Definitions of the Opinions issued by the Scientific Review Group
Positive Opinion – given current or anticipated levels of trade, introduction into the EU would not have a harmful effect on the conservation status of the species or on the extent of the territory occupied by the relevant population of the species.
Negative Opinion – the information available is insufficient to form a Positive Opinion on an application and/or the given current or anticipated levels of trade, introduction into the EU might have a harmful effect on the conservation status of the species or on the extent of the territory occupied by the relevant population of the species.
Referral to the SRG – The species is not currently/only rarely in trade, but is of sufficient conservation concern that the SRG has determined that any application must be referred to the SRG for a decision before a permit is issued or refused.
Regime applied
When an import application is on the table, or when reviewing species / country combinations, the SRG can agree on one of the following:
- Positive Opinion – opinion remains valid for subsequent import permit requests as long as the conservation and trade status have not changed significantly. To ensure that adequate monitoring takes place and that trade into the EU does not contribute to the decline of any species in the wild, Management Authorities are encouraged to consult their Scientific Authorities (SA) on every application or, at least, to keep their SAs informed of permits issued so that the SA can determine when circumstances have changed or a ‘non-detriment finding’ is in need of review;
- Negative Opinion – opinion remains valid for subsequent import permit requests and Member States are expected to follow this decision, unless new information becomes available indicating the opinion needs to be reviewed by the SRG, or one of the exemptions in Article 71(4) of Regulation (EC) No 865/2006 applies. After consultation with the SRG, the Commission may establish a formal import prohibition for species/country combination subject to a Negative Opinion.
- SRG Referral – the species is of sufficient conservation concern that the SRG has determined that any application must be referred to the SRG for a decision before a permit is issued or refused. Before submitting a proposed decision to the Commission, the SA of the importing country may consult the SA of the exporting country. The advice of the MS SA will be relayed to members of the SRG by the Commission (formal written procedure) and the result of the consultation (negative or positive) will be confirmed by the Commission after a deadline of 10 working days. In case of disagreement by one SA of an EU Member State, the issue will be discussed at the following SRG. In this case a formal note by the Commission will be sent to MAs and SAs of the EU Member States with the request to refrain from issuing any permit for the concerned species / country combination pending the advice of the SRG. In cases where an application is referred to the following SRG meeting, the SRG should strive to form a Positive or Negative Opinion for this species / country combination. If this is not possible, then the “SRG Referral” is maintained.
In Consultation
Where there is insufficient information on which to issue a confident Positive or Negative Opinion, for a specific species/country combination, the SRG may decide to consult with countries or taxonomic experts to address information gaps. The EU will consult the relevant country/expert to request information. To allow time for a response, the SRG will re-consider the case after 12 months and not more than 24 months. It should be noted that “In consultation” is not a formal opinion of the SRG and can made alongside other formal SRG opinions. It replaces the SRG “no opinion ii)” and is recorded in Species+.
In these cases, MAs can still process applications by systematically consulting the national SA for a ‘non-detriment finding’ before granting an import permit. In case a positive opinion is given by SA at the national level, notification to the SRG by the SA via the CIRCABC Newsgroup “positive opinions” is encouraged.
Discussed by the SRG, but no opinion formed
Where a species/country combination is discussed by the SRG but a formal SRG opinion has not been adopted, a record to note that the discussion took place will be recorded in the short and detailed Summary of Conclusions of SRG meetings, and it will also be recorded in Species+.