. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/EEC/315 
1 August 2007  
 (07-3291) 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
 
  
NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY MEASURES  
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
 
If applicable, name of local government involved:    
2. Agency responsible:   Commission of the European Communities. Health & Consumer 
Protection Directorate-General  - Directorate E – Safety of the Food Chain  
3. Products covered (provide tariff item numb er(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where 
applicable):  Plants of the genus Pinus  L. and Coast Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii ), 
intended for planting, including seeds and cones for propagation purposes, HS 0602 and 
1209 99 10 Conifer seeds 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable :  
Member States of the European Communities (EC) and third countries exporting the 
products concerned to the EC.  
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:  Commission Decision 
2007/433/EC of 18 June 2007 on provisiona l emergency measures to prevent the 
introduction into and the spread within the Co mmunity of Gibberella circinata Nirenberg & 
O’Donnell (Official Journal Num. L161, 22/06/ 2007 pp.:66 – 69), 4 pages available in all 
EC languages, available at:  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm  
6. Description of content:  Provisional emergency measures to prevent the introduction into 
and the spread within the European Communities of Gibberella circinata Nirenberg & 
O’Donnell.  
The measures will be reviewed after one year.  
7. Objective and rationale:  [ ] food safety, [ ] animal health, [ X ] plant protection, [ 
] protect humans from animal/pla nt pest or disease, [ X ] protect territory from other 
damage from pests    
8. Nature of the urgent problem(s) and reason for urgent action:  The presence of 
Gibberella circinata Nirenberg & O’Donnell has recently been detected on a limited area of the EC territory.  This organism is the cause of "pine pitch canker" and has a high 
dissemination capacity inter alia via forest propagation material, particularly seeds.  
Available scientific information showed th at it can cause significant mortality on Pinus  L. 
spp. and tree damage on Coast Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii ).  These plants are 
widely distributed in Europe and the susceptibilit y of several species is high.  It is therefore 
necessary to take forthwith provisional measur es against the introduction into and spread 
within the European Communitie s of the specified organism. 
The measures will be reviewed after one year. G/SPS/N/EEC/315 
Page 2  
 
  9. International standard, guideline or recommendation:  
[ ] Codex Alimentarius Commission, [ ] World Organization for Animal Health 
(OIE), [ X ] International Plant Protection Convention, [ ] None  
If an international standard, guidelin e or recommendation exists, give the 
appropriate reference and briefly identify deviations:  The proposed measures comply 
with the International Standard on Phytos anitary Measures No.13 "Guidelines for the 
notification of non-compliance and emergency action".  Moreover, the European Communities follows International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No.4 for the 
establishment of pest-free areas. 
10. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:   More information 
on the EC plant health regime for the control of harmful organisms within the European Communities is available at  the link indicated below: 
http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/organisms/emergency/index_en.htm
 
11. Date of entry into force/period of application (as applicable):  18 June 2007 
12. Agency or authority designated to handle comments: [ ] National notification 
authority, [ ] National enquiry point, or  address, fax number and E-mail address (if 
available) of other body:   
13. Texts available from: [ ] National notification authority, [ X ] EC enquiry point, or 
address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:  E-mail: 
sps@ec.europa.eu