(1)

Commission Decision 2007/777/EC of 29 November 2007 laying down the animal and public health conditions and model certificates for imports of certain meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines for human consumption from third countries and repealing Decision 2005/432/EC (3) lays down rules on imports into the Union and the transit and storage in the Union of consignments of meat products, treated stomachs, bladders and intestines, as defined in Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin (4).

(2)

Part 2 of Annex II to that Decision sets out a list of third countries or parts thereof from which the introduction into the Union of those commodities, which are subject to different treatments listed in Part 4 of that Annex, are authorised.

(3)

Israel is listed in Part 2 of Annex II to Decision 2007/777/EC as authorised for the introduction into the Union of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines for human consumption obtained from meat of poultry, farmed ratites and wild game birds, which have undergone a non-specific treatment, for which no minimum temperature is specified (‘treatment A’).

(4)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 of 8 August 2008 laying down a list of third countries, territories, zones or compartments from which poultry and poultry products may be imported into and transit through the Community and the veterinary certification requirements (5) provides that the commodities covered by it are only to be imported into and transited 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.

(5)

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) and the requirements for the veterinary certification in that respect for commodities destined for importation into the Union.

(6)

Israel is listed in the table in Part 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 as a third country from which all poultry commodities covered by that Regulation may be imported into the Union.

(7)

On 8 and 9 March 2012 Israel notified the Commission of two outbreaks of HPAI of the H5N1 subtype on its territory. Due to those confirmed outbreaks of HPAI, the territory of Israel should no longer be considered as free from that disease. As a consequence, the veterinary authorities of Israel have suspended issuing veterinary certificates for consignments of certain poultry commodities from its whole territory destined for imports into the Union.

(8)

As a consequence of those HPAI outbreaks, Israel no longer complies with the animal health conditions for applying ‘treatment A’ to meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines for human consumption obtained from meat of poultry, farmed ratites and wild game birds as listed in Part 2 of Annex II to Decision 2007/777/EC. The current ‘treatment A’ is insufficient to eliminate animal health risks linked to those commodities and upon confirmation of HPAI, the veterinary authorities of Israel therefore immediately suspended certification for products having undergone such treatment.

(9)

Israel informed the Commission of the control measures taken in relation to the recent outbreaks of HPAI. That information and the epidemiological situation in Israel have been evaluated by the Commission.

(10)

Israel has implemented a stamping out policy in order to control that disease and limit its spread. Israel is also carrying out avian influenza surveillance activities which appear to meet the requirements set out in Part II of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008.

(11)

The positive outcome of the Commission’s evaluation of the control measures taken by Israel and the epidemiological situation in that third country allow limiting the restrictions on imports into the Union for certain poultry commodities to the zone affected by the disease, which the veterinary authorities of Israel have placed under veterinary restrictions. The restrictions on those imports should apply during a three-month period until 22 June 2012, following adequate cleansing and disinfection of the previously infected holdings provided avian influenza surveillance has been carried out during that period by Israel.

(12)

The table in Part 1 of Annex II to Decision 2007/777/EC lists the territories or parts of territories of third countries to which regionalisation for animal health reasons applies. An entry for Israel should therefore be inserted in that table indicating the area in Israel that is affected by the outbreaks of HPAI of 8 and 9 March 2012.

(13)

Part 2 of Annex II to Decision 2007/777/EC should also be amended in order to provide for adequate treatment of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines for human consumption obtained from meat of poultry, farmed ratites and wild game birds that originate from the area in Israel affected by those outbreaks.

(14)

In addition, the entry for Israel in the table in Part 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 should be amended to add an area with the code IL-4 describing that part of Israel under restrictions for imports into the Union of certain poultry commodities in relation to the recent HPAI outbreaks of 8 and 9 March 2012. The ‘closing’ and ‘opening dates’ of 8 March 2012 and 22 June 2012 respectively should be indicated in columns 6A and 6B for the area covered by that code.

(15)

Furthermore, following a previous HPAI outbreak in 2011, imports of certain poultry commodities from Israel to the Union were prohibited by Regulation (EC) No 798/2008, as amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 427/2011 (6). The ‘closing date’ of 8 March 2011 indicated in column 6A for the area in Israel covered by code IL-3 in the table in Part 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008, relating to that outbreak should be deleted as the period of 90 days during which commodities produced before that date may be imported, has elapsed.

(16)

Decision 2007/777/EC and Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(17)

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

(1)

Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 lays down, pursuant to the outcome of the Uruguay Round multilateral trade negotiations, the criteria whereby the Commission fixes the standard values for imports from third countries, in respect of the products and periods stipulated in Annex XVI, Part A thereto.

(2)

The standard import value is calculated each working day, in accordance with Article 136(1) of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011, taking into account variable daily data. Therefore this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union,

(1)

Article 162(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 provides that the difference between prices on the world market for the products listed in Part XV of Annex I to that Regulation and prices for those products on the Union market may be covered by an export refund.

(2)

Given the present situation on the market in beef and veal, export refunds should therefore be set in accordance with the rules and criteria provided for in Articles 162, 163, 164, 167, 168 and 169 of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007.

(3)

Article 164(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 provides that the refund may vary according to destination, especially where the world market situation, the specific requirements of certain markets, or obligations resulting from agreements concluded in accordance with Article 300 of the Treaty make this necessary.

(4)

Refunds should be granted only on products that are allowed to move freely in the Union and that bear the health mark as provided for in Article 5(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin (2). Those products must also satisfy the requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs (3) and Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption (4).

(5)

The third subparagraph of Article 7(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1359/2007 of 21 November 2007 laying down the conditions for granting special export refunds on certain cuts of boned meat of bovine animals (5) provides for a reduction of the special refund if the quantity of cuts of boned meat to be exported amounts to less than 95 %, but not less than 85 %, of the total weight of cuts produced by boning.

(6)

The currently applicable refunds have been fixed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 343/2012 (6). Since new refunds should be fixed, that Regulation should therefore be repealed.

(7)

In order to prevent divergence with the current market situation, to prevent market speculation and to ensure efficient management, this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(8)

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

(1)

Article 162(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 provides that the difference between prices on the world market for the products referred to in Part XIX of Annex I to that Regulation and prices in the Union for those products may be covered by an export refund.

(2)

In view of the current situation on the market in eggs, export refunds should be fixed in accordance with the rules and certain criteria provided for in Articles 162, 163, 164, 167 and 169 of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007.

(3)

Article 164(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 provides that refunds may vary according to destination, especially where the world market situation, the specific requirements of certain markets, or obligations resulting from agreements concluded in accordance with Article 300 of the Treaty make this necessary.

(4)

Refunds should be granted only on products which are authorised to move freely within the Union and comply with requirements under Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs (2) and of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin (3), as well as marking requirements under point A of Annex XIV to Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007.

(5)

The currently applicable refunds have been fixed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 340/2012 (4). Since new refunds should be fixed, that Regulation should therefore be repealed.

(6)

In order to prevent divergence with the current market situation, to prevent market speculation and to ensure efficient management this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(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)

Article 162(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 provides that the difference between prices in international trade for the products referred to in Article 1(1)(s) and listed in Part XIX of Annex I to that Regulation and prices within the Union may be covered by an export refund where these goods are exported in the form of goods listed in Part V of Annex XX to that Regulation.

(2)

Commission Regulation (EU) No 578/2010 of 29 June 2010 on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1216/2009 as regards the system of granting export refunds on certain agricultural products exported in the form of goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty, and the criteria for fixing the amount of such refunds (2), specifies the products for which a rate of refund is to be fixed, to be applied where these products are exported in the form of goods listed in Part V of Annex XX to Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007.

(3)

In accordance with Article 14(1) of Regulation (EU) No 578/2010, the rate of the refund per 100 kilograms for each of the basic products in question is to be fixed for a period of the same duration as that for which refunds are fixed for the same products exported unprocessed.

(4)

Article 162(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 lays down that the export refund for a product contained in a good may not exceed the refund applicable to that product when exported without further processing.

(5)

The currently applicable refunds have been fixed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 346/2012 (3). Since new refunds should be fixed, that Regulation should therefore be repealed.

(6)

In order to prevent divergence with the current market situation, to prevent market speculation and to ensure efficient management, this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(7)

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