Council Regulation (EC) No 1997/2006 of 19 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)

of 19 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)

Preamble

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

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

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament ¹ ,

Whereas:

(1) 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.

(2) 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 legislation.

(3) Third countries whose production standards and inspection arrangements are equivalent to those applied in the Community should be recognised and a list thereof should be published. 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 authorities recognised by the Commission for this purpose.

(4) Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 of 24 June 1991 on organic production of agricultural products and indications 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.

(5) 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 competent to carry out inspection in those countries which are not on the list of recognised third countries.

(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.	‘(b): have been subject to the inspection system referred to in Article 9, or have been imported in conformity with Article 11; however, in the case of products imported in 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.’	‘(b)	have been subject to the inspection system referred to in Article 9, or have been imported in conformity with Article 11; however, in the case of products imported in 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.’
‘(b)	have been subject to the inspection system referred to in Article 9, or have been imported in conformity with Article 11; however, in the case of products imported in 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.’

3. The second subparagraph of Article 16(3) shall be deleted.

4.	(a): In the first paragraph, the second indent shall be replaced by the following: ‘— 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 receive it for further preparation or placing on the Community market. and,’; — ‘— — 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 receive it for further preparation or placing on the Community market. and,’; ‘—: 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 receive it for further preparation or placing on the Community market. and,’;	(a)	‘—: 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 receive it for further preparation or placing on the Community market. and,’;
(a)	‘—: 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 receive it for further preparation or placing on the Community market. and,’;	‘—	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 receive it for further preparation or placing on the Community market. and,’;
‘—	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 receive it for further preparation or placing on the Community market. and,’;
(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 that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .

It shall apply from 1 January 2007.

Final provisions

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 19 December 2006. For the Council The President J. KORKEAOJA

¹ Opinion delivered on 28 September 2006 (not yet published in the Official Journal).

² OJ L 198, 22.7.1991, p. 1 . Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 780/2006 ( OJ L 137, 25.5.2006, p. 9 ).

Opinion delivered on 28 September 2006 (not yet published in the Official Journal). ↩ ↩²
. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 780/2006 (). ↩ ↩²