. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/EEC/68 
30 July 2004  
 
(04-3276) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:  English 
   
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):         
2. Agency responsible:   European Commission 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, e-mail and web-site 
addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be  indicated if different from above:    
European Commission, 
EC-TBT Enquiry Point, 
Fax:  0032 2 299 80 43, E-mail:  ec-tbt@cec.eu.int
 
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [  X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:         
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):   Seed of species 
Cedrus libani, Pinus brutia  and planting stock produced from this seed. 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   Draft Commission 
Decision authorizing Member States to permit temporarily the marketing of seed of the species Cedrus libani, Pinus brutia and planting stock produced from this seed  not 
satisfying the requirements of Council Dir ective 1999/105/EC (6 pages, in English) 
6. Description of content:   The Decision authorizes the Member States to permit, in their 
territory, the marketing of seed of the species Cedrus libani, Pinus brutia  and planting stock 
produced from this seed subject to less stringent requirements. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:    
 In France, production of seed and planting stock produced from the seed of the 
species Cedrus libani  and Pinus brutia  is at present insufficient with the result that its 
requirement for reproductive material c onforming to the provisions of Directive 
1999/105/EC cannot be met.  Accordingly, Fr ance has requested th e Commission pursuant 
to this Directive to authorize them to accept for marketing seed and planting stock produced 
from this seed satisfying less stringent requirement s than those laid down by the Directive.  
In order to cover the shortage, France will ther efore be authorized to permit, for a limited 
period, the marketing of seed and planting st ock produced from this seed of the relevant 
species which satisfies less stringent requirements.  
 Seed should be collected, if possible, at places of origin within the natural range of 
the relevant species and the strictest possibl e guarantees should be given to ensure the G/TBT/N/EEC/68 
Page 2  
 
identity of the material.  Furthermore, seed and planting stock produced from this seed 
should be marketed only if it is accompanied by a document bearing certain details of the reproductive material in question.  
 The urgency of the measure is due to  the short time period between seed 
certification exercise, when the shortage was identified, and the sowing season. 
8. Relevant documents:   doc. SANCO/5197/03rev5 
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:   }16 August 2004 
10. Final date for comments:   10 days from the date of notification 
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [    ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body:   
European Commission, 
EC-TBT Enquiry Point, 
Fax:  0032 2 299 80 43, E-mail:  ec-tbt@cec.eu.int