COMMISSION DECISION
of 21 April 2006
amending Commission Decision 2004/407/EC as regards imports of photographic gelatine
(notified under document number C(2006) 1627)
(Only the Dutch, English, French and German texts are authentic)
(2006/311/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 October 2002 laying down health rules concerning animal by-products not intended for human consumption (1), and in particular Articles 4(4) and 32(1) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 prohibits the importation and transit of animal by-products and processed products into the Community, except in accordance with that Regulation.
(2)
Commission Decision 2004/407/EC of 26 April 2004 on transitional sanitary and certification rules under Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards import from certain third countries of photographic gelatine (2) provides, by way of derogation from that prohibition in Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002, that France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are to authorise the import of certain gelatine exclusively intended for the photographic industry (photographic gelatine).
(3)
Decision 2004/407/EC provides that photographic gelatine is only allowed from the third countries listed in that Decision, namely Japan and the United States of America.
(4)
Luxembourg has confirmed the need to source photographic gelatine from the United States of America for the purposes of the photographic industry in Luxembourg. Accordingly Luxembourg should be allowed to authorise the import of photographic gelatine subject to compliance with the conditions set out in Decision 2004/407/EC. However, those imports may take place in Belgium.
(5)
In order to facilitate the transfer from Belgium to Luxembourg of the imported photographic gelatine, the conditions in Annexes I and III to Decision 2004/407/EC should be amended slightly.
(6)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Decision 2004/407/EC is amended as follows:
1.
Article 1 is replaced by the following:
‘Article 1
Derogation regarding the import of photographic gelatine
By way of derogation from Article 29(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom shall authorise the import of gelatine produced from materials containing bovine vertebral column classified as Category 1 material under that Regulation, exclusively intended for the photographic industry (photographic gelatine), in compliance with this Decision.’
2.
Article 9 is replaced by the following:
‘Article 9
Addresses
This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium, the French Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.’
3.
Annexes I and III are amended in accordance with the Annex to this Decision.
Article 2
This Decision shall apply on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Article 3
This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium, the French Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Done at Brussels, 21 April 2006.