Introductory text

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2017/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 on mercury, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1102/2008^f1, and in particular Article 6 thereof,

Whereas:

In line with Article 3 of the Minamata Convention on Mercury (‘the Minamata Convention’)^f2, Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/852 provides that mercury and certain mixtures of mercury may be imported into the customs territory of the Union, for purposes other than disposal as waste, only if the importing Member State has granted written consent to the import. Where the exporting country is not a party to the Minamata Convention, consent may only be granted if the exporting country has also provided certification that the mercury is not from primary mercury mining.

The forms for granting or denying such consent and for certifying that the mercury is not from primary mercury mining should be consistent with the forms set out in Decision UNEP/MC/COP.1/5^f3 adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention at its first meeting and adjusted as necessary to take account of the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2017/852.

For consistency with the date of application of Regulation (EU) 2017/852, the application of this Decision should be deferred to 1 January 2018.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 22 of Regulation (EU) 2017/852,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: