COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2020/1550

of 23 October 2020

establishing the multiannual programme of controls for the period 2021-2025 to be carried out by Commission experts in the Member States to verify the application of Union agri-food chain legislation

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products, amending Regulations (EC) No 999/2001, (EC) No 396/2005, (EC) No 1069/2009, (EC) No 1107/2009, (EU) No 1151/2012, (EU) No 652/2014, (EU) 2016/429 and (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Regulations (EC) No 1/2005 and (EC) No 1099/2009 and Council Directives 98/58/EC, 1999/74/EC, 2007/43/EC, 2008/119/EC and 2008/120/EC, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 854/2004 and (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directives 89/608/EEC, 89/662/EEC, 90/425/EEC, 91/496/EEC, 96/23/EC, 96/93/EC and 97/78/EC and Council Decision 92/438/EEC (Official Controls Regulation) (1), and in particular Article 118(1)(a) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The responsibility to enforce Union agri-food chain legislation lies with Member States, whose competent authorities monitor and verify, through the organisation of official controls, that relevant Union requirements are effectively complied with and enforced. Parallel to this monitoring and verification, Article 116 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 requires Commission experts to perform controls, including audits, in Member States to verify the application of Union legislation. These Commission controls should be performed in the areas of food and feed safety, animal health and welfare, plant health, plant protection products, and the functioning of national control systems and competent authorities, which operate them, taking into account synergies with control arrangements under the common agricultural policy.

(2) The Commission has put together a multiannual programme of controls for the period 2021-2025 aligned with the Commission’s term of office and reflecting its priorities. These controls shall be carried out by the Commission’s experts in Member States to verify the application of the legislation in the above areas. Different criteria were used during the prioritisation process, inter alia, identified risk to consumers, animals or plants, past performance of the Member States in the area, production volume, information from relevant sources (for example, the European Food Safety Authority) and from the information management system for official controls (IMSOC) and its components.

(3) This multiannual programme of controls contributes to Commission priority area ‘The European Green Deal (2)’ and to “A Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthier and environmentally-friendly food system” (3). It also contributes to the monitoring of the common agricultural policy in accordance with the rules on cross-compliance set out in Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4). The controls set out in the multiannual programme of controls allow the Commission to fulfil its legal obligations to oversee the application of Union law by verifying that official controls in Member States in the relevant areas are in compliance with Union legislation,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1 The multiannual programme of controls for the period 2021-2025 to be carried out by Commission experts in the Member States as provided for in Article 116(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 is set out in the Annex.

Article 2 This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at Brussels, 23 October 2020. For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 95, 7.4.2017, p. 1.

(2) COM(2019) 640 final.

(3) COM(2020) 381 final.

(4) Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 352/78, (EC) No 165/94, (EC) No 2799/98, (EC) No 814/2000, (EC) No 1290/2005 and (EC) No 485/2008 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 549).