The EU issued (a few days ago) a set of non-papers that give further detail on its proposals for changes to its Single Market rules to ease movements between NI and GB under the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol (a schedule to the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement).
The first set deals with sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) – here.
(1) re guide dogs (assistance dogs) – European Commission’s services had clarified (some time ago) that assistance dogs accompanying their owner when entering the EU territory and Northern Ireland, may benefit from the flexibility offered by Article 32 of Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 on the non- commercial movement of pet animals.
The above was recalled in the technical meetings the EU held with the UK Cabinet Office and the British DEFRA ministry, especially those held on 27 April and 12 May 2021, where the UK side confirmed that the Northern Ireland ministry DAERA would propose an operating procedure for the practical implementation of Article 32.
DAERA updated its guidance on 2 June 2021 – here.
(2) re identification and re-identification of cattle, sheep and goats – the document points out that EU rules on traceability of terrestrial animals require that certain species (bovines, ovines, caprines, camelids and cervids) shall be individually identified on the establishment where they are born. The same requirement applies to animals of those species when they enter into the Union from a non-EU country; those animals have to be individually identified at the establishment of arrival.
Under the EU animal health legislation (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2035), bovine, ovine and caprine animals need to be identified with an eartag bearing a code as laid down in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/520 so that the first element of the identification code is the country code of the Member State where the means of identification was first applied to. The country code can be either a two-letter code (mirroring ISO standard 3166-1 alpha-2) or a three-digit country code (ISO standard 3166-1 numeric).
The EU has now issued Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1064 to provide that ‘XI’ is the two-letter code to be used in United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland and the three-digit code assigned is ‘899’.
– New-born animals in NI after 01/07/21 should bear the “XI or “899” code in their eartags;
– Animals introduced from third countries (or GB) into NI after 01/07/21 and identified not in accordance with EU rules (e.g. bearing a UK code) should be re-identified with eartags bearing “XI” or “899” establishments of the first arrival;
– Animals introduced from third countries (or GB) into NI already identified in accordance with EU rules (e.g. bearing a XI code) do not need to be re-identified.
It must be remembered that EU Animal Health Law already moved on since 31st Dec 2020.
(3) re re-entry of animals for exhibitions/events – the document points out that EU animal health legislation (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/692) stipulates ungulate animals (except racing horses) to be introduced into the EU have to fulfil all the requirements and respect a residency period of 6 months in an authorised third country of origin for such imports.
To enable the participation of EU animals in events, exhibitions or shows, the Commission has drafted an amendment to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/692 to set up for certain species of ungulates (bovine, ovine and caprine animals) :
* a derogation from certain general requirements, including from the 6 months residency in the “guest” country;
* minimum specific animal health requirements for the re-entry into the Union of those animals:
– they are moved for a period not exceeding 15 days to participate in events, exhibitions;
– the third country is listed for the entry into the EU of cattle, sheep, goats;
– the establishment complies with the requirements for assembly operations of ungulates;
– the transport is direct and in appropriate vehicles;
– the animals do not have contact with animals of a lower health status during the stay in the third country.
In addition, the Commission has drafted a new legal text (amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/403 as regards the new model certificate and amending Regulation (EU) 2021/404 as regards the list of third countries authorised) to lay down:
– a specific model certificate for entry into the EU of those animals reflecting the requirements described above;
– the list of third countries authorised for this special re-entry into the EU of animals which took part to such events.
(4) re animal products that originate in the Union and move to a third country and then move back again after unloading, storage and reloading in that third country
The document states that animal health policy for entry into the EU of products of animal origin does not allow third countries to certify for import into the EU products which have been imported in that third country, including products of EU origin.
Therefore, the EU’s Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2235, which establishes the model certificates for entry into the EU of products of animal origin, does not include any model certificate to cover the entry into the Union of products of animal origin which originate in the EU and which are moved to a third country or territory, and are then moved back to the Union from that third country or territory after unloading, storage and reloading.
The lack of such certificate model would prohibit EU products of animal origin to re-enter the EU after being stored in a third country.
The Commission has drafted a new Implementing Regulation amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2235 to add a model certificate for that purpose. This will allow re-entry into the EU of products of EU origin which are packaged and stored under the control of the competent authority of the third country.
The change will also amend Annex XXII to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 to establish a list of third countries that are authorised to use that certificate (including GB and the Crown Dependencies).
A separate non-paper addresses medicines – here.
This document points out that medicines placed on the market in Northern Ireland (NI) must be covered by a valid marketing authorisation issued by the Commission (EU-wide authorisations) or the UK for NI in applying the Union legislation for medicinal products listed in Section 20 of Annex 2 to the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol (UK national authorisations).
The Protocol provides for two possible UK national authorisation routes: purely UK national authorisations (“NI-only authorisations”), which concern medicines that are made available in NI only, and UK national authorisations granted via the Mutual Recognition or Decentralised Procedures (MRP/DCP), which is mandatory.
European Commission Notice of 25 January 20212 provides for a grace period of one year (until end-December 2021) for maintaining batch testing and manufacturing / logistics in Great Britain (GB) to ensure undisrupted supply of medicines to NI and those EU Member States (Cyprus, Ireland and Malta) that have been historically dependent on medicines supply from or through GB.
Bear in mind that medicines supply in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the UK authorities, not the EU.
The EU is now proposing that regulatory compliance functions may exceptionally be located in UK (GB) in respect of medicines covered by any national authorisations issued by the UK authorities in respect of NI, provided that the following conditions are met:
a. the UK fully applies the relevant Union legislation on medicines: on quality, safety, efficacy, pharmacovigilance and batch testing and release when issuing national marketing authorisations in respect to NI;
b. the marketing authorisation contains a legal prohibition of sale (resale) outside its geographical scope: medicines with an authorisation for UK(NI) cannot be legally sold anywhere else in the EU and the specific authorisation code for NI is stamped on each pack;
c. the safety features required under applicable Union law are placed on each pack ensuring that medicines can only be sold in conformity with a valid marketing authorisation in NI;
d. the UK ensures and demonstrates the correct implementation/application of the Falsified Medicines Directive in respect of NI. The EU end-to-end verification system must generate an alert if a medicine specifically authorised for NI is scanned elsewhere in the EU Internal Market;
e. enforcement and supervision by the UK competent authorities on economic operators and regulatory compliance activities located in GB are carried out in accordance with applicable Union law.
The document sets out additional requirements.
Information on the EU’s controls on medicines for human use is – here.
Bear in mind that the UK has signed up to the separate (non-EU) Project ORBIS and the MHRA has issued its first authorisation – here. I wrote a blog post about this at the time.
Bear in mind that the BGMA has issued a press release about withdrawal of medicines a few days ago – reported by the BBC – here. The BGMA press release is – here.
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