15.2.2012 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 41/5
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 126/2012
of 14 February 2012
amending Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 as regards documentary evidence and amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards the arrangements for imports of organic products from the United States of America
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 (1), and in particular Article 33(2) and (3) and Article 38(c) and (d) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Article 29(1) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 requires control authorities and control bodies to provide documentary evidence to the operators subject to their controls.
(2) According to Article 28(1) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, operators who export products produced in compliance with the production rules laid down in that Regulation must submit their undertaking to the control system referred to in Article 27 of that Regulation.
(3) Under that control system and in the light of the production rules established by Article 14(1)(e) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 and by Article 24 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 of 5 September 2008 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products with regard to organic production, labelling and control (2), the control authorities and the control bodies currently verify the livestock records of the operator, including regarding veterinary treatment and the use of antibiotics. In the light of this concrete application of the control system and in the interest of organic livestock producers in the Union, it is appropriate to ensure the identification of certain production methods not using antibiotics when such identification is requested by the operator. Adequate information about the specific characteristics of the production method is also needed in order to facilitate the market access to the United States. Those specific characteristics should be attested through complementary documentary evidence provided in accordance with Article 29 of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, in addition to the documentary evidence referred to in Article 68 of Regulation (EC) No 889/2008.
(4) Certain agricultural products imported from the United States are currently marketed in the Union pursuant to the transitional rules provided for in Article 19 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 of 8 December 2008 laying down detailed rules for implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 as regards the arrangements for imports of organic products from third countries (3). The United States submitted a request to the Commission to be included in the list provided for in Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008. It submitted the information required pursuant to Articles 7 and 8 of that Regulation. The examination of that information and subsequent discussions with the US authorities have led to the conclusion that in that country the rules governing the production and controls of organic agricultural products are equivalent to those laid down in Regulation (EC) No 834/2007. The Commission has carried out a satisfactory on-the-spot check of the rules of production and the control measures actually applied in the United States, as provided for in Article 33(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007. Consequently, the United States should be included in the list set out in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008.
(5) Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 contains a list of control bodies and control authorities competent to carry out controls and issue certificates in third countries for the purpose of equivalence. As a consequence of the inclusion of the United States in Annex III to that Regulation, the relevant US control bodies and control authorities should be deleted from Annex IV to the extent that they control production in the United States.
(6) Regulations (EC) No 889/2008 and (EC) No 1235/2008 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(7) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the regulatory Committee on organic production,
Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 is amended as follows:
(1) in Article 63(1), the following point (d) is added:
‘(d) the specific characteristics of the production method used, where the operator intends to request documentary evidence in accordance with Article 68(2).’;
(2) Article 68 is replaced by the following:
(3) in the title of Annex XII, the reference to ‘Article 68’ is replaced by a reference to ‘Article 68(1)’;
(4) Annexes XIIa and XIIb are inserted as set out in Annex I to this Regulation.
Annexes III and IV to Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 are amended in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation.
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply as from 1 June 2012.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.