(3) The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has submitted an application to the Commission for its BSE status to be determined, indicating it also covers its Crown Dependencies. That application was accompanied by the relevant information for that country and its Crown Dependencies on the criteria and potential risk factors provided for in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001.

(4) Scotland is currently classified into the negligible risk category but a new case of BSE has been confirmed in that region of the United Kingdom on 18 October 2018. Scotland therefore does not comply anymore with the requirements set out in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 as regards the negligible risk category. Scotland should therefore be classified into the controlled risk category.

(5) Considering its BSE status, Northern Ireland can be considered as having negligible risk, while the rest of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and its Crown Dependencies can be considered as having controlled BSE risk.

(6) Therefore, taking into account the specific information mentioned above and in order to avoid unnecessary disruption of trade from the withdrawal date, Northern Ireland should be included in the list of regions of third countries in point A of the Annex to Commission Decision 2007/453/EC and the rest of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and its Crown Dependencies should be included in point B of that Annex in relation to the classification of countries or regions according to their BSE status. The Annex to that Decision should therefore be amended accordingly.

(7) This Decision should apply from 13 April 2019. It should however not apply if Union law continues to apply to and in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on that date.

(8) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed