[pic] | COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES |

Brussels, 4.6.2007

COM(2007) 291 final

2007/0101 (ACC)

Proposal for a

COUNCIL REGULATION

on the conditions governing imports of agricultural products originating in third countries following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power-station (Codified version)

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1 In the context of a people’s Europe, the Commission attaches great importance to simplifying and clarifying Community law so as to make it clearer and more accessible to the ordinary citizen, thus giving him new opportunities and the chance to make use of the specific rights it gives him.

This aim cannot be achieved so long as numerous provisions that have been amended several times, often quite substantially, remain scattered, so that they must be sought partly in the original instrument and partly in later amending ones. Considerable research work, comparing many different instruments, is thus needed to identify the current rules.

For this reason a codification of rules that have frequently been amended is also essential if Community law is to be clear and transparent.

2. On 1 April 1987 the Commission therefore decided[1] to instruct its staff that all legislative acts should be codified after no more than ten amendments, stressing that this is a minimum requirement and that departments should endeavour to codify at even shorter intervals the texts for which they are responsible, to ensure that the Community rules are clear and readily understandable.

3. The Conclusions of the Presidency of the Edinburgh European Council (December 1992) confirmed this[2] stressing the importance of codification as it offers certainty as to the law applicable to a given matter at a given time.

Codification must be undertaken in full compliance with the normal Community legislative procedure.

Given that no changes of substance may be made to the instruments affected by codification , the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission have agreed, by an interinstitutional agreement dated 20 December 1994, that an accelerated procedure may be used for the fast-track adoption of codification instruments.

4. The purpose of this proposal is to undertake a codification of Council Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 of 22 March 1990 on the conditions governing imports of agricultural products originating in third countries following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power-station[3]. The new Regulation will supersede the various acts incorporated in it[4]; this proposal fully preserves the content of the acts being codified and hence does no more than bring them together with only such formal amendments as are required by the codification exercise itself.

5. The codification proposal was drawn up on the basis of a preliminary consolidation , in all official languages, of Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 and the instruments amending it, carried out by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, by means of a data-processing system . Where the Articles have been given new numbers, the correlation between the old and the new numbers is shown in a table set out in Annex IV to the codified Regulation.

737/90 (adapted)

2007/aaaa (ACC)

Proposal for a

COUNCIL REGULATION

on the conditions governing imports of agricultural products originating in third countries following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power-station

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 133 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament[5],

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee[6],

Whereas:

(1) Council Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 of 22 March 1990 on the conditions governing imports of agricultural products originating in third countries following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power-station[7] has been substantially amended several times[8]. In the interests of clarity and rationality the said Regulation should be codified.

737/90 Recital 1

(2) Following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power-station on 26 April 1986, considerable quantities of radioactive elements were released into the atmosphere.

737/90 Recital 3 (adapted)

(3) Without prejudice to the possibility of resorting, where necessary, in the future to the provisions of Council Regulation (Euratom) No [3954/87 of 22 December 1987 laying down maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination of foodstuffs and of feedingstuffs following a nuclear accident or any other case of radiological emergency[9]], the Community should ensure, with regard to the specific effects of the accident at Chernobyl, that agricultural products and processed agricultural products intended for human consumption and likely to be contaminated are introduced into the Community only according to common arrangements.

737/90 Recital 4

(4) Those common arrangements should safeguard the health of consumers, maintain, without having unduly adverse effects on trade between the Community and third countries, the unified nature of the market and prevent deflections of trade.

737/90 Recital 6 (adapted)

(5) Compliance with the maximum permitted levels should be the subject of appropriate checks, which may lead to prohibiting imports in cases of non-compliance.

737/90 Recital 7 (adapted)

(6) Radioactive contamination in many agricultural products has decreased and will continue to decrease to the levels existing before the Chernobyl accident. A procedure should therefore be established enabling such products to be excluded from the scope of Regulation (Euratom) No [3954/87] .

737/90 Recital 8 (adapted)

(7) Since this Regulation covers all agricultural products and processed agricultural products intended for human consumption, there is no need, in the present case, to apply the procedure referred to in Article 14 of Council Directive 2004/68/EC[10] .

737/90 Recital 9 (adapted)

(8) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission[11],

737/90 (adapted)

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

With the exception of the products unfit for human consumption listed in Annex I and those products which may come to be excluded from the scope of this Regulation in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 5(2), this Regulation shall apply to the products originating in third countries covered by:

(a) Annex I to the Treaty;

(b) Council Regulation [(EEC) No 2730/75 [12]];

(c) Council Regulation [(EEC) No 2783/75 [13]];

(d) Council Regulation (EC) No 3448/93 [14] ;

(e) Council Regulation (EC) No 776/94 [15] .

Article 2

1. Without prejudice to other provisions in force, the release for free circulation of the products referred to in Article 1 shall be subject to compliance with the maximum permitted levels laid down in paragraph 2 :

616/2000 Art. 1(a) (adapted)

2. The accumulated maximum radioactive level in terms of caesium – 134 and – 137 shall be[16]:

(a) 370 Bq/kg for milk and milk products listed in Annex II and for foodstuffs intended for the special feeding of infants during the first four to six months of life, which meet, in themselves, the nutritional requirements of this category of persons and are put up for retail sale in packages which are clearly identified and labelled 'food preparation for infants';

(b) 600 Bq/kg for all other products concerned.

737/90 (adapted)

Article 3

1. Member States shall check compliance with the maximum permitted levels laid down in Article 2(2) in respect of the products referred to in Article 1, taking into account contamination levels in the country of origin.

Checking may also include the presentation of export certificates.

Depending on the results of the checks carried out, Member States shall take the measures required for Article 2(1) to apply, including the prohibition of release for free circulation, taking each case individually or generally for a given product.

2. Each Member State shall provide the Commission with all information concerning the application of this Regulation, notably cases of non-compliance with the maximum permitted levels.

The Commission shall circulate such information to the other Member States.

3. Where cases of repeated non-compliance with the maximum permitted levels have been recorded, the necessary measures may be taken in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 5(2).

Such measures may even include the prohibition of the import of products originating in the third country concerned.

Article 4

The arrangements for applying this Regulation, any amendments to be made to the products in Annex I, and the list of products excluded from this Regulation shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 5(2).

806/2003 Art. 3 and Annex III pt. 7

Article 5

1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee.

806/2003 Art. 3 and Annex III pt. 7 (adapted)

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph , Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply.

806/2003 Art. 3 and Annex III pt. 7

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at one month.

3. The Committee shall adopt its Rules of Procedure.

Article 6

Council Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 is repealed.

References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to this Regulation and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex IV.

737/90 (adapted)

Article 7

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

616/2000 Art. 1(c)

It shall expire:

(a) on 31 March 2010, unless the Council decides otherwise at an earlier date, in particular if the list of excluded products referred to in Article 4 covers all the products fit for human consumption to which this Regulation applies;

(b) on the entry into force of the Commission Regulation provided for in Article 2(1) of Regulation (Euratom) No [3954/87], if such entry into force takes place before 31 March 2010.

737/90

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the Council

The President

737/90 (adapted)

ANNEX I

Products unfit for human consumption

CN code | Description |

ex 0101 Ö 10 10 Õ Ö ex 0101 90 19 Õ | Racehorses |

ex 0106 | Other (live animals, excluding domestic rabbits and pigeons: not for human consumption) |

ex 0301 | Live ornamental fish |

0408 11 Ö 20 Õ 0408 19 Ö 20 Õ 0408 91 Ö 20 Õ 0408 99 Ö 20 Õ | Eggs, not in shell, and egg yolks, unfit for human consumption[17] |

ex 0504 Ö 00 00 Õ | Non-edible guts, bladders and stomachs of animals (other than fish), whole and pieces thereof |

0511 10 00 ex 0511 91 90 0511 99 | Animal products not elsewhere specified or included, excluding edible animal blood; dead animals of Chapter 1 or Chapter 3, unfit for human consumption |

Ö ex Õ 0713 | Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split, for sowing |

1001 90 10 | Spelt for sowing[18] |

1005 10 11 1005 10 13 1005 10 15 1005 10 19 | Hybrid maize for sowing[19] |

Ö 1005 10 90 Õ | Ö Other maize for sowing Õ |

1006 10 10 | Rice for sowing[20] |

1007 00 Ö 10 Õ | Hybrid sorghum for sowing[21] |

1201 00 10 1202 10 10 1204 00 10 1205 00 10 1206 00 10 1207 10 10 1207 20 10 1207 30 10 1207 40 10 1207 50 10 1207 60 10 1207 91 10 1207 99 Ö 15 Õ | Oil seeds and oleaginous fruit, whole or broken, for sowing[22] |

Ö ex Õ 1209 | Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing Ö , capable of germination (i.e., fit for sowing) Õ |

1501 00 11 | Lard and other pig fat for industrial uses other than the manufacture of foodstuffs for human consumption[23] |

1502 00 10 | Fats of bovine animals, sheep or goats, raw or rendered, whether or not pressed or solvent-extracted, for industrial uses other than the manufacture of foodstuffs for human consumption[24] |

1503 00 11 | Lard stearin and oleostearin for industrial uses[25] |

1503 00 30 | Tallow oil for industrial uses other than the manufacture of foodstuffs for human consumption[26] |

1505 Ö 00 Õ | Wool grease and fatty substances derived therefrom (including lanolin) |

1507 10 10 1507 90 10 | Soya bean oil and its fractions, whether or not refined; but not chemically modified, for technical uses other than the manufacture of foodstuffs for human consumption[27] |

1508 10 10 1508 90 10 | Ground-nut oil and its fractions, whether or not refined but not chemically modified, for technical or industrial uses other than the manufacture of foodstuffs for human consumption[28] |

1511 10 10 | Crude palm oil and its fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified, for technical or industrial uses other than the manufacture of foodstuffs for human consumption[29] |

1515 30 10 | Castor oil and its fractions for the production for the production of aminoundecanoic acid for use in the manufacture of synthetic textile fibres or of artificial plastic materials[30] |

1515 Ö 90 11 Õ | Tung oil Ö ; jojoba and oiticica oils; myrtle wax and Japan wax; their Õ fractions |

1511 90 91 1512 11 Ö 10 Õ 1512 19 10 1512 21 10 1512 29 10 1513 11 10 1513 19 30 1513 21 Ö 10 Õ 1513 29 30 1514 Ö 11 Õ 10 1514 Ö 19 Õ 10 Ö 1514 91 10 Õ Ö 1514 99 10 Õ 1515 19 10 1515 21 10 1515 29 10 1515 50 11 1515 50 91 1515 90 21 1515 90 31 1515 90 40 1515 90 60 1516 20 Ö 95 Õ | Other oils for technical or industrial uses other than the manufacture of foodstuffs for human consumption[31] |

1518 00 31 1518 00 39 | Fixed vegetables oils, fluid, mixed, for technical or industrial uses other than the manufacture of foodstuffs for human consumption[32] |

2207 20 00 | Ethyl alcohol and other spirits; denatured, of any strength |

Ö 3824 Õ 10 00 | Prepared binders for foundry moulds or cores |

4501 | Natural cork, raw or simply prepared; waste cork; crushed granulated or ground cork |

5301 10 00 5301 21 00 5301 29 00 | Flax, raw or processed but not spun |

5302 | True hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), raw or processed but not spun; tow and waste of true hemp (including yarn waste and garnetted stock) |

ex Chapter 6 | Live trees and other plants; bulbs, roots and the like, cut flowers and ornamental foliage, excluding plants and roots of chicory of subheading 0601 20 10 |

_____________

ANNEX II

Milk and milk products to which a maximum permitted level of 370 Bq/kg applies

CN codes | 0401 |

0402 |

0403 10 11 to 39 |

0403 90 11 to 69 |

0404 |

_____________

ANNEX III

Repealed Regulation with list of its successive amendments

Council Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 (OJ L 82, 29.3.1990, p. 1) |

Council Regulation (EC) No 686/95 (OJ L 71, 31.3.1995, p. 15) |

Council Regulation (EC) No 616/2000 (OJ L 75, 24.3.2000, p. 1) |

Council Regulation (EC) No 806/2003 (OJ L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 1) | point 7 of Annex III only |

_____________

ANNEX IV

Correlation table

Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 | This Regulation |

Article 1, introductory words | Article 1, introductory words |

Article 1, first indent | Article 1(a) |

Article 1, second indent | Article 1(b) |

Article 1, third indent | Article 1(c) |

Article 1, fourth indent | Article 1(d) |

Article 1, fifth indent | Article 1(e) |

Article 2 | Article 2 (1) |

Article 3, first introductory sentence | - |

Article 3, second introductory sentence | Article 2(2) introductory sentence |

Article 3, first and second indent | Article 2(2) (a) and (b) |

Article 4(1) first, second and third sentence | Article 3(1) first, second and third subparagraph |

Article 4(2) first and second sentence | Article 3(2) first and second subparagraph |

Article 5 first and second sentence | Article 3(3) first and second subparagraph |

Article 6 | Article 4 |

Article 7 | Article 5 |

- | Article 6 |

Article 8, first paragraph | Article 7, first paragraph |

Article 8, second paragraph, introductory words | Article 7, second paragraph, introductory words |

Article 8, second paragraph, point 1 | Article 7, second paragraph, point (a) |

Article 8, second paragraph, point 2 | Article 7, second paragraph, point (b) |

Annex I | Annex I |

Annex II | Annex II |

_ | Annex III |

_ | Annex IV |

___________________

[1] COM(87) 868 PV.

[2] See Annex 3 to Part A of the Conclusions.

[3] Carried out pursuant to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council – Codification of the Acquis Communautaire, COM(2001) 645 final.

[4] See Annex III to this proposal.

[5] OJ C […], […], p. […].

[6] OJ C […], […], p. […].

[7] OJ L 82, 29.3.1990, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 806/2003 (OJ L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 1).

[8] See Annex III.

[9] [OJ L 371, 30.12.1987, p. 11. Regulation as amended by Regulation (Euratom) No 2218/89 (OJ L 211, 22.7.1989. p. 1).]

[10] OJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 320.

[11] OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. Decision as amended by Decision 2006/512/EC (OJ L 200, 22.7.2006, p. 11).

[12] [OJ L 281, 1.11.1975, p. 20.]

[13] [OJ L 282, 1.11.1975, p. 104.]

[14] OJ L 318, 20.12.1993, p. 18.

[15] OJ L 91, 8.4.1994, p. 6.

[16] The level applicable to concentrated or dried products shall be calculated on the basis of the reconstituted product as ready for consumption.

[17] Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions.

[18] Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions.

[19] Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions.

[20] Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions.

[21] Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions.

[22] Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions.

[23] Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions.

[24] Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions.

[25] Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions.

[26] Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions.

[27] Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions.

[28] Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions.

[29] Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions.

[30] Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions.

[31] Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions.

[32] Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions.