COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2021/1911

of 27 October 2021

amending Annex II to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/620 as regards the disease-free status of the Autonomous Community of Galicia and the Autonomous Community of Principado de Asturias in Spain from infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, amending Annex VIII thereto as regards the disease-free status of Autonomous Community of Islas Baleares, Huelva and Sevilla provinces and the regions of Azuaga, Badajoz, Mérida, Jerez de los Caballeros and Zafra in Badajoz province in Spain and Alentejo region and Santarém district in Lisboa e Vale do Tejo region in Portugal from infection with bluetongue virus, amending Annex IX thereto as regards the disease-free status of the Åland islands in Finland from infestation with Varroa spp and amending Annex XIII thereto as regards the disease-free status of Denmark and Finland regarding Infectious haematopoietic necrosis

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on transmissible animal diseases and amending and repealing certain acts in the area of animal health (‘Animal Health Law’) (1), and in particular Article 36(4) and 42(4) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EU) 2016/429 lays down disease-specific rules for the diseases listed in accordance with Article 5(1) thereof, lays down how those rules are to be applied to different categories of listed diseases and also provides for the approval or withdrawal by the Commission of the disease-free status of Member States or zones thereof with regard to certain listed diseases referred to in Article 9(1), points (b) and (c), thereof.

(2) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/689 (2) supplements Regulation (EU) 2016/429 and lays down the conditions for granting, maintaining, suspending and withdrawing disease-free status.

(3) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/620 (3) lists in its Annexes Member States or zones thereof with disease-free status. Among others, it lists zones free from infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (Mycobacterium bovis, M.caprae and M. tuberculosis) (MTBC) in Part I of Annex II thereto, zones free from infection with bluetongue virus (serotypes 1-24) (infection with BTV) in Part I of Annex VIII thereto, zones free from infestation with Varroa spp. in Annex IX thereto and zones or compartments with disease-free status from Infectious haematopoietic necrosis (IHN) in Part I of Annex XIII thereto.

(4) The changing epidemiological situation of certain diseases makes it necessary to amend annexes II, VIII, IX and XIII to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/620 in order to list new disease-free Member States or zones and to delist areas where disease outbreaks are confirmed and therefore the conditions for maintaining the disease-free status are no longer met.

(5) Spain submitted to the Commission information demonstrating that the conditions for recognition of disease-free status from MTBC laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/689 are fulfilled in the provinces of La Coruña, Orense and Lugo in the Autonomous Community of Galicia. The fourth province in that Autonomous Community, Pontevedra, had been already listed as a zone free from MTBC in Part I of Annex II Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/620. Therefore, the whole Autonomous Community of Galicia should be listed as a zone free from MTBC.

(6) Spain submitted to the Commission information demonstrating that the conditions for recognition of disease-free status from MTBC laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/689 are fulfilled in the Autonomous Community of Principado de Asturias. Therefore, that Autonomous Community is to be listed as a zone free from MTBC.

(7) Spain notified to the Commission an outbreak of infection with BTV Serotype 4 in the Autonomous Community of Islas Baleares and subsequently additional outbreaks affecting the regions of Sierra Oriental and Sierra Occidental in the province of Huelva, the region of Sierra Norte in the province of Sevilla, and Azuaga, Badajoz, Mérida, Jerez de los Caballeros and Zafra regions in the province of Badajoz. Since the Autonomous Community of Islas Baleares, the regions of Sierra Oriental and Sierra Occidental in the province of Huelva, the region of Cazalla de la Sierra (Sierra Norte) in the province of Sevilla and, implicitly as part of Autonomous Comunity of Extremadura, the regions of Azuaga, Badajoz, Mérida, Jerez de los Caballeros and Zafra are all listed as disease-free status zones in Part I of Annex VIII to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/620, they should be deleted from that list.

(8) Portugal notified to the Commission outbreaks of infection with BTV Serotype 4 in Alentejo region and subsequently an additional outbreak in Santarém district in Lisboa e Vale do Tejo region. Since Alentejo as a whole and Santarém district, as part of Portugal, are implicitly included as disease-free status areas in Part I of Annex VIII to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/620, the Alentejo region and the Santarém district should be excluded from that list.

(9) Finland notified to the Commission an outbreak of infestation with Varroa spp. in the Brändö municipality of the Åland Islands. The Åland Islands are listed as a disease-free status zone in Annex IX to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/620. Finland also informed the Commission that, based on an epidemiological investigation, other municipalities are not affected by that outbreak. The municipality of Brändö should be deleted from the disease-free zone list.

(10) Denmark notified to the Commission, recent outbreaks of the aquatic disease Infectious haematopoietic necrosis (IHN) in the water catchment areas of Varde Å, and Kolding Å and in a put and take lake Hove Kalkgrav. These areas are currently included in the territory of Denmark which is listed as disease-free in Part I of Annex XIII to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/620. Part I of Annex XIII should therefore, be amended to exclude those infected areas from the disease-free territory of Denmark.

(11) Finland has successfully completed an eradication programme for IHN which included a compartment in Ii, Kuivaniemi, and four zones Virmasvesi, Nilakka, Saarijarvi and Pielinen, and has subsequently made a declaration of disease-freedom in accordance with Article 83 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/689, for that compartment and those zones. It is therefore appropriate, that they are no longer excluded from the IHN free territory of that Member State. Part I of Annex XIII to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/620 should therefore, be amended accordingly.

(12) Annexes II, VIII, IX and XIII to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/620 should therefore be amended accordingly.

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 Annexes II, VIII, IX and XIII to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/620 are amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

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

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 27 October 2021. For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 84, 31.3.2016, p. 1.

(2) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/689 of 17 December 2019 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards rules for surveillance, eradication programmes, and disease-free status for certain listed and emerging diseases (OJ L 174, 3.6.2020, p. 211).

(3) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/620 of 15 April 2021 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the approval of the disease-free and non-vaccination status of certain Member States or zones or compartments thereof as regards certain listed diseases and the approval of eradication programmes for those listed diseases (OJ L 131, 16.4.2021, p. 78).