(1)

Regulation (EU) 2016/429 provides that consignments of animals, germinal products and products of animal origin must come from a third country or territory, or zone or compartment thereof, listed in accordance with Article 230(1) of that Regulation in order to enter the Union.

(2)

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/692 (2) lays down the animal health requirements that consignments of certain species and categories of animals, germinal products and products of animal origin, from third countries or territories, or zones thereof, or compartments thereof in the case of aquaculture animals, must comply with in order to enter the Union.

(3)

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 (3) establishes the lists of third countries, or territories, or zones or compartments thereof, from which the entry into the Union of the species and categories of animals, germinal products and products of animal origin falling within the scope of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/692 is permitted.

(4)

More particularly, Annexes V and XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 set out the lists of third countries, or territories, or zones thereof authorised for the entry into the Union, respectively, of consignments of poultry, germinal products of poultry, and of fresh meat of poultry and game birds.

(5)

The United Kingdom has notified the Commission of two outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry in the counties of East Sussex and Lincolnshire in England, which were confirmed on 18 May 2023 and 24 May 2023, respectively, by laboratory analysis (RT-PCR).

(6)

Following those recent outbreaks of HPAI, the veterinary authorities of the United Kingdom established restricted zones of at least 10 km around the affected establishments and implemented a stamping-out policy in order to control the presence of HPAI and limit the spread of that disease.

(7)

The United Kingdom has submitted information to the Commission on the epidemiological situation on its territory and the measures taken to prevent the further spread of HPAI.

(8)

That information has been evaluated by the Commission. The Commision considers that, in view of the animal health situation in the areas under restrictions established by the veterinary authorities of the United Kingdom, the entry into the Union of consigments of poultry, germinal products of poultry, and fresh meat of poultry and game birds from those areas should be suspended, in order to protect the animal health status of the Union.

(9)

Canada, Chile, the United Kingdom and the United States have provided updated information in relation to situations that gave rise to the suspension of the entry of some products into the Union.

(10)

In particular, Canada has submitted updated information on the epidemiological situation on its territory in relation to eight outbreaks of HPAI in poultry establishments in the provinces of Ontario (2), Quebec (5) and Saskatchewan (1) which were confirmed between 26 September 2022 and 18 April 2023.

(11)

In addition, Chile has submitted updated information on the epidemiological situation on its territory in relation to five outbreaks of HPAI in poultry establishments in the regions of Valparaíso (4) and O'Higgins (1), which were confirmed between 12 March 2023 and 20 April 2023.

(12)

Moreover, the United Kingdom has submitted updated information on the epidemiological situation on its territory in relation to an outbreak of HPAI in poultry establishments in the county of Yorkshire in England, United Kingdom, which was confirmed on 13 April 2023.

(13)

Furthermore, the United States has submitted updated information on the epidemiological situation on its territory in relation to 11 outbreaks of HPAI in poultry establishments in the states of California (1), Iowa (2), Mississippi (1), Nebraska (1), New York (1), Pennsylvania (3), South Dakota (1), Washington (1), which were confirmed between 12 December 2022 and 19 April 2023.

(14)

Canada, Chile, the United Kingdom and the United States have also submitted information on the measures they have taken to prevent the further spread of HPAI. In particular, following those outbreaks of that disease, Canada, Chile, the United Kingdom and the United States have implemented a stamping out policy in order to control and limit the spread of that disease, and they have also completed the requisite cleaning and disinfection following the implementation of the stamping out policy on the infected poultry establishments on their territories.

(15)

The Commission has evaluated the information submitted by Canada, Chile, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Commission considers that Canada, Chile, the United Kingdom and the United States have provided appropriate guarantees that the animal health situation that gave rise to the suspensions, no longer represents a threat to animal or public health within the Union, and that, consequently, the entry into the Union of poultry commodities from the zones of those countries from which entry into the Union had been suspended should be reauthorised.

(16)

Annexes V and XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 should be therefore amended to take account of the current epidemiological situation as regards HPAI in Canada, Chile, the United Kingdom and the United States.

(17)

Taking into account the current epidemiological situation in Canada, Chile, the United Kingdom and the United States as regards HPAI and the serious risk of its introduction into the Union, the amendments to be made to Annexes V and XIV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 by this Regulation should take effect as a matter of urgency.

(18)

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

(1)

On 20 September 2016, the Council adopted Regulation (EU) 2016/1686.

(2)

On 26 April 2023, the Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council established pursuant to UN Security Council Resolutions 1267(1999), 1989(2011) and 2253(2015) added two persons to the list of persons and entities subject to restrictive measures.

(3)

On 3 May 2023, those persons were added to Annex I to Council Regulation (EC) No 881/2002 (2).

(4)

Since one of those persons was already designated under Regulation (EU) 2016/1686, that person should be removed from Annex I to that Regulation.

(5)

Regulation (EU) 2016/1686 should therefore be amended accordingly,

(1)

Article 43 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 requires the Commission to charge providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines annual supervisory fees, the overall amount of which is to cover all estimated costs, as reasonably determinable beforehand, that the Commission incurs regarding the supervisory tasks under that Regulation.

(2)

The costs to be estimated for the supervisory fees charged in year n should be determined by taking into account all human resources to be employed by the Commission in the year n+1 to carry out the tasks referred to in Article 43(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, including officials, temporary and contract agents and seconded national experts. Taking into account that the estimation refers to future costs, it should be based on average costs, expressed in terms of Full-Time-Equivalent increased by the average applicable social contributions and operating expenditure related to these human resources. This operating expenditure should therefore include average costs incurred in order to host and enable a Full-Time-Equivalent unit of personnel to work in the Commission IT and physical infrastructure, for instance as regularly determined by Commission services in the context of calculation of average costs of personnel for the purpose of legislative financial statements.

(3)

In addition to the abovementioned costs for human resources, the Commission also needs to estimate other operational and administrative expenditures that are specifically related to the fulfilment of the tasks referred to in Article 43(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, such as studies, hiring of experts, surveys, missions, organisation of meetings or development or use of specific software or IT tools or services. The yearly estimation of the overall amount of costs, moreover, should take into account the difference between the estimated costs and the incurred costs of the previous year as resulting from the annual report adopted by the Commission.

(4)

The overall amount of costs annually estimated by the Commission should be borne by the providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines through the supervisory fees charged in respect of the designated services subject to the supervisory fee in each calendar year. In order to ensure consistency with the designation decisions pursuant to Article 33(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, the notion of provider of designated service or services should be identified with reference to the addressee or addressees of the related designation decision or decisions pursuant to Article 33(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065. Where the decision adopted pursuant to Article 33(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 is addressed to more than one legal person, all addressees of that decision should be jointly and severally liable for the payment of the supervisory fee in respect of that service or these services.

(5)

The services to be accounted for in a given year n should include those already subject to the obligations applicable to very large online platforms and very large online search engines at the beginning of the year, as well as those in respect of which a decision to designate or a decision to terminate the designation will take effect during that calendar year, taking into account that decisions of both categories will take effect four months after their notification to the provider pursuant to Article 33(6) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065. That time limit should be calculated in accordance with the general rules set out in Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1182/71 of the Council (2) determining the rules applicable to periods, dates and time limits.

(6)

The Commission should set out the overall amount of the supervisory fee to be charged each year to each provider by first determining a basic amount per designated service. The basic amount per service should result from dividing the overall annual costs estimated for the year n+1 by all the designated services accounted for in the year n. To determine the basic amount, account should be taken of the number of days of designation in year n. Secondly, in order to ensure proportionality of the individual supervisory fees with reference to the size of the designated service as resulting from the number of average monthly active recipients in the Union, the Commission should adjust the basic amount by a coefficient proportionate to the number of active recipients resulting from the available information.

(7)

Pursuant to Article 43(5) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, any provider of the designated service or services is not to pay an overall amount of supervisory fee exceeding its economic capacity, namely exceeding 0,05 % of its annual worldwide net income. Reference to net income, entailing overall revenues minus costs of the provider, should ensure that the ability to pay of the provider is taken into account, including in case of loss-making providers. In order to identify such limit in accordance with applicable financial reporting standards, reference should be made to the notion of overall worldwide profit in the preceding financial year, to be determined on the basis of the provider’s best available figures resulting from the financial statements, as communicated to the Commission. Therefore, reference should be made to the International Financial Reporting Standards applicable in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3), where used by the provider concerned, or in the alternative case to the financial statements compiled in accordance with the reporting requirements pursuant to Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (4). Where neither International Financial Reporting Standards or Directive 2013/34/EU apply to the provider concerned, reference should be made to any other third country acceptable reporting standard applicable to such provider, such as a third country reporting standard that is considered equivalent to International Financial Reporting Standards or any other third country reporting standard that may be considered generally acceptable for the purpose of any other Union legislation. Where a provider has consolidated accounts, the consolidated worldwide profit of the group to which that provider belongs best reflects its economic capacity to pay the supervisory fee, given that the financial resources of the group are available to that provider in order to bear the overall amount of fee charged for all designated service or services provided by that provider.

(8)

If the basic amount charged on a given provider, or the sum of the relevant basic amounts where a given provider provides more than one designated service, exceeds the maximum overall limit, the final supervisory fee charged on that provider should be reduced accordingly. In order to ensure that in any case the overall annual costs are paid through the supervisory fees levied across all designated services, the residual amount not charged on providers in view of the application of the maximum overall limit should be borne by the remaining providers below the limit, proportionately to the basic allocation formula. The allocation of residual amounts among other providers of designated services, following the application of the maximum overall limit, should continue until no residual amount remains.

(9)

In accordance with Article 43(3) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, the Commission is to adopt each year individual implementing acts setting out the individual amount of the supervisory fee to be charged to each provider for the designated service or services subject to the obligation to pay the supervisory fee during that calendar year. The yearly procedure for charging the fee therefore should be organised in a way that those implementing acts are adopted after the overall annual costs, which will be the basis for the calculation of the overall amount of the supervisory fees to be charged, are determined as stated in the Commission preparatory document attached to the draft budget pursuant to Article 41(8) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union. Furthermore, the individual implementing acts can be adopted only after a certain date, where the number and size of the designated services subject to the supervisory fees can be established. The procedure should also take into account the economic capacity in terms of profits of the corresponding providers as identified on the basis of the information provided by the concerned provider. Moreover, the provisional amount of the fee to be charged should be communicated to the concerned provider before the adoption of any implementing decision by the Commission, in order to give the opportunity to submit observations to be taken into account in the final determination of the supervisory fee. After considering the observations submitted, the Commission should adopt the corresponding implementing act setting out the individual supervisory fee payable as amount receivable pursuant to Article 98 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, to be paid by the end of that same calendar year, so that the necessary resources are available to cover the estimated costs for the following year.

(10)

The failure to pay within the deadline determined by the implementing acts should give rise to the recovery of the unpaid amount together with default interest at the European Central Bank refinancing rate increased by 3,5 %, in accordance with Article 99(2) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.

(11)

In order to ensure accountability and transparency of the costs incurred and revenues collected by the Commission for the supervisory tasks carried out pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, the Commission should annually report them to the European Parliament and the Council and make such report publicly available on its website. Moreover, in order to ensure consistency between the estimation of costs and the specific supervisory costs actually incurred for that year, the report should specifically compare the relevant amounts, based on the payments effectively performed in the relevant period for each concerned category of costs referred to in Article 43(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, as well as any expenditure commitment undertaken during that year, including following any judicial decision issued during that year. Any difference between the amount estimated and the costs actually incurred should not affect the amount of supervisory fees charged for the relevant year, but it should be taken into account in the next estimation, either by deducting any surplus from the total costs estimated for year n+2 or by adding any deficit to the total costs estimated for year n+2.

(12)

The estimation of costs should identify the costs that are planned to be incurred in the following calendar year, in order to ensure that sufficient resources are made available to the Commission in advance. In the period from the entry into force of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 to 1 January 2024, the Commission will have already incurred or planned costs pursuant to Article 43(2) Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 that could not been covered by any previous supervisory fee and therefore had to be generally covered by other appropriations provided for in the voted budget of the Union for 2023. Therefore, for the purpose of the determination of the overall fees to be charged in 2023, only costs not already covered by existing appropriations in the general budget of the Union for 2023 could be added to the costs estimated for 2024, in accordance with the information provided for in the overview accompanying the estimation. Accordingly, for the purpose of establishing any surplus or deficit to be taken into account in the following estimation, the first report to the European Parliament and the Council should only take into account these costs incurred in 2022 since the entry into force of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 and in 2023 that were not already covered by existing appropriations,

(1)

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 (the ‘Withdrawal Agreement’) was concluded on behalf of the Union by Council Decision (EU) 2020/135 (2) and entered into force on 1 February 2020. The transition period referred to in Article 126 of the Withdrawal Agreement, during which Union law continued to apply to and in the United Kingdom in accordance with Article 127 of the Withdrawal Agreement (the ‘transition period’), ended on 31 December 2020.

(2)

The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland (the ‘Protocol’) forms an integral part of the Withdrawal Agreement.

(3)

According to Article 6(3) of the Withdrawal Agreement and Article 5(3) and (4) of the Protocol the customs legislation as defined in point (2) of Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 and the Union acts supplementing or implementing it applies to and in the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland after the end of the transition period.

(4)

As a consequence, in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 (3), goods brought to Northern Ireland from another part of the United Kingdom have to be covered by a customs declaration with the dataset set out for goods released for free circulation in column H1 of Annex B to this Regulation, which includes more than 80 data elements.

(5)

In order to take account of the specific circumstances in Northern Ireland, customs formalities should be facilitated for the economic operators (‘trusted traders’) authorised under Articles 9 to 11 of Decision No 1/2023 of the Joint Committee established by 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 (4) (‘Decision No 1/2023’) to bring into Northern Ireland from another part of the United Kingdom by direct transport goods that are considered to be not at risk of subsequently being moved into the Union by themselves or forming part of another good within the meaning of Article 5(1) and (2) of the Protocol (‘goods not at risk’). To that end, a super-reduced dataset (H8) should be drawn up for release for free circulation of such goods.

(6)

It is necessary to establish the conditions for trusted traders to be able to benefit from the customs simplification consisting in the entry into the declarant’s records when bringing goods not at risk into Northern Ireland from another part of the United Kingdom by direct transport even where the trusted traders do not fulfil all the criteria laid down in Article 39 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013.

(7)

In order to facilitate the movement of goods not at risk that are of a non-commercial nature sent in parcels by direct transport by a private individual from another part of the United Kingdom to a private individual residing in Northern Ireland, or of goods not at risk that are sent in parcels by direct transport through a carrier registered in accordance with Articles 12 and 13 of Decision No 1/2023 (‘authorised carrier’) by an economic operator established in the United Kingdom to a private individual residing in Northern Ireland, it is appropriate to waive certain customs formalities for these goods.

(8)

In order to also facilitate the movement of goods sent in parcels that are returned in accordance with Article 203 of the Code to an economic operator established in Northern Ireland by a private individual from another part of the United Kingdom through an authorised carrier, it is appropriate to waive certain customs formalities for these goods as they are returned unchanged to Northern Ireland.

(9)

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 should therefore be amended accordingly,

(1)

Council Regulation (EU) 2023/194 (2) lays down quotas for 2023.

(2)

According to the information received by the Commission, catches of the stock of horse mackerel in area 8c by vessels flying the flag of or registered in Portugal have exhausted the quota allocated for 2023.

(3)

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

(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 geographical indication ‘Moutarde de Bourgogne’, registered under Commission Regulation (EC) No 1131/2009 (2).

(2)

Since the amendment in question is 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 amendment to the specification should be approved,

(1)

In order to ensure uniform application of the Combined Nomenclature annexed to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 (2), it is necessary to adopt measures concerning the classification of the goods referred to in the Annex to this Regulation.

(2)

Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 has laid down the general rules for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature. Those rules apply also to any other nomenclature which is wholly or partly based on it or which adds any additional subdivision to it and which is established by specific provisions of the Union, with a view to the application of tariff and other measures relating to trade in goods.

(3)

Pursuant to those general rules, the goods described in column (1) of the table set out in the Annex should be classified under the CN code indicated in column (2), by virtue of the reasons set out in column (3) of that table.

(4)

It is appropriate to provide that binding tariff information issued in respect of the goods concerned by this Regulation which does not conform to this Regulation may, for a certain period, continue to be invoked by the holder in accordance with Article 34(9) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013. That period should be set at three months.

(5)

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

(1)

Entries 28, 29 and 30 of Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 prohibit the placing on the market and use, for supply to the general public, of substances that are classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or reproductive toxicant (CMR), categories 1A or 1B, and listed in Appendices 1 to 6 to that Annex and of mixtures containing such substances above specified concentrations.

(2)

Substances classified as CMR are listed in Part 3 of Annex VI to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2).

(3)

Appendices 2 and 6 to Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 should be amended in order to reflect the new classification of substances as CMR in Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/692 (3). It is therefore appropriate to insert the newly classified CMR substances of categories 1A and 1B in Appendices 2 and 6 to Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006.

(4)

The new classification of substances in Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 will apply from 1 December 2023. The restriction introduced by this Regulation as regards the substances classified by Regulation (EU) 2022/692 as CMR category 1A or 1B should therefore apply from the same date. The date of application does not prevent operators from applying the restrictions related to the CMR substances of category 1A or 1B listed in the Annex to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/692 earlier.

(5)

A number of group entries are included in Part 3 of Annex VI to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008. In some cases, there are classification requirements for specific substances that would be covered by the group entry. In such cases a specific entry is included in Part 3 of Annex VI to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 for the substance and the group entry in that Regulation is then annotated with the phrase ‘except those specified elsewhere in this Annex’. The incorporation of those substances in Appendices 1 to 6 of Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 thus needs to reflect that annotation referring to Annex VI to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008. However, the text in the entries with index numbers 033-005-00-1, 050-008-00-3, 082-001-00-6, 609-026-00-2 and 650-017-00-8 seems to refer to an Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 instead of Annex VI to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008. Those entries should therefore be adapted accordingly.

(6)

Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(7)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 133(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006,

(1)

On 23 April 2019, Lysoform Dr. Hans Rosemann GmbH submitted to the European Chemicals Agency (‘the Agency’) an application in accordance with Article 43(1) of Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 and Article 4 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 414/2013 (2) for authorisation of the same single biocidal product, as referred to in Article 1 of that Regulation, named ‘Superficid express’, of product-types 2 and 4, as described in Annex V to Regulation (EU) No 528/2012. The application was recorded under case number BC-FD051101-74 in the Register for Biocidal Products (‘the Register’). The application also indicated the application number of the related reference biocidal product family ‘Knieler & Team Propanol Family’, recorded in the Register under case number BC-AQ050985-22.

(2)

The same single biocidal product ‘Superficid express’ contains propan-1-ol and propan-2-ol as the active substances, which are included in the Union list of approved active substances referred to in Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 for product-types 2 and 4.

(3)

On 8 December 2021, the Agency submitted to the Commission an opinion (3) and the draft summary of the biocidal product characteristics (‘SPC’) of ‘Superficid express’ in accordance with Article 6 of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 414/2013.

(4)

The opinion concludes that the proposed differences between the same single biocidal product and the related reference biocidal product are limited to information which can be the subject of an administrative change in accordance with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 354/2013 (4), and that based on the assessment of the related reference biocidal product family ‘Knieler & Team Propanol Family’ and subject to compliance with the draft SPC, the same single biocidal product meets the conditions laid down in Article 19(1) of Regulation (EU) No 528/2012.

(5)

On 24 October 2022, the Agency transmitted to the Commission the draft SPC in all the official languages of the Union in accordance with Article 44(4) of Regulation (EU) No 528/2012.

(6)

The Commission concurs with the opinion of the Agency and considers it therefore appropriate to grant a Union authorisation for the same single biocidal product ‘Superficid express’.

(7)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Biocidal Products,

(1)

Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) (‘the specified pest’) is listed in Part A of Annex II to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 (2) as a pest not known to occur in the Union territory. It is also listed as a priority pest in the Annex to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/1702 (3).

(2)

Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/638 (4) establishes emergency measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Union territory of that pest.

(3)

Since the adoption of Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/638, the specified pest has continued to spread fast worldwide and towards the Union territory. In January 2023, its presence was officially confirmed in Cyprus.

(4)

Furthermore, the number of cases of non-compliance with Union legislation as regards the presence of the specified pest on imported commodities has remained high, and the number of plant species on which the specified pest is intercepted, has been increasing.

(5)

Given the continuing spread of the specified pest, its recent finding in the Union territory and the cases of non-compliance with Union legislation in the trade with certain plants, measures are needed to protect the Union from that pest.

(6)

Certain plants (‘specified plants’) should therefore be listed in this Regulation and be subject to specific requirements. The list of specified plants should include plant species whose introduction into the Union has been related to non-compliance with Union legislation as regards the presence of the specified pest.

(7)

Member States should perform annual surveys for the presence of the specified pest, employing a risk-based approach in line with the latest scientific and technical information and based on the Pest Survey Card on Spodoptera frugiperda (5) published by the European Food Safety Authority (‘the Authority’). To ensure a better overview of the presence of the specified pest, Annex I to this Regulation lists the host plants of the specified pest, which should be surveyed.

(8)

Member States should draw up and keep up to date a contingency plan for the specified pest in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/2031. To achieve a harmonised approach amongst Member States, it is necessary to adopt specific rules implementing Article 25 of that Regulation as regards contingency plans for the specified pest ensuring that the plan contains all the elements needed in case of new findings of the specified pest.

(9)

In order to eradicate the specified pest and prevent its spread in the Union territory, Member States should establish demarcated areas consisting of an infested zone and a buffer zone and apply eradication measures. The buffer zone should be at least 5 km and maximum 100 km wide, as such a large range is appropriate considering the migratory capacity of the specified pest, the presence of the host plants and the geographic characteristics of the area.

(10)

However, in cases of isolated findings of the specified pest, the establishment of a demarcated area should not be required if the specified pest can be eliminated from those plants and if there is evidence that those plants were infested before their introduction into the area or that it is an isolated finding not expected to lead to establishment of the specified pest or a finding in a site of production with physical isolation against the specified pest or in a greenhouse in areas where the pest cannot be established outdoors. This is the most proportionate approach if the surveys carried out in the area concerned confirm the absence of the specified pest.

(11)

In order to prevent further spread of the specified pest to the rest of the Union territory, the surveys of the buffer zones should be carried out annually at the most appropriate time of the year and with sufficient intensity. Lifting of the demarcation should occur after surveys for a sufficient time to confirm the absence of the specified pest.

(12)

Specific eradication measures should be taken by the competent authorities in the infested zones to eradicate the specified pest. Those measures include the control measures to eradicate the specified pest and the movement of soil from the infected area.

(13)

As the specified pest was found in the Union territory, it is justified to establish special requirements for the movement of the specified plants out of the demarcated areas.

(14)

The special requirements for the import into the Union of fruits of Capsicum L., Momordica L., Solanum aethiopicum L., Solanum macrocarpon L. and Solanum melongena L. and plants of Zea mays L., and the provisions regarding the survey obligations of the Member States laid down in Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/638, should be included in this Regulation. This is necessary to improve clarity and legal certainty concerning the application of all temporal requirements regarding the specified pest. For the same reason, that Implementing Decision should be repealed and succeeded by this Regulation.

(15)

The phytosanitary risk of the specified pest is not yet fully assessed, because the range of its specified plants remains uncertain. It needs to be completed following the current finding in the Union territory and its spread and establishment in third countries. This Regulation should therefore apply until 31 December 2025 to allow further evaluation and review of the range of the specified plants, the cases of non-compliance with Union legislation in relation to the specified pest and the effectiveness of the measures taken in the Union territory.

(16)

Plants of Asparagus officinalis L., other than stems covered during their entire life by soil, live pollen, plant tissue cultures and seeds, should be listed in Part A of Annex XI to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072. This is necessary in order to comply with Article 72(1), points (c) and (e) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031, which sets out the respective listing of plants subject to the provisions referred to in those points.

(17)

In order to address the risk of the specified pest as soon as possible, this Regulation should enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. The provision concerning the contingency plans should apply from 1 August 2023.

(18)

The requirements concerning the introduction of the specified plants into the Union and their movement out of the demarcated areas to the rest of the Union territory, should apply from 1 July 2023, in order to give competent authorities, business operators and third countries sufficient time to adapt to requirements resulting from those provisions.

(19)

The requirements concerning the introduction into the Union of plants of Asparagus officinalis L., other than stems covered during their entire life by soil, live pollen, plant tissue cultures and seeds, should apply from 1 September 2023. This is necessary in order to give the competent authorities of the third countries sufficient time to conduct the respective surveys for the presence of the specified pest on those plants.

(20)

Consequently, Articles 3 and 4 of Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/638 concerning the introduction into the Union of the specified plants should continue to apply until 30 June 2023, in order to avoid any legal gap and ensure that the introduction into the Union of the respective plants remains subject to appropriate requirements against the presence of the specified pest.

(21)

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