COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1455/1999
of 1 July 1999
laying down the marketing standard for sweet peppers
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 Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999(2), and in particular Article 2(2) thereof,
(1) Whereas sweet peppers are listed in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as products for which standards are to be adopted; whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 79/88 of 13 January 1988 laying down quality standards for lettuces, curled-leaved endives, broad-leaved (Batavian) endives and sweet peppers(3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 888/97(4), has been amended many times and no longer ensures legal clarity;
(2) Whereas, in the interests of clarity, the rules on sweet peppers should be separated from those on other products under Regulation (EEC) No 79/88; whereas the rules in question should therefore be recast and Annex II to Regulation (EEC) No 79/88 on sweet peppers deleted; whereas, to that end, for reasons of transparency on the world market, account should be taken of the standard recommended for sweet peppers by the Working Party on Standardisation of the Perishable Produce and Quality Development of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE);
(3) Whereas the effect of these standards must be to remove products of unsatisfactory quality from the market, gear production to satisfying consumer requirements and facilitate trade relations on the basis of fair competition, thereby helping to make production more profitable;
(4) Whereas the standards are applicable at all stages of marketing; whereas transport over a great distance, storage for a certain length of time and the various handling operations to which the products are subjected may bring about deterioration due to the biological development of the products or their perishability; whereas account should be taken of such deterioration when applying the standards at the marketing stages following dispatch;
(5) Whereas 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
The marketing standard for sweet peppers covered by CN code 0709 60 10 shall be as set out in the Annex.
The standard shall apply at all stages of marketing under the conditions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2200/96.
However, at stages following dispatch, the products may show, in relation to the provisions of the standards, a slight lack of freshness and turgidity, and slight deteriorations due to their development and their tendency to perish.
Article 2
Regulation (EEC) No 79/88 is amended as follows:
1. in the title, "curled-leaved endives, broad-leaved (Batavian) endives and sweet peppers" is replaced by "curled-leaved endives and broad-leaved (Batavian) endives";
2. the first paragraph of Article 1 is replaced by the following: "The quality standards for lettuces, curled-leaved endives and broad-leaved (Batavian) endives falling within subheadings 0705 11, ex 0705 19 and 0705 29 00 of the Combined Nomenclature shall be as set out in the Annex.";
3. Annex II is deleted.
Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journl of the European Communities.
It shall apply from the first day of the month following that of its entry into force.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 1 July 1999.