Corrigendum to Council Regulation (EC) No 1991/2006 of 21 December 2006 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs ( OJ L 411, 30.12.2006 )
Date: 2007-02-02
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: agricultural product, foodstuff, free movement of goods, labelling, organic farming

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Corrigendum to Council Regulation (EC) No 1991/2006 of 21 December 2006 amending Regulation (EEC) No
2092/91 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural
products and foodstuffs

(Official Journal of the European Union L 411 of 30 December 2006)

Regulation (EC) No 1991/2006 should read as follows:

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1991/2006

of 21 December 2006

amending Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 on organic production of agricultural products and
indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

(4)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof,

establishing the European

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),

(5)

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

It is necessary to advance the implementation of the
European Action Plan for Organic Food and Farming
on the basis of concrete measures with a view to
assuring simplification and overall coherence.

Organic products imported into the Community should
be allowed to be placed on the Community market
labelled with a reference to organic farming if
they
have been produced in accordance with production
rules and subject to inspection arrangements that are in
compliance with, or equivalent
to, Community legis-
lation.

countries whose

production standards

should be published.

Third
and
inspection arrangements are equivalent to those applied
in the Community should be recognised and a list
thereof
Inspection bodies or
inspection authorities competent to carry out inspection
in countries which are not on the list of recognised third
countries should also be recognised and listed. Third
country operators who produce in direct compliance
with Community rules should be allowed to submit
their activities to inspection bodies and inspection autho-
rities recognised by the Commission for this purpose.

Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 of 24 June 1991
on organic production of agricultural products and indi-
cations referring thereto on agricultural products and
foodstuffs (2) provides for the possibility for Member
States to grant until 31 December 2006 authorisations
to importers for the placing on the Community market
of individual products under certain conditions. It should
be amended to replace that
import scheme with a
scheme applicable after that date.

In order not to disrupt international trade, it is necessary
to extend the possibility for Member States to continue
to grant authorisations to importers on a case by case
basis for the placing on the Community market of
products until the measures necessary for the functioning
of the new import scheme have been put in place,
in
particular as regards the recognition of inspection bodies
and inspection authorities
to carry out
inspection in those countries which are not on the list
of recognised third countries.

competent

(6)

Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 should be amended
accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 is hereby amended as follows:

(1) in Article 10(1), point (b) shall be replaced by the following:

‘(b) have been subject to the inspection system referred to
in Article 9, or have been imported in conformity with
Article 11;

(1) Opinion of 28 September 2006 (not yet published in the Official

Journal).

Commission Regulation
15.12.2006, p. 88).

(2) OJ L 198, 22.7.1991, p. 1. Regulation as

(EC) No 1851/2006 (OJ

last amended by
L 355,

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in the

case of products

imported in
however,
conformity with Article 11(6), the implementation of
the inspection system shall comply with requirements
equivalent to those provided for in Article 9, and in
particular paragraph 4 thereof.’;

(2) Article 11 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 11

1.
A product imported from a third country may be
placed on the Community market labelled as a product
referring to the organic production
with indications
method provided that:

(a)

the product complies with the provisions set out in
Articles 5 and 6 of this Regulation;

(b) all operators,

including the exporters, have submitted
their activities to an inspection body or an inspection
authority recognised in accordance with paragraph 2;
and,

(c)

the operators concerned shall be able to provide at any
time, to the importers or the national authorities, docu-
mentary evidence permitting the identification of the
operator who carried out the last operation and the
type or range of products under his control, as well
as permitting verification of
that
operator with points (a) and (b), and the period of
validity.

compliance by

The Commission shall,

in accordance with the
2.
procedure referred to in Article 14(2),
recognise the
inspection bodies and inspection authorities referred to in
paragraph 1(b), including inspection bodies and inspection
authorities referred to in Article 9, competent to carry out
inspections and to issue documentary evidence referred to
in paragraph 1(c) in third countries, and shall establish a list
of those inspection bodies and inspection authorities.

The inspection bodies shall be accredited to the relevant
European Standard EN 45011 or ISO Guide 65 ‘General
for bodies operating product certification
requirements
systems’,
this being the version last published in the
Official Journal of the European Union, C series. The inspection
bodies shall undergo regular on-the-spot evaluation, moni-
toring and multi-annual re-assessment of their activities by
the accreditation body.

When examining requests for recognition, the Commission
shall invite the inspection body or authority to supply all
the necessary information. The Commission may also
entrust experts with the task of examining on-the-spot the
rules of production and the inspection activities carried out
in the third country by the inspection body or inspection
authority concerned.

The recognised inspection bodies or inspection authorities
shall provide the assessment reports issued by the accred-
itation body or, as appropriate, the competent authority on
the regular on-the-spot evaluation, monitoring and multi-
annual re-assessment of their activities.

Based on the assessment reports, the Commission, assisted
by the Member States, shall ensure appropriate supervision
of the recognised inspection bodies and inspection autho-
rities by regularly reviewing their recognition. The nature of
the supervision shall be determined on the basis of an
assessment of the risk of the occurrence of irregularities
or infringements of the provisions set out in or pursuant
to this Regulation.

3.
A product imported from a third country may also be
placed on the Community market labelled as a product with
indications referring to the organic production method,
provided that:

(a)

the product has been produced in accordance with
production standards equivalent
to the production
rules
laid down in Articles 5 and 6 for organic
production in the Community;

(b) the operators have been subject to inspection measures
to those referred to in
of equivalent effectiveness
Articles 8 and 9, and such inspection measures have
been permanently and effectively applied;

(c)

the operators at all stages of production, preparation
and distribution in the third country have submitted
their activities to an inspection system recognised in
accordance with paragraph 4 or an inspection body or
inspection authority recognised in accordance with
paragraph 5; and,

inspection
(d) the product is covered by a certificate of
issued by the competent authorities or
inspection
bodies or inspection authorities of the third country
recognised in accordance with paragraph 4, or by an
inspection body or inspection authority recognised in
accordance with paragraph 5, which confirms that the
product
in this
certificate must
paragraph. The original of
accompany the goods to the premises of
the first
consignee. Thereafter, the importer must keep the certi-
ficate at the disposal of the inspection body and, as
appropriate, the inspection authority for not less than
two years.

conditions

set out

satisfies

the

the

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The Commission may,

in accordance with the
4.
procedure referred to in Article 14(2),
recognise third
countries whose system of production complies with rules
equivalent to those laid down in Articles 5 and 6 and
whose inspection arrangements are of equivalent effec-
tiveness to those laid down in Article 8 and 9, and may
establish a list of these countries. The assessment of equiv-
alency shall take into account Codex Alimentarius guidelines
CAC/GL 32.

or the inspection authority shall undergo regular on-the-
spot evaluation, monitoring and multi-annual re-assessment
of their activities by an accreditation body or, as appro-
priate, by a competent authority. The Commission may
entrust to experts the task of examining on-the-spot the
rules of production and the inspection activities carried
out
in the third country by the inspection body or
inspection authority concerned.

When examining requests for recognition, the Commission
invite the third country to supply all the necessary
shall
information. The Commission may entrust to experts the
task of examining on-the-spot the rules of production and
the inspection arrangements of the third country concerned.

The recognised inspection bodies or inspection authorities
shall provide the assessment reports issued by the accred-
itation body or, as appropriate, the competent authority on
the regular on-the-spot evaluation, monitoring and multi-
annual re-assessment of their activities.

By 31 March of each year, the third countries so recognised
to the Commission
shall send a concise annual report
regarding the implementation and the enforcement of
their inspection arrangements.

Based on the information in those annual reports,
the
Commission, assisted by the Member States, shall ensure
appropriate supervision of the recognised third countries
by regularly reviewing their recognition. The nature of the
supervision shall be determined on the basis of an
assessment of the risk of the occurrence of irregularities
or infringements of the provisions set out in or pursuant
to this Regulation.

For products not imported under paragraph 1 and not
5.
imported from a third country which is recognised under
paragraph 4, the Commission may, in accordance with the
recognise the
procedure referred to in Article 14(2),
inspection bodies and inspection authorities,
including
inspection bodies and inspection authorities as referred to
in Article 9, competent to carry out inspections and issue
certificates in third countries for the purpose of paragraph
3, and establish a list of
these inspection bodies and
inspection authorities. The assessment of equivalency shall
take into account Codex Alimentarius guidelines CAC/GL 32.

The Commission shall examine any request for recognition
lodged by an inspection body or an inspection authority in
a third country.

reports,

Based on those assessment
the Commission,
assisted by the Member States, shall ensure appropriate
supervision of recognised inspection bodies and inspection
authorities by regularly reviewing their recognition. The
nature of the supervision shall be determined on the basis
of an assessment of the risk of the occurrence of irregu-
larities or infringements of the provisions set out in or
pursuant to this Regulation.

6.
For a period starting on 1 January 2007 and ending
12 months after the publication of the first list of inspection
bodies and inspection authorities recognised pursuant to
paragraph 5, the competent authority of a Member State
may authorise importers in that Member State, where the
importer has notified his activity in accordance with Article
8(1), to place on the market products imported from third
countries which are not included in the list referred to in
paragraph 4, provided that the importer provides sufficient
evidence showing that the conditions referred to in points
(a) and (b) of paragraph 3 are satisfied. If those conditions
are no longer satisfied, the authorisation shall be imme-
diately withdrawn. Authorisations shall expire at the latest
24 months after the publication of the first list of inspection
bodies and inspection authorities recognised pursuant to
paragraph 5. The imported product shall be covered by a
certificate of inspection issued by the authority or body
issuing the certificate of
which has been accepted for
inspection by the competent authority of the authorising
certificate must
Member State. The original of
accompany the goods
first
the
consignee; thereafter the importer must keep the certificate
at the disposal of the inspection body and, as appropriate,
the inspection authority for not less than two years.

to the premises of

the

When examining requests for recognition, the Commission
shall invite the inspection body or inspection authority to
supply all the necessary information. The inspection body

Each Member State shall inform the other Member States
and the Commission of each authorisation granted pursuant
to this paragraph, including information on the production
standards and inspection arrangements concerned.

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At the request of a Member State or at the Commission's
initiative,
to this
an authorisation granted pursuant
paragraph shall be examined by the Committee referred to
Article 14. If this examination discloses that the conditions
referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 3 of this
Article are not satisfied, the Commission shall require the
Member State which granted the authorisation to withdraw
it.

Any authorisation to market products imported from a
third country which had, prior to 31 December 2006,
been granted to an importer by the competent authority
of the respective Member State under this paragraph, shall
expire on 31 December 2007 at the latest.

The Commission shall,

7.
in accordance with the
procedure referred to in Article 14(2), adopt detailed rules
in particular regarding:
for the application of this Article,

(a)

the criteria and procedures to be followed with regard
third countries and inspection
to the recognition of
including the publi-
bodies and inspection authorities,
cation of
and
recognised third countries
lists of
inspection bodies and inspection authorities; and,

(b) the documentary evidence referred to in paragraph 1
and the certificate referred to in paragraphs 3(d) and
6 of this Article, taking into account the advantages
of
enhanced
certification including
protection against fraud.’;

electronic

the

(4) point C of Annex III is hereby amended as follows:

(a)

In the first paragraph,
replaced by the following:

the second indent shall be

‘— the first consignee shall mean the natural or legal
person referred to in Article 11(3)(d) and Article
11(6) to whom the consignment is delivered and
who will
further preparation or
for
placing on the Community market.’; and,

receive it

(b) In point 5, the first subparagraph shall be replaced by

the following:

‘The inspection body or authority shall inspect the stock
and financial records mentioned in section C, point 2
and the certificate of inspection referred to in Article
11(3)(d) or Article 11(6) and the documentary evidence
referred to in Article 11(1).’.

Article 2

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

(3) the second subparagraph of Article 16(3) shall be deleted;

It shall apply from 1 January 2007.

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

Done at Brussels, 21 December 2006.

For the Council
The President

J. KORKEAOJA