COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2020/2041

of 11 December 2020

amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/585 as regards the number of samples to be taken and analysed by each Member State in view of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 February 2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed of plant and animal origin and amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC (1), in particular Article 29(2) thereof,

Having regard to the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (2),

Whereas:

(1) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/585 (3) sets out in its Annex II the number of samples per Member State that are to be taken for the purposes of the control programme provided for by that Regulation in order to ensure compliance with maximum residue levels of pesticides and to assess the consumer exposure to pesticide residues.

(2) With the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union and the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, adaptations are necessary to ensure that the programme remains representative of the Union market and the overall number of samples remains sufficient to fulfil the objectives of that programme.

(3) The United Kingdom contributed with a significant amount of samples in the past, proportionate to its population size. Henceforth, the number of samples to be collected by the United Kingdom should be adapted in respect of Northern Ireland and according to the population size of that territory.

(4) The number of samples collected by the Member States should also be adapted accordingly to maintain an overall sufficient number of samples with respect to recital 3 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/585.

(5) Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/585 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(6) For Member States to be able to meet their obligations of analysis, this Regulation should apply on 1 January 2021.

(7) 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 Annex II to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/585 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2 This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from 1 January 2021.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 11 December 2020. For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 70, 16.3.2005, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 29, 31.1.2020, p. 7.

(3) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/585 of 27 April 2020 concerning a coordinated multiannual control programme of the Union for 2021, 2022 and 2023 to ensure compliance with maximum residue levels of pesticides and to assess the consumer exposure to pesticide residues in and on food of plant and animal origin (OJ L 135, 29.4.2020, p. 1).