Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/360 of 24 January 2024 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/478 as regards the extension of the period of application of protective measures on imports of bivalve molluscs from Türkiye intended for human consumption
Date: 2024-01-24
Institutions: Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission
Subjects: Türkiye, food inspection, food safety, health risk, human nutrition, import (EU), import restriction, mollusc, veterinary inspection








L_202400360EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series L













2024/360


25.1.2024







            COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2024/360
of 24 January 2024
         
amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/478 as regards the extension of the period of application of protective measures on imports of bivalve molluscs from Türkiye intended for human consumption
(Text with EEA relevance)


THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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


Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products, amending Regulations (EC) No 999/2001, (EC) No 396/2005, (EC) No 1069/2009, (EC) No 1107/2009, (EU) No 1151/2012, (EU) No 652/2014, (EU) 2016/429 and (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Regulations (EC) No 1/2005 and (EC) No 1099/2009 and Council Directives 98/58/EC, 1999/74/EC, 2007/43/EC, 2008/119/EC and 2008/120/EC, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 854/2004 and (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directives 89/608/EEC, 89/662/EEC, 90/425/EEC, 91/496/EEC, 96/23/EC, 96/93/EC and 97/78/EC and Council Decision 92/438/EEC (Official Controls Regulation) (1), and in particular Article 128(1) thereof,

Whereas:







(1)


Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 743/2013 (2) introduced protective measures on imports of bivalve molluscs from Turkey intended for human consumption. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2022/478 (3) provides for similar protective measures until 31 December 2023.












(2)


Those measures were introduced following Commission audits, which identified deficiencies in the implementation of official controls by the Turkish competent authorities on the production of bivalve molluscs intended for entry into the Union, and Member States’ reports of non-compliant consignments of bivalve molluscs originating in Türkiye.












(3)


The latest Commission audits conducted onsite in 2022 and 2023 identified persistent deficiencies in the official control system overseeing bivalve molluscs intended for entry into the Union. These deficiencies revealed structural food safety processing shortcomings within Turkish establishments approved for exporting bivalve molluscs to the Union. If the existing protective measures were to be lifted, these unresolved issues would pose significant food safety risks for the products exported from these premises.












(4)


The period of application of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2022/478 should therefore be extended for three more years to allow Türkiye to address the recommendations from the previous audits for entry of bivalve molluscs into the Union, and have these assessed by the Commission.












(5)


The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,





HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:



Article 1
In the second paragraph of Article 5 of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2022/478, the term ‘31 December 2023’ is replaced by the term ‘31 December 2026’.


Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the fourth 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 January 2024.


For the Commission


The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN
            





(1)  
            OJ L 95, 7.4.2017, p. 1.

(2)  Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 743/2013 of 31 July 2013 on introducing protective measures on imports of bivalve molluscs from Turkey intended for human consumption (OJ L 205, 1.8.2013, p. 1).

(3)  Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2022/478 on maintaining protective measures on imports of bivalve molluscs from Turkey intended for human consumption (OJ L 98, 25.3.2022, p. 54).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/360/oj
ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)