Regulation 2009/1048 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 733/2008 on the conditions governing imports of agricultural products from third countries following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 290/4

Regulation (EC) No 733/2008 of 15 July 2008 (1), which is the codified version of repealed Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 of 22 March 1990 on the conditions governing imports of agricultural products originating in third countries following the accident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 station (2), fixed maximum permitted levels of radioactivity for agricultural products originating in third countries and intended for human consumption, with which imports must comply and in connection with which checks are carried out by the Member States. However, Regulation (EC) No 733/2008 expires on 31 March 2010.

Radioactive caesium contamination of certain products originating in the third countries most affected by the Chernobyl accident still exceeds the maximum permitted levels of radioactivity laid down in Regulation (EC) No 733/2008.

There is scientific evidence that the duration of caesium-137 contamination following the Chernobyl accident, for a number of products originating from species living and growing in forests and wooded areas, essentially relates to the physical half-life of that radionuclide, which is 30 years.

Regulation (EC) No 733/2008 should therefore be amended accordingly,

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;

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.’.