Council Regulation (EC) No 733/2008 of 15 July 2008 on the conditions governing imports of agricultural products originating in third countries following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station (Codified version)
Modified by
  • Council Regulation (EC) No 1048/2009of 23 October 2009amending 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, 309R1048, November 6, 2009
Council Regulation (EC) No 733/2008of 15 July 2008on the conditions governing imports of agricultural products originating in third countries following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station(Codified version) 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)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 stationOJ 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). has been substantially amended several timesSee Annex III.. In the interests of clarity and rationality the said Regulation should be codified.(2)Following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station on 26 April 1986, considerable quantities of radioactive elements were released into the atmosphere.(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 emergencyOJ L 371, 30.12.1987, p. 11. Regulation as amended by Regulation (Euratom) No 2218/89 (OJ L 211, 22.7.1989, p. 1)., 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.(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.(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.(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 this Regulation.(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 of 26 April 2004 laying down animal health rules for the importation into and transit through the Community of certain live ungulate animalsOJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 321, as corrected by OJ L 226, 25.6.2004, p. 128..(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 CommissionOJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. Decision as amended by Decision 2006/512/EC (OJ L 200, 22.7.2006, p. 11).,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1With 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 (EC) No 1667/2006 of 7 November 2006 on glucose and lactoseOJ L 312, 11.11.2006, p. 1.;(c)Council Regulation (EEC) No 2783/75 of 29 October 1975 on the common system of trade for ovalbumin and lactalbuminOJ L 282, 1.11.1975, p. 104. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2916/95 (OJ L 305, 19.12.1995, p. 49).;(d)Council Regulation (EC) No 3448/93 of 6 December 1993 laying down the trade arrangements applicable to certain goods resulting from the processing of agricultural productsOJ L 318, 20.12.1993, p. 18. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2580/2000 (OJ L 298, 25.11.2000, p. 5)..
Article 21.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 of this Article:2.The accumulated maximum radioactive level in terms of caesium-134 and -137 shall beThe level applicable to concentrated or dried products shall be calculated on the basis of the reconstituted product as ready for consumption.:(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.
Article 31.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 4The 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).
Article 51.The Commission shall be assisted by a committee.2.Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply.The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at one month.
Article 6Council Regulation (EEC) No 737/90, as amended by the Regulations listed in Annex III, 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.
Article 7This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.It shall expire:1.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;2.upon the entry into force of the Commission Regulation referred to in Article 2(1) of Regulation (Euratom) No 3954/87, if such entry into force takes place before 31 March 2020.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.ANNEX I
Products unfit for human consumptionEntry under this subheading is subject to conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions.
CN codeDescription
ex01011010ex01019019Racehorses
ex0106Other (live animals, excluding domestic rabbits and pigeons: not for human consumption)
030110Live ornamental fish
04081120040819200408912004089920Eggs, not in shell, and egg yolks, unfit for human consumption
ex05040000Non-edible guts, bladders and stomachs of animals (other than fish), whole and pieces thereof
05111000ex05119190051199Animal products not elsewhere specified or included, excluding edible animal blood; dead animals of Chapter 1 or Chapter 3, unfit for human consumption
ex0713Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split, for sowing
10019010Spelt for sowing
10051011100510131005101510051019Hybrid maize for sowing
10061010Rice for sowing
10070010Hybrid sorghum for sowing
12010010120210101204001012051010120600101207201012074010120750101207911012079915Oil seeds and oleaginous fruit, whole or broken, for sowing
1209Seeds, fruits and spores, of a kind used for sowing
15010011Lard and other pig fat for industrial uses other than the manufacture of foodstuffs for human consumption
15020010Fats of bovine animals, sheep or goats, other than those of heading 1503, for industrial uses other than the manufacture of foodstuffs for human consumption
15030011Lard stearin and oleostearin for industrial uses
15030030Tallow oil for industrial uses other than the manufacture of foodstuffs for human consumption
150500Wool grease and fatty substances derived therefrom (including lanolin)
1507101015079010Soya 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
1508101015089010Ground-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
15111010Crude 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
1511909115121110151219101512211015122910151311101513193015132110151329301514111015141910151491101514991015151910151521101515291015155011151550911515902115159031151590401515906015162095Other oils for technical or industrial uses other than the manufacture of foodstuffs for human consumption
15153010Castor 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
15159011Tung oil; jojoba and oiticica oils; myrtle wax and Japan wax; their fractions
1518003115180039Fixed vegetables oils, fluid, mixed, for technical or industrial uses other than the manufacture of foodstuffs for human consumption
22072000Ethyl alcohol and other spirits; denatured, of any strength
38241000Prepared binders for foundry moulds or cores
4501Natural cork, raw or simply prepared; waste cork; crushed granulated or ground cork
530110005301210053012900Flax, raw or processed but not spun
5302True hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), raw or processed but not spun; tow and waste of true hemp (including yarn waste and garnetted stock)
ex Chapter 6Live trees and other plants; bulbs, roots and the like, cut flowers and ornamental foliage, excluding plants and roots of chicory of subheading 06012010
ANNEX II
Milk and milk products to which a maximum permitted level of 370 Bq/kg applies
CN codes0401
0402
04031011 to 39
04039011 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 737/90This Regulation
Article 1, introductory wordsArticle 1, introductory words
Article 1, first indentArticle 1(a)
Article 1, second indentArticle 1(b)
Article 1, third indentArticle 1(c)
Article 1, fourth indentArticle 1(d)
Article 1, fifth indent—
Article 2Article 2(1)
Article 3, first introductory sentence—
Article 3, second introductory sentenceArticle 2(2) introductory sentence
Article 3, first and second indentArticle 2(2)(a) and (b)
Article 4(1) first, second and third sentenceArticle 3(1) first, second and third subparagraph
Article 4(2) first and second sentenceArticle 3(2) first and second subparagraph
Article 5 first and second sentenceArticle 3(3) first and second subparagraph
Article 6Article 4
Article 7(1) and (2)Article 5(1) and (2)
Article 7(3)—
—Article 6
Article 8, first paragraphArticle 7, first paragraph
Article 8, second paragraph, introductory wordsArticle 7, second paragraph, introductory words
Article 8, second paragraph, point 1Article 7, second paragraph, point (a)
Article 8, second paragraph, point 2Article 7, second paragraph, point (b)
Annex IAnnex I
Annex IIAnnex II
—Annex III
—Annex IV