Commission Decision (EU) 2023/2719

Contents

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,Having regard to Council Decision (EU) 2021/689 of 29 April 2021 on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part, and of the Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning security procedures for exchanging and protecting classified information^note, and in particular Article 5(1), point (a), thereof,Whereas:

(1)Article 3(1) and (2) of Annex 14 to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part^note (the ‘Trade and Cooperation Agreement’) provide for the reciprocal recognition of equivalence of the European Union’s and the United Kingdom’s laws and regulation with respect to the organic products listed in Appendices 14-A and 14-B to Annex 14.

(2)Article 3(3) of Annex 14 to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement provides that, in view of the date of application of 1 January 2022 of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council^note, the recognition of equivalence referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of that Article shall be reassessed by 31 December 2023.

(3)In Article 5(1), point (a), of Decision (EU) 2021/689, the Council has authorised the Commission to take, on behalf of the Union, the decision to confirm or suspend the recognition of equivalence following the reassessment of equivalence to be carried out by 31 December 2023 in accordance with Article 3(3) of Annex 14 to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

(4)The Parties to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement discussed the matter at the second and third meeting of the Trade Specialised Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade on 24 October 2022 and on 18 October 2023. Technical discussions among the parties were carried out throughout 2023 and concluded on 28 September 2023.

(5)The Commission has carried out the assessment of the United Kingdom’s laws and regulations on organic products as provided for in Article 3(3) of Annex 14 to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Following this assessment and the discussions held at the Trade Specialised Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade, the Commission has concluded that the United Kingdom’s laws and regulations on organic products are equivalent to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 and the delegated and implementing acts adopted pursuant to it.

(6)The Council and the European Parliament have been informed of the results of the Commission’s assessment,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: