2013 for the year 2023 accordingly. The quantities for deductions for 2020 and for 2023 established in Implementing Regulation (EU) No 185/2013 should be adapted.

(3)

The amounts deducted from the quotas for mackerel in 2023 after the changes would still continue ensuring that the fishing opportunities for those species are not exceeded, in line with the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy.

(4)

Implementing Regulation (EU) No 185/2013 should therefore be corrected and amended accordingly.

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,

(1)

Commission Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 (2) lays down public and animal health rules for the placing on the market and export of derived products.

(2)

The fast development of the insect producing sector has resulted in a significant amount of insect excrements, which, in the absence of harmonised Union rules, are disposed of differently in each Member State. To ensure the valorisation of insect excrements as fertilisers it is necessary to lay down Union rules.

(3)

For the purpose of Regulation (EU) No 142/2011, ‘frass’ should be defined as the mixture of insect excrements with parts of dead insects and feeding substrate. Insect larvae, which are commonly used for the production of processed animal protein or for human consumption, live in the frass. A definition of ‘frass’ should be inserted in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 in order to align the requirements for the treatment and placing on the market of frass with the requirements for processed manure. Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(4)

The timely collection of single carcases of non-ruminant farmed animal is not always economically feasible, in particular as regards carcases collected from small farms. Therefore, Chapter V of Annex IX to Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 provides for containment methods to ensure the safe storage of certain dead non-ruminant farmed animals until collection. The containment method ‘Hydrolysis with subsequent disposal’ currently only covers carcases of porcine animals. It is appropriate to extend that containment method to also include carcases of poultry and farmed lagomorphs. Point 2 of Section 2.B of Chapter V of Annex IX to Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(5)

In accordance with the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (Withdrawal Agreement), and in particular Article 5(4) of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland in conjunction with Annex 2 to that Protocol, Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009, as well as the Commission acts based on it, apply to and in the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland after the end of the transition period provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement.

(6)

As the transition period provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement ended on 31 December 2020, point 1 of Section 2.B of Chapter V of Annex IX to Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 should be amended in order to replace the reference to the United Kingdom in the list of Member States authorised to apply the containment method by a reference to United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland. Furthermore, references to the United Kingdom in Section 2.A of Chapter V of Annex IX to Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 and in Table 3 of Section 11 of Chapter II of Annex XIV to that Regulation should be deleted.

(7)

On 8 October 2015, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a scientific opinion on a risk profile related to the production and consumption of insects as food and feed (3). Among several insect species, the EFSA assessed silkworms as a possible source for the production of processed animal protein. Sericulture has a long-standing tradition in certain regions of the Union. Since the domestic silkworm consumes only mulberry leaves (Morus alba and Morus nigra), there is no risk of contamination with feed of animal origin, which is not authorised for the feeding of insects. It should therefore be authorised for processing into processed animal protein intended for the manufacturing of feed for farmed animals, after the silk has been harvested. It is appropriate to add silkworms (Bombyx mori) to the list of authorised insect species for the production of processed animal protein intended for the manufacturing of feed for farmed animals. Annex X to Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(8)

Annex XI to Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 sets out the requirements for the placing on the market of manure. Following the introduction of the definition of ‘frass’ in Annex I to that Regulation, the requirements for the placing on the market of processed frass should ensure safe trade in processed frass. Therefore, the requirements laid down in that Annex should also cover frass. Annex XI to Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(9)

Member States that currently apply national measures for the processing of frass should align their national measures with the method laid down in Annex XI to Regulation (EU) No 142/2011, as amended by this Regulation. This Regulation should provide for a transitional period of 12 months.

(10)

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

(1)

According to Article 15(1) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 (2), the Commission may, at the request of a third country, approve checks on conformity to marketing standards carried out by that third country prior to import into the Union.

(2)

Following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union on 1 February 2020 and in view of the end of the transition period provided for in the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (Withdrawal Agreement) on 31 December 2020, the United Kingdom had sent the Commission a request to approve checks on conformity to specific marketing standards carried out by the United Kingdom prior to import into the Union. In particular, the United Kingdom had undertaken to comply with the requirements set for the marketing of fruit and vegetables after the end of the transition period and had indicated the official authority and the inspection bodies referred to in Article 15(2), second subparagraph, of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011.

(3)

On that basis, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2102 (3) approved checks on conformity to marketing standards for fruit and vegetables carried out by the United Kingdom, specified the official authority under the responsibility of which those checks are carried out, as well as the inspection bodies in charge of the proper checks in Great Britain and listed the United Kingdom in Annex IV to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 with a footnote.

(4)

Although in accordance with Articles 6(3) and 7(1) of the Withdrawal Agreement and Articles 5(4) and 13(1) of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland to that Agreement in conjunction with Annex 2 to that Protocol, Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 applies to and in the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland, Article 7(3), first subparagraph, of that Protocol provides that in respect of the recognition in one Member State of technical regulations, assessments, registrations, certificates, approvals and authorisations issued or carried out by the authorities of another Member State, or by a body established in another Member State, references to Member States in provisions of Union law made applicable by that Protocol are not to be read as including the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland as regards technical regulations, assessments, registrations, certificates, approvals and authorisations issued or carried out by the authorities of the United Kingdom or by bodies established in the United Kingdom. Consequently, checks on conformity to marketing standards carried out by the inspection body for Northern Ireland should be considered as carried out by a third country, without prejudice to Article 7(3), fourth subparagraph, of that Protocol.

(5)

Therefore, the Commission should also specify the inspection body in charge of the proper checks for Northern Ireland, as notified by the United Kingdom on 9 April 2020, and clarify the entry of the United Kingdom in Annex IV to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011.

(6)

Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(7)

In the interest of clarity and legal certainty, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2102 should be repealed.

(8)

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

(1)

Directive 66/402/EEC establishes rules on the production and marketing of cereal seeds in the Union. In the case of seeds of hybrid wheat, the only techniques to produce hybrid seed provided for by that Directive are the ones of direct crossing and chemical hybridization.

(2)

In the recent years, however, cytoplasmic male sterility (‘CMS’) has been accepted worldwide as a breeding technique for the production of hybrids of cereal seed varieties. Relevant rules regarding the CMS production technique are already in force for barley, as the production of hybrid seeds with CMS was put into practice several years ago.

(3)

Barley and wheat are self-pollinating by nature and are produced in blend cultivation. Taking into account the technical similarities between the production of seeds of hybrids of barley and wheat, and the needs of the users of hybrid seeds, it is appropriate to set out conditions for seeds of hybrid wheat similar to those applying for the seeds of hybrids of barley. Experience shows that the specific blend production system of hybrid wheat such as Triticum aestivum subsp. aestivum, Triticum turgidum subsp. durum, Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta, applied in the field, in combination with the weather related risks during the flowering period, require a reduction of the varietal purity standard to 85 %, in case CMS is applied, allowing stable seed production under less favorable weather conditions. Therefore, it is appropriate to allow a lower level of varietal purity for the seeds of hybrid wheat produced with CMS than the level required for other hybrids of seeds.

(4)

The experience with other seeds of CMS produced hybrids shows that at the beginning of a new production scheme it is important to test the technical requirements in force. Therefore, the requirements for varieties should be applicable on a temporary basis until 31 August 2029, to allow the breeders to adapt the production of hybrid wheat in a blend system. Such approach is necessary to minimize any risks of this production scheme and provide farmers with a new type of wheat varieties. That time limit should be sufficient to enable breeders and certification authorities to gain the necessary knowledge for the application of the technical requirements for the production of hybrid wheat seeds, and to review those requirements.

(5)

In order for the Commission and the Member States to obtain adequate knowledge about the application of the CMS, and to allow for the review of the respective rules, the responsible certification authority should report every year to the Commission and to the other Member States, until 28 February 2030, the results of the preceding year concerning the quantity of produced hybrid seeds and the percentage of seed lots which have been rejected due to insufficient quality parameters.

(6)

Annexes I and II to Directive 66/402/EEC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(7)

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