The European Commission has published a draft of Article 118 of the EU Veterinary Medicinal Products Regulation (EU) 2019/6, which extends the EU ban on the use of certain antimicrobials in animals and products of animal origin to imports into the Union, according to a recent USDA GAIN report. 

The Delegated Regulation for Article 118 missed the January 28, 2022 implementing deadline of the Veterinary Medicinal Products Regulation, but the draft act has now been made available for public feedback for four weeks through January 3, 2023. The draft act also indicates that a notification was sent to the WTO.

This Delegated Regulation will formally extend the EU ban on the use of certain antimicrobials reserved for human medicine in animal farming as listed in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1255 to animals and animal products imported into the EU. 

As the implementing deadline of the Veterinary Medicinal Products Regulation was January 28, 2022, the ban on the use of reserved antimicrobials was already included in the EU Regulation (EU) 2017/625 on official controls, which was amended in 2021 to include the verification of compliance with the prohibition in Article 118 of the Regulation (EU) 2019/6. Pre-ambles 13 and 14 of the new draft Delegated Regulation specify that an official certificate will be required for imports of animal products confirming compliance with the EU prohibition on the use of antimicrobial medicinal products for the purpose of promoting growth or to increase yield, and on use of antimicrobials that have been reserved for the treatment of certain infections in humans. T

his new regulation will not apply to transshipments and further exempts composite products and other highly refined products, including gelatin, collagen, and their products.