COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2022/1456

of 10 June 2022

establishing a derogation from Article 43(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and the Council as regards the import conditions for introduction into the Union of wood packaging material in the form of ammunition boxes, originating in the United States of America, under the control of the United States Department of Defence, and manufactured before 1 September 2007

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and the Council of 26 October 2016 on protective measures against pests of plants, amending Regulations (EU) No 228/2013, (EU) No 652/2014 and (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 69/464/EEC, 74/647/EEC, 93/85/EEC, 98/57/EC, 2000/29/EC, 2006/91/EC and 2007/33/EC (1), and in particular Article 43(2),

Whereas:

(1) Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/179 (2) authorised Member States to provide for a temporary derogation from certain provisions of Council Directive 2000/29/EC (3) in respect of special conditions concerning the introduction into the Union of wood packaging material of conifers (Pinopsida) in the form of ammunition boxes originating in the United States of America, under the control of the United States Department of Defence. Since the validity of this Decision expired on 31 December 2020, new rules should be adopted in order to allow the introduction of such ammunition boxes under certain conditions also in future.

(2) Article 43(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 provides for specific requirements for the introduction into the Union of wood packaging material, which should comply with the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No 15 (ISPM 15): Regulation of Wood Packaging Material in International Trade (4), guaranteeing that the wood packaging material has been subjected to approved phytosanitary treatment.

(3) Certain wood packaging material of conifers (Pinopsida) in the form of boxes used in the transport of ammunition and manufactured in the United States of America before 1 September 2007, have been subject to treatments which are not in line with the applicable requirements set out in Annex I to ISPM 15 and therefore do not fulfil the conditions set out in Article 43(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031.

(4) On 7 September 2018, the United States of America requested a prolongation of the derogation under Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/179 for wood packaging material made of softwood and an extension of the scope of the derogation to wood packaging material made of hardwood. The United States of America have accompanied the above-mentioned request with a dossier which represents a follow-up to a previous pathway analysis of the United States Department of Defence as regards softwood ammunition boxes, complementing it by a pathway analysis for hardwood ammunition boxes.

(5) The Commission has concluded, on the basis of the information supplied by the United States of America and following a discussion with the relevant expert group on a derogation for introduction into the Union of wood packaging material in the form of ammunition boxes from United States of America, that the boxes referred to in recital 3 and used in the transport of ammunition, both of soft and hard wood, do not present any risk of spreading plant pests, provided that certain conditions are met. These conditions concern the date of production of those ammunition boxes, the absence, or the limited presence, of bark, the treatment and repair of such boxes, as well as their storage and transport.

(6) This derogation should only apply to wood packaging material in the form of ammunition boxes originating in the United States of America, which has been manufactured before 1 September 2007, as boxes manufactured after that date have undergone a treatment in accordance with ISPM 15.

(7) Therefore, such wood packaging material in the form of ammunition boxes originating in the United States of America, both of soft and hard wood, should be allowed to be introduced into, as well as stored and moved within, the Union territory, as long as it fulfils the conditions set out in this Regulation.

(8) In order to ensure effective controls and overview of the potential phytosanitary risks, any operator moving or storing wood packaging material in the form of ammunition boxes originating in the United States of America, after the respective relevant checks, should notify the respective competent authority concerning the movement or storage of the boxes concerned.

(9) In order to assure a swift response to any potential phytosanitary risk from wood packaging material in the form of ammunition boxes originating in the United States of America, Member States should immediately inform each other and the Commission when they become aware of a consignment not complying with the requirements concerning the conditions for introduction into the Union set out in this Regulation. In addition, they should, on an annual basis, provide the Commission and the other Member States with information on the imports made, in order to assess the application of this Regulation.

(10) The conditions for the derogation introduced by this Regulation should apply until 31 July 2025 to allow for the review of the implementation of its measures, and to examine whether they effectively address the phytosanitary risk of the import of that wood packaging material.

(11) Since Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/179 expired already on 31 December 2020, this Implementing Regulation should enter into force on the third day after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, in order to ensure the swiftest possible introduction of this wood packaging material into the Union.

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 Authorisation to provide for derogation and conditions for the ammunition boxes Wood packaging material in the form of boxes, actually in use in the transport of ammunition, manufactured before 1 September 2007, and originating in the United States of America, under the control of the United States Department of Defence (‘the boxes’), is exempted from the requirements of Article 43(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031, where: (a) the boxes fulfil the conditions set out in the Annex to this Regulation; and (b) the requirements in accordance with Articles 2, 3 and 4 are fulfilled.

Article 2 Notification obligation 1. At least five working days before the intended introduction of a consignment as referred to in Article 1, the importer shall notify the competent authorities of the Member State of the point of entry of its intention to introduce the consignment. Within the same period, the importer shall also provide the same notification to the competent authorities of the Member State of the first place of storage, where that place differs from the point of entry. 2. The notification referred to in paragraph 1 shall include the following elements: (a) date of intended introduction; (b) an inventory of the consignment concerned identifying the boxes forming part of it; (c) name and address of importer; (d) address of the point of entry of intended introduction; (e) address of the first place of storage, where that differs from the point of entry.

Article 3 Checks by the competent authorities 1. The competent authorities of the Member State of the point of entry shall check the presence and completeness of the document described in point 7 of the Annex. They shall also check compliance of a representative sample of each consignment with the following points of the Annex: (a) points (1) and (2) concerning the display of the respective marks; (b) point (3) concerning repaired boxes; (c) point (4) concerning the absence of bark; (d) point (5) concerning the moisture content level; 2. By derogation from paragraph 1, where the first place of storage differs from the point of entry, the competent authorities of the Member State of the first place of storage shall carry out the check described in that paragraph.

Article 4 Storage and movement of the boxes 1. Prior to and after the conduct of the checks referred to in Article 3, the boxes shall remain stored in closed buildings. 2. Any movement of the boxes may only take place in closed containers, or under full protective cover.

Article 5 Notification of non-compliance Member States shall notify the Commission and the other Member States of each consignment not complying with the conditions set out in the Annex. That notification shall take place no later than three working days after the date when the competent authority becomes aware of such a consignment.

Article 6 Reporting on imports By 31 January of each year, the Member State of the first place of storage shall provide the Commission and the other Member States with information on the number of consignments introduced into their territories and with a report on the checks referred to in Article 3 carried out between 1 January and 31 December of the preceding year.

Article 7 Expiry date This Regulation shall expire on 31 July 2025.

Article 8 Entry into force 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, 10 June 2022. For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 317, 23.11.2016, p. 4.

(2) Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/179 of 4 February 2015 authorising Member States to provide for a derogation from certain provisions of Council Directive 2000/29/EC in respect of wood packaging material of conifers (Coniferales) in the form of ammunition boxes originating in the United States of America under the control of the United States Department of Defence (OJ L 30, 6.2.2015, p. 38).

(3) Council Directive 2000/29/EC of 8 May 2000 on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community (OJ L 169, 10.7.2000, p. 1).

(4) International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No 15 (ISPM 15): Regulation of Wood Packaging Material in International Trade. https://www.ippc.int/en/core-activities/standards-setting/ispms/#614.