COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2019/1587

of 24 September 2019

prohibiting the introduction into the Union of specimens of certain species of wild fauna and flora in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (1), and in particular Article 4(6)(a) and (b) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The purpose of Regulation (EC) No 338/97 is to protect species of wild fauna and flora and to guarantee their conservation by regulating trade in animal and plant species listed in its Annexes. The Commission may implement that Regulation by establishing restrictions to the introduction of specimens of certain species into the Union.

(2) The currently applicable list of species for which the introduction into the Union is prohibited was established in October 2017 by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1915 (2).

(3) Taking into account relevant recommendations made by the CITES Standing Committee at its 69th and 70th meetings (3), and based on reports prepared for the EU Scientific Review Group (4), the Group has concluded that the conservation status of certain additional species listed in Annex B to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 would be seriously jeopardised if their introduction into the Union from certain countries of origin is not prohibited (5). The introduction into the Union of specimens of the following species should therefore be prohibited: — Pericopsis elata from Côte D'Ivoire; — Prunus africana from Equatorial Guinea.

(4) Further taking into account the secession of South Sudan from Sudan on 9 July 2011 and its admission as a new Member State by the United Nations General Assembly on 14 July 2011, to maintain the provisions that were already in force with regard to the predecessor State, the introduction into the Union of specimens of the following species should also be prohibited: — Torgos tracheliotus from South Sudan.

(5) Taking into account further recommendations made by the CITES Standing Committee at its 69th and 70th meetings, and also based on reports prepared for the Scientific Review Group (6), the Group has furthermore concluded that the prohibition of the introduction into the Union is no longer required for specimens of the following species: — Hippopotamus amphibius, Stangeriaceae spp. and Zamiaceae spp. from Mozambique; — Balearica regulorum and Agapornis fischeri from Tanzania; — Poicephalus fuscicollis from Mali; — Phelsuma breviceps and Phelsuma standingi from Madagascar; — Naja atra, Naja kaouthia, Naja siamensis, Cuora galbinifrons, Heosemys annandalii and Heosemys grandis from Laos; — Stigmochelys pardalis from the Democratic Republic of the Congo; — Hippocampus kuda from Viet Nam; — Pandinus roeseli (7) from Benin, Ghana and Togo; — Acanthastrea hemprichii, Favites halicora and Platygyra sinensis from Tonga.

(6) The Scientific Review Group has furthermore concluded that, on the basis of the most recent available information on nomenclature, the name of the species Ovis vignei bochariensis should be amended to Ovis aries cycloceros. This change in nomenclature does not affect the scope of the suspension already in force.

(7) The Scientific Review Group has finally concluded that, on the basis of the most recent available information, the prohibition of the introduction into the Union of specimens of the family Cycadaceae from Mozambique should be amended so that it refers only to specimens of the species Cycas thouarsii of that family.

(8) Taking into account the conclusions of the Scientific Review Group, and — in the case of the species/country combinations referred to in (3) above — after consulting the countries of origin concerned in the context of the CITES Standing Committee, the list of species for which the introduction into the Union is prohibited should be updated and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1915 should, for reasons of clarity, be replaced.

(9) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora established pursuant to Article 18 of the Regulation,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 The introduction into the Union of specimens of the species of wild fauna and flora set out in the Annex to this Regulation from the countries of origin indicated therein is prohibited.

Article 2 Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1915 is repealed. References to the repealed Implementing Regulation shall be construed as references to this Regulation.

Article 3 This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth 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, 24 September 2019. For the Commission The President Jean-Claude JUNCKER

(1) OJ L 61, 3.3.1997, p. 1.

(2) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1915 of 19 October 2017 prohibiting the introduction into the Union of specimens of certain species of wild fauna and flora (OJ L 271, 20.10.2017, p. 7).

(3) Implementation of Resolution Conf. 12.8 (Rev. CoP17) on Review of Significant Trade in specimens of Appendix-II species — Recommendations of the Standing Committee, Geneva, 6 May 2019, available at https://cites.org/sites/default/files/notif/E-Notif-2019-027.pdf

(4) Technical Report No 79/4/2/1 of May 2017 on the Amendments to SRG opinions: Including an overview of opinions for wildsourced Annex A species and opinions for former countries/territories; Technical Report No 80/4/2/2 of August 2017 on the Review of CITES-listed Ovis subspecies in Uzbekistan: evaluating the EU import suspension for Ovis vignei bochariensis; Technical Report No 82/4/2/2 of January 2018 on the Comparison of EU decisions and decisions formed at the 69th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee, in the context of the Review of Significant Trade; Technical Report No 85/4/2/3 of November 2018 on the Comparison of EU decisions and decisions formed at the 70th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee.

(5) SRG meeting summaries are available at https://circabc.europa.eu/w/browse/b46ce9b8-0fe6-4aab-b420-0c31527ad866

(6) Technical Report No 82/4/2/2 of January 2018 on the Comparison of EU decisions and decisions formed at the 69th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee, in the context of the Review of Significant Trade; Technical Report No 85/4/2/3 of November 2018 on the Comparison of EU decisions and decisions formed at the 70th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee.

(7) Suspension originally applicable to Pandinus imperator, from which Pandinus roeseli was split in 2017, following taxonomic changes adopted at the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES.