Niveau juridique : Union européenne
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QUESTION du 10-04-2019
CETA came into effect provisionally on 21 September 2017, but the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Joint Management Committee was asked to set out principles and guidelines to determine, recognise and maintain equivalence between the sanitary and phytosanitary measures of the EU and Canada (Annex 5-D).
At the first meeting of the Agriculture Committee, held in Brussels in September 2018, Canada criticised legislative developments in the EU regarding pesticides and medicinal products, stressing that they risked seriously affecting EU imports of Canadian agricultural products.
At the eleventh meeting of the Canada-EU Biotech Market Access Dialogue, held on 4 March 2019, the following agendas were addressed: ‘Genetically Modified Organisms and new techniques in agricultural biotechnology: policy updates, product approval and approval system and criteria’ and ‘Traceability of Genetically Modified Organisms and exports to the European Union’.
In light of the above, will the Commission:
1. Disclose the status of the negotiations of Annex 5-D of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement by the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Joint Management Committee?
2. Adopt measures to limit or block imports of products from Canada that do not comply with European sanitary and phytosanitary standards?
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REPONSE du 11-06-2019
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) does not lower the standards of the EU neither of Canada. Both the EU and Canada have the right to determine their own level of protection, CETA does not change this.
The implementation of the provisions of CETA is ongoing. Since CETA came into effect provisionally, on 21 September 2017, the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Joint Management Committee has held two meetings. The relevant information, including equivalency related matters (CETA Annex 5D), is publically available(1).
Article 5.7 of the CETA foresees that both Parties have instruments in place to define their import provisions and shall make available their general SPS import requirements for all commodities. EU Member States carry out official controls to verify that imported products are in line with EU requirements.
On top of this system, the Commission carries out audits on the official control systems of Member States and countries exporting to the EU to verify they are effective. The Commission is fully committed to the safety of European consumers.