Commission Regulation (EC) No 2387/2001
of 6 December 2001
approving operations to check conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables carried out in Hungary prior to import into the European Community
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the market in fruit and vegetables(1), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 911/2001(2), and in particular Article 10 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001 of 12 June 2001 on checks on conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables(3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2379/2001(4), lays down the conditions under which the Commission may approve checking operations performed by certain third countries which so request prior to import into the Community, in compliance with the conditions laid down in Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001.
(2) On 30 August 2001 the Hungarian authorities sent the Commission a request for the approval of checking operations performed by animal health and foodstuff control centres under the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture and Regional Development. This states that Hungary's animal health and foodstuff control centres have the necessary staff, equipment and facilities to carry out checks, that they use methods equivalent to those referred to in Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001 and that the fresh fruit and vegetables exported from Hungary to the Community must meet the Community marketing standards.
(3) The information sent by the Member States and in the possession of the Commission departments shows that, in the period 1997 to 2000, imports of fresh fruit and vegetables from Hungary presented a relatively low incidence of non-conformity with the marketing standards.
(4) For a number of years the Hungarian inspection bodies, and their supervisory authorities, have been regular participants in international efforts to agree trading standards for fruit and vegetables, such as the Working Party on Standardisation of Perishable Produce and Quality Development of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the OECD Scheme for the Application of International Standards for Fruit and Vegetables.
(5) Imports of fresh fruit and vegetables by Hungary from the Community accompanied by a certificate of conformity issued by the competent body of the Member State are not systematically subject to a quality check prior to release for free circulation on the Hungarian market.
(6) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Checks on conformity to the marketing standards carried out by Hungary on fresh fruit and vegetables from Hungary shall be approved in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 7(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001.
Article 2
The official correspondent in Hungary, under whose responsibility the checking operations are performed, and the inspection bodies in charge of carrying out those checks, as referred to in Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001, are given in Annex I to this Regulation.
Article 3
1. The certificates referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001, issued following the checks referred to in Article 1 of this Regulation, must be drawn up on forms in conformity with the model given in Annex II to this Regulation.
2. Notwithstanding the sixth subparagraph of Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001, box 3 of the form referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article may be partly printed in Hungarian.
Article 4
This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
It shall apply from the date of publication in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Communities of the notice referred to in Article 7(8) of Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001 relating to the establishment of administrative cooperation between the European Community and Hungary.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 6 December 2001.