Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 733/2008 on the conditions governing imports of agricultural products originating in third countries following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station
Date: 2009-06-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Ukraine, agricultural product, codification of EU law, food contamination, food inspection, import, nuclear accident, originating product, third country

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 18.6.2009 
COM(2009) 276 final 

2009/0079 (ACC) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Regulation (EC) No 733/2008 on the conditions governing imports of 
agricultural products originating in third countries following the accident at the 
Chernobyl nuclear power station 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

Historical background 

The Community’s initial reaction to the Chernobyl accident was for the Commission to adopt 
a  recommendation  addressed  to  the  Member  States  concerning  the  coordination  of  national 
measures  for  marketing  agricultural  products  contaminated  by  fallout  from  the  accident1.  It 
was followed by a Commission Decision2 suspending the inclusion of certain countries on the 
list  of  countries  from  which  the  Member  States  authorise  imports  of  live  animals  and  fresh 
meat. On 12 May 1986, the Council adopted a regulation provisionally suspending the import 
of  certain  agricultural  products  originating  in  certain  third  countries3.  Since  these 
arrangements  for  banning  imports  were  limited  in  time,  the  Council  replaced  them  with  a 
regulation authorising the resumption of imports subject to certain conditions. This regulation 
laid  down  maximum  permitted  levels  for  radioactive  caesium  in  imported  products, 
compliance with which had to be checked by the importing Member States4. From the end of 
19875  onwards,  the  Council  introduced  Article  133  (ex-113)  of  the  EC  Treaty  as  the  legal 
basis  for  adopting  regulations  extending  the  period  of  validity  of  the  control  system;  the 
legislative  corner-stone  being  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  737/906  adopted  in  1990.  This 
regulation was then extended on several occasions, with certain changes being incorporated. 
The latest extension of the Community system for controlling imports of agricultural products 
following  the  Chernobyl  accident,  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  dates  from  March  20007. 
Furthermore, in the framework of the simplification procedure, Council Regulation (EEC) No 
737/90  which  had  been  amended  several  times,  has  been  codified  in  2008  into  Council 
Regulation (EC) No 733/20088. 

Since 1990, several regulations have been adopted by the Commission under the "comitology 
procedure"  to  define  the  scope  of  the  control  system  and  the  procedures  for  implementing 
Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  737/90,  and  in  particular  the  list  of  agricultural  products 
originating in third countries which must be subject to checks at the borders of the European 
Union.  This  list  has  evolved  over  time  and  currently  includes  certain  live  animals  for 
slaughter,  meat  (including  wild  game),  dairy  products,  natural  honey,  non-cultivated 
mushrooms  and  certain  wild  berries9.  Import  controls  imposed  on  the  Member  States  by 
Community  legislation  must  of  course  take  account  of  the  degree  of  contamination  of  the 
country of origin. On the basis of the atlas of radioactive caesium deposition in Europe10, but 
above all on the basis of the results of on-the-spot surveys, the Commission decided in 1999 

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Commission Recommendation of 6 May 1986, OJ L 118, 7.5.1986, p. 28. 
Commission Decision of 7 May 1986, OJ L 120, 8.5.1986, p. 66. 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1388/86 of 12 May 1986, OJ L 127, 13.5.1986, p. 1. 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1707/86 of 30 May 1986, OJ L 146, 31.5.1986, p. 88. 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 3955/87 of 22 December 1987, OJ L 371, 30.12.1987, p. 14. 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 of 22 March 1990, OJ L 82, 29.3.1990, p. 1. 
Council Regulation (EC) No 616/2000 of 20 March 2000, OJ L 75, 24.3.2000, p. 1. 
OJ L 201, 30.7.2008, p. 1. 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1609/2000, OJ L 185, 25.7.2000, p. 27. 
Atlas of caesium deposition on Europe after the Chernobyl Accident, Office for Official Publications of 
the European Communities, Luxembourg 1998, catalogue number CG-NA-16-733-29-C, ISBN 92-828-
3140-X. 

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that certain categories of products originating in third countries should be subjected to stricter 
controls11. 

Aim of the proposal 

The aim of the proposal is to extend for ten years the system for checking compliance with the 
maximum permitted levels of radioactivity in agricultural products laid down by Regulation 
(EC)  No  733/2008  (codified  version  of  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No 737/90  which  was 
extended in time by Council Regulation (EC) No 686/95 until 31 March 2000 and by Council 
Regulation (EC) No 616/2000 until 31 March 2010). 

This  extension  is  justified  because  the  reasons  behind  the  adoption  of  Council  Regulation 
737/90  and  its  previous  extensions  remain  valid.  The  radioactive  caesium  contamination  of 
certain  agricultural  products  originating  in  the  third  countries  most  affected  by  the  accident 
still exceeds the maximum permitted levels laid down in the 1990 Regulation. A number of 
products  originating  from  species  living  and  growing  in  natural  and  semi-natural  areas  may 
present high levels of caesium-137 contamination and the reduction with time of these levels 
in these products essentially relates to the physical half-life of that radionuclide, which is 30 
years.  

This  was  confirmed  in  the  framework  of  a  study  launched  by  the  Commission  on  the 
"potential  imports  by  Member  States  of  agricultural  products  containing  radio-caesium 
concentrations in excess of EC limits". The contractor presented the results of the study and 
its recommendations at the meeting of the ad hoc Committee set up under article 5 of Council 
Regulation  (EC)  No 733/2008  (previous  Article  7  of  Regulation  (EEC)  No  737/90)  which 
took  place  in  December  2007.  On  the  basis  of  the  results  of  the  study  the  Committee 
recommended  that  all  products  present  in  the  current  list  should  remain  in  this  list  and  be 
subject to checks at the borders of the European Union. In addition, as proposed in the study, 
the Committee concluded that an extension of the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No 
733/2008 for a minimum of ten years would be appropriate. The Group of experts referred to 
in Article 31 of the Euratom Treaty was also consulted on the advisability of further extending 
in  time  the  provisions  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No 733/2008  at  its  meeting  on 
26 November 2008.  It  issued  a  favourable  opinion  on  the  Commission's  proposal  and 
concluded that such an extension would be appropriate. 

Finally,  it  is  to  be  recalled  that  Council  Regulation  (Euratom)  No  3954/8712  allows  for  the 
introduction, by means of a Commission Regulation, of different more generalized restrictions 
in  the  event  of  a  future  nuclear  accident  or  radiological  emergency  and  if  such  restrictions 
were  to  be  introduced  there  would  be  discrepancies  with  those  set  out  in  Regulation  (EC) 
No 733/2008. Hence there is a need to confirm the provision that the latter will automatically 
be repealed in the event of the former entering into force. 

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Adoption  in  1999  by  the  Commission  of  a  regulation  introducing  stricter  controls  for  non-cultivated 
mushrooms  originating  in  23  third  countries,  Commission  Regulation  (EC)  1635/2006,  OJ  L  306, 
7.11.2006, p. 3 (Recast version of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1661/1999, OJ L 197, 29.07.1999, 
p. 17,  as  amended  by  Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  1627/2000  of  24 July  2000,  OJ  L 187, 
26.7.2000, p. 7; Commission Regulation (EC) No 1621/2001 of 8 August 2001, OJ L 215, 09.08.2001, 
p. 18; and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1608/2002 of 10 September 2002, OJ L 243, 11.09.2002, 
p. 7). 
OJ  L  371,  30.12.1987,  p.  11.  Regulation  as  last  amended  by  Regulation  (Euratom)  No  2218/89  (OJ 
L 211, 22.7.1989, p. 1). 

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2009/0079 (ACC) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Regulation (EC) No 733/2008 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, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Regulation (EC) No 733/200813, which is the codified version of repealed Regulation 
(EEC)  No  737/90  on  the  conditions  governing  imports  of  agricultural  products 
originating in third countries following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power-
station14,  fixed  maximum  permitted  levels  of  radioactivity  for  agricultural  products 
originating  in  third  countries  and  intended  for  human  consumption,  with  which 
imports  must  comply  and  in  connection  with  which  checks  are  carried  out  by  the 
Members States. However, Regulation (EC) No 733/2008 expires on 31 March 2010. 

Radioactive  caesium  contamination  of  certain  products  originating  in  the  third 
countries  most  affected  by  the  Chernobyl  accident  still  exceeds  the  maximum 
permitted levels of radioactivity laid down in Regulation (EC) No 733/2008.  

There is scientific evidence that the duration of caesium-137 contamination following 
the Chernobyl accident, for a number of products originating from species living and 
growing in forests and wooded areas, essentially relates to the physical half-life of that 
radionuclide, which is 30 years. 

(4) 

Regulation (EC) No 733/2008 should therefore be amended accordingly, 

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OJ L 201, 30.7.2008, p. 1. 
OJ L 82, 29.3.1990, p. 1. 

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HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

The second paragraph of Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 733/2008 shall be replaced by the 
following: 

"It shall expire: 

1. 

2. 

on  31  March  2020,  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; 

upon 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 2020." 

Article 2 

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  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,  

For the Council 

The President 

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