(1)

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 750/2014 (2) was adopted following reports of a novel swine enteric coronavirus disease caused by emerging porcine alphacoronaviruses, including porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus and a new porcine deltacoronavirus in North America. That Implementing Regulation lays down protection measures in relation to the introduction into the Union of consignments of live pigs for breeding and production from the areas in which the disease caused by those viruses is present in order to provide for the fulfilment of the necessary guarantees at the holding of origin and to prevent the introduction of porcine epidemic diarrhoea caused by those viruses into the Union. Those protection measures are to apply until 12 January 2015.

(2)

The Scientific Opinion of the European Food Safety Authority of 2014 (3) (‘the EFSA Opinion’) indicates that infected animals, their faeces, feed and objects contaminated with faeces are matrices that have been reported to transmit those viruses. The EFSA Opinion provides further scientific support for the protection measures established by Implementing Regulation (EU) No 750/2014. The epidemiological situation in the third countries affected by novel swine enteric coronavirus disease caused by emerging porcine alphacoronaviruses, including the porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus and the porcine deltacoronavirus, has not changed in terms of the risk of the spread of those porcine entero-coronaviruses since the date of adoption of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 750/2014.

(3)

In light of the EFSA opinion and of the evolution in the disease situation, the protection measures established by Implementing Regulation (EU) No 750/2014 should be prolonged until the end of October 2015. The period of application of that Implementing Regulation should therefore be amended accordingly.

(4)

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

(1)

Directives 98/70/EC and 2009/28/EC lay down that biofuels and bioliquids may only be counted towards the established targets and economic operators may only benefit from public support if they comply with the sustainability criteria laid down in those Directives. As part of this scheme, biofuels and bioliquids can only be counted towards the targets or benefit from public support in case they are not made from raw material obtained from land that in or after January 2008 was highly biodiverse grassland, unless in the case of non-natural highly biodiverse grasslands evidence is provided that the harvesting of the raw material is necessary to preserve its grassland status.

(2)

Article 17(3)(c) last subparagraph of Directive 2009/28/EC and Article 7b(3)(c) last subparagraph of Directive 98/70/EC request the Commission to establish the criteria and geographic ranges to determine which grassland qualifies as highly biodiverse grassland under Article 7b(3)(c) of Directive 98/70/EC and Article 17(3)(c) of Directive 2009/28/EC.

(3)

Highly biodiverse grasslands differ among climatic zones and may include, inter alia, heaths, pastures, meadows, savannahs, steppes, scrublands, tundra and prairies. These areas develop distinct characteristics for instance with regard to the degree of tree cover and the intensity of grazing and mowing. For the purposes of Article 7b(3)(c) of Directive 98/70/EC and Article 17(3)(c) of Directive 2009/28/EC, it is therefore appropriate to use a broad definition of grassland.

(4)

Directives 98/70/EC and 2009/28/EC distinguish between natural and non-natural highly biodiverse grassland and provide definitions for both of these. It is therefore appropriate to include operational criteria in these definitions. It is appropriate, for the purpose of this Regulation, to consider degraded grassland as being impoverished in terms of biodiversity.

(5)

Compliance with Article 7b(3)(c) of Directive 98/70/EC and Article 17(3)(c) of Directive 2009/28/EC is verified in accordance with Article 7c(1) and (3) of Directive 98/70/EC and Article 18(1) and (3) of Directive 2009/28/EC.

(6)

Comprehensive information on geographic ranges of highly biodiverse grasslands is not available at international level. Therefore, this Regulation provides geographic ranges only for those highly biodiverse grasslands for which information is already available.

(7)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on Sustainability of Biofuels and Bioliquids established by Article 25(2) of Directive 2009/28/EC,

(1)

‘grassland’ means terrestrial ecosystems dominated by herbaceous or shrub vegetation for at least 5 years continuously. It includes meadows or pasture that is cropped for hay but excludes land cultivated for other crop production and cropland lying temporarily fallow. It further excludes continuously forested areas as defined in Article 17(4)(b) of Directive 2009/28/EC unless these are agroforestry systems which include land-use systems where trees are managed together with crops or animal production systems in agricultural settings. The dominance of herbaceous or shrub vegetation means that their combined ground cover is larger than the canopy cover of trees;

(2)

‘human intervention’ means managed grazing, mowing, cutting, harvesting or burning;

(3)

‘natural highly biodiverse grassland’ means grassland that:

(4)

‘non-natural highly biodiverse grassland’ means grassland that:

(1)

habitats as listed in Annex I to Council Directive 92/43/EEC (4);

(2)

habitats of significant importance for animal and plant species of Union interest listed in Annexes II and IV to Directive 92/43/EEC;

(3)

habitats of significant importance for wild bird species listed in Annex I to Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (5).

(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)

The term of office of the European Data Protection Supervisor and the Assistant Supervisor came to an end on 16 January 2014. However, in accordance with Article 42(6) of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001, the European Data Protection Supervisor and the Assistant Supervisor remain in office until they are replaced.

(2)

The European Data Protection Supervisor and the Assistant Supervisor are to be appointed by common accord between the European Parliament and the Council, for a period of five years from 4 December 2014,

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European Data Protection Supervisor: Mr Giovanni BUTTARELLI,

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Assistant Supervisor: Mr Wojciech Rafał WIEWIÓROWSKI.