Commission Regulation (EC) No 18/2006

of 6 January 2006

amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the list of countries and territories

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the animal health requirements applicable to the non-commercial movement of pet animals and amending Council Directive 92/65/EEC [1], and in particular Articles 10 and 21 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 lays down a list of third countries and territories from which movement of pet animals to the Community may be authorised, provided that certain requirements are met.

(2) A provisional list of third countries was established by Regulation (EC) No 998/2003, as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1193/2005. That list includes countries and territories which are free of rabies and countries in respect of which the risk of rabies entering the Community as a result of movements from their territories has been found to be no higher than the risk associated with movements between Member States.

(3) From information supplied by Belarus, Mexico, Romania and Trinidad and Tobago it appears that the risk of rabies entering the Community as a result of movements of pet animals from these countries has been found to be no higher than the risk associated with movements between Member States or from third countries already listed in Regulation (EC) No 998/2003. Therefore those third countries should be included in the list of countries and territories set out in Regulation (EC) No 998/2003.

(4) Guam being a United States territory it is advisable to specifically mention it as part of the United States of America in order to avoid any confusion.

(5) In the interest of clarity the list of countries and territories set out in Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 should be replaced in its entirety.

(6) Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(7) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 is replaced by the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 6 January 2006.

For the Commission

Markos Kyprianou

Member of the Commission

[1] OJ L 146, 13.6.2003, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1193/2005 (OJ L 194, 26.7.2005, p. 4).

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ANNEX

"ANNEX II

LIST OF COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES

PART A

IE ‘�Ireland

MT ‘�Malta

SE ‘�Sweden

UK ‘�United Kingdom

PART B

Section 1

(a) DK ‘�Denmark, including GL ‘�Greenland and FO ‘�Faeroe Islands;

(b) ES ‘�Spain, including the continental territory, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla;

(c) FR ‘�France, including GF ‘�French Guiana, GP ‘�Guadeloupe, MQ ‘�Martinique and RE ‘�Réunion;

(d) GI ‘�Gibraltar;

(e) PT ‘�Portugal, including the continental territory, Azores Islands and Madeira Islands;

(f) Member States other than those listed in Part A and points (a), (b), (c) and (e) of this Section.

Section 2

AD ‘�Andorra

CH ‘�Switzerland

IS ‘�Iceland

LI ‘�Liechtenstein

MC ‘�Monaco

NO ‘�Norway

SM ‘�San Marino

VA ‘�Vatican City State

PART C

AC ‘�Ascension Island

AE ‘�United Arab Emirates

AG ‘�Antigua and Barbuda

AN ‘�Netherlands Antilles

AR ‘�Argentina

AU ‘�Australia

AW ‘�Aruba

BB ‘�Barbados

BH ‘�Bahrain

BL ‘�Belarus

BM ‘�Bermuda

CA ‘�Canada

CL ‘�Chile

FJ ‘�Fiji

FK ‘�Falkland Islands

HK ‘�Hong Kong

HR ‘�Croatia

JM ‘�Jamaica

JP ‘�Japan

KN ‘�Saint Kitts and Nevis

KY ‘�Cayman Islands

MS ‘�Montserrat

MU ‘�Mauritius

MX ‘�Mexico

NC ‘�New Caledonia

NZ ‘�New Zealand

PF ‘�French Polynesia

PM ‘�Saint Pierre and Miquelon

RO ‘�Romania

RU ‘�Russian Federation

SG ‘�Singapore

SH ‘�Saint Helena

TT ‘�Trinidad and Tobago

TW ‘�Taiwan

US ‘�United States of America (including GU ‘�Guam)

VC ‘�Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

VU ‘�Vanuatu

WF ‘�Wallis and Futuna

YT ‘�Mayotte"

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