Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2091 of 28 September 2023 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2023/1231 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the requirements for the entry into Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom of consignments of tubers of Solanum tuberosum L. for planting (seed potatoes), their use in Northern Ireland, and the model form of the plant health label for seed potatoes (Text with EEA relevance)

• CELEX: Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2091
• Articles: 5

Article 1 Subject matter and scope

This Regulation lays down rules on the requirements for the entry into Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom of consignments of seed potatoes and their use in Northern Ireland, and on the model form of the plant health label required to accompany those consignments, as referred to in Article 11(3) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1231.

Article 2 Requirements for the entry into Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom of consignments of seed potatoes, and their use in Northern Ireland

The entry into Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom of consignments of seed potatoes, and their use in Northern Ireland, shall be subject to compliance with all of the following requirements:

(a)

the seed potatoes are intended for registered professional operators in Northern Ireland;

(b)

the seed potatoes originate in parts of the United Kingdom other than Northern Ireland, in production sites that have been officially inspected and found to comply with Union requirements concerning:

(i)

Union quarantine pests, protected zone quarantine pests and Union regulated non-quarantine pests (‘RNQPs’), referred to in Articles 5(2), 32(1) and 37(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council  ( 3 ) ;

(ii)

pests subject to Union measures laid down in Commission implementing acts adopted pursuant to Article 30(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031;

(c)

the seed potatoes have been officially inspected in parts of the United Kingdom other than Northern Ireland, at the production sites or the packaging facilities, and found to comply with Union requirements concerning:

(i)

Union quarantine pests, protected zone quarantine pests and RNQPs referred to in Articles 5(2), 32(1) and 37(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031;

(ii)

pests subject to Union measures laid down in Commission implementing acts adopted pursuant to Article 30(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031;

(d)

after their entry into Northern Ireland, the seed potatoes shall only be grown in sites of production in Northern Ireland, which are registered for this purpose by the competent authorities of the United Kingdom;

(e)

after their entry into Northern Ireland, the seed potatoes, as well as the plants grown from them, shall be subject to annual official inspections in their sites of production in Northern Ireland to ensure compliance with Union requirements concerning Union quarantine pests, protected zone quarantine pests and RNQPs referred to in Articles 5(2), 32(1) and 37(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031, and pests subject to Union measures laid down in Commission implementing acts adopted pursuant to Article 30(1) of that Regulation;

(f)

the quantities of seed potatoes entered into Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom and the results of the inspections referred to in points (b), (c) and (e) shall be reported to the Commission by the United Kingdom by 30 June of each year concerning the entries between 1 May of year n-1 and 30 April of year n;

(g)

the entry into Northern Ireland of the consignments shall comply with the applicable rules laid down in Regulation (EU) 2017/625.

Article 3 Plant health label requirements and model form of plant health label

1.   The plant health label for the consignments of seed potatoes referred to in Article 11(1), point (b), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1231 shall contain the following elements:

(a)

at the top part of the plant health label, the words ‘NI plant health label’;

(b)

the letter ‘A.’, followed by the botanical name of the seed potatoes;

(c)

the letter ‘B.’, followed by the registration number of the professional operator;

(d)

the letter ‘C.’, followed by the traceability code of the seed potatoes;

(e)

the letter ‘D.’, followed by:

(i)

a QR code referring to a page on the official websites of the competent authorities of the United Kingdom, relevant to the professional operator receiving the consignments of seed potatoes and informing that professional operator of the applicable Union legislation with an explicit reference to Regulation (EU) 2023/1231 and this Regulation; or

(ii)

the indication ‘complies with Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1231’;

(f)

at the bottom part of the plant health label, the words ‘for use in the United Kingdom only’.

2.   The plant health label for the consignments of seed potatoes shall comply with the model form set out in the Annex.

Article 4 Entry into force and application

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

It shall apply from 1 October 2023.

Schedules & Appendices

ANNEX Model form of the plant health label for consignments of seed potatoes referred to in Article 3

ANNEX

Model form of the plant health label for consignments of seed potatoes referred to in Article 3

(flag of the United Kingdom)

NI plant health label

A.

xxx

B.

xxx

C.

xxx

D.

xxx

For use in the United Kingdom only