Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2000:102
Date: 2000-02-24
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Plants and flowers;Plant health legislation
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: United Kingdom

summary of their arguments at paragraphs 22 and 23 above. V - Conclusion 53. In the light of the foregoing, I recommend that the Court reply as follows to the questions referred for a preliminary ruling by the House of Lords: A Member State is entitled to accept the introduction into its territories of plants originating in non-member countries and listed in Annex V, Part B, to Council Directive 77/93/EEC of 21 December 1976 on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community where those plants are accompanied only by a phytosanitary certificate issued by a non-member country other than that of origin, from which the plants have been transported to the Community, provided that, in the case of plants which are subject to special requirements set out in Annex IV, Part A, to that Directive, those special requirements can be fulfilled in the non-member country which issued the phytosanitary certificate. The special requirement that the packaging of citrus fruit bear an appropriate origin mark cannot be fulfilled at a place other than that of origin in the case of citrus fruit stated to originate in the part of Cyprus to the north of the United Nations Buffer Zone. 1: Original language: English. 2: - Case C-432/92 [1994] ECR I-3087, paragraph 65 and operative part. 3: - For a brief overview, see Anastasiou I, paragraph 13, and the Opinion of Advocate General Gulmann, paragraphs 9 to 14. 4: - OJ 1977 L 26, p. 20, hereinafter 'the Directive. The original title was amended by Council Directive 91/683/EEC of 19 December 1991, OJ 1991 L 376, p. 29. 5: - See the second, third, fourth, fifth and seventh recitals in the preamble to the Directive. 6: - As amended by Council Directive 80/392/EEC of 18 March 1980, OJ 1980 L 100, p. 32, Council Directive 85/574/EEC of 19 December 1985, OJ 1985 L 372, p. 25, and Directive 91/683/EEC, loc. cit. Unlike the Republic of Turkey, the Republic of Cyprus is not a party to the International Plant Protection Convention mentioned in Article 12(1)(b) of the Directive. It was stated at the oral hearing that Cyprus had signed the Convention in 1999. 7: - As amended by Directive 85/574/EEC, loc. cit. 8: - As amended by Directive 85/574/EEC, loc. cit. 9: - As amended by Directive 91/683/EEC, loc. cit. 10: - As amended by Council Directive 89/439/EEC of 26 June 1989, OJ 1989 L 212, p. 106. 11: - As amended by Council Directive 92/98/EEC of 16 November 1992, OJ 1992 L 352, p. 1. Annex V was initially entitled 'Plants, plant products and other objects which must be subjected to a plant health inspection in the country of origin or the consignor country, before being permitted to enter any of the Member States. 12: - These special requirements were added to Annex IV, Part A, by Commission Directive 92/103/EEC of 1 December 1992 amending Annexes I to IV of Council Directive 77/93/EEC on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community, OJ 1992 L 363, p. 1. 13: - United Kingdom Treaty Series No 16 (1954). 14: - Sixth and seventh recitals in the preamble to the Directive. 15: - Agreement of 19 December 1972 establishing an Association between the European Economic Community and the Republic of Cyprus, annexed to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1246/73 of 14 May 1973, OJ 1973 L 133, p. 1. 16: - Paragraph 38 of the judgment. 17: - Anastasiou I, paragraphs 38 to 41. 18: - In accordance with Article 2(1)(a) of the Directive, citrus fruit are 'plants rather than 'plant products. 19: - See Article 6(4) of the Directive. 20: - Case C-256/90 Mignini [1992] ECR I-2651. 21: - Anastasiou I, paragraph 62. 22: - See Anastasiou I, paragraph 39, regarding the verification of the origin of plants by way of EUR 1 movement certificates. 23: - Paragraph 63. 24: - Case C-23/93 TV10 [1994] ECR I-4795, paragraphs 20 to 22; Case 33/74 Van Binsbergen v Bedrijfsvereniging Metaalnijverheid [1974] ECR 1299, paragraph 13; Case 229/83 Leclerc v Au Blé Vert [1985] ECR 1, paragraphs 23 to 27; Case C-367/96 Kefalas and Others v Greek State and OAE [1998] ECR I-2843, paragraph 20. Case 81/87 Daily Mail [1988] ECR 5483 was cited to similar effect before the Court of Appeal. 25: - There is an alternative possible reading of the heading of Annex V - that it refers to certification by the country of origin or, in circumstances governed by Article 8(2) of the Directive, to certification by the consignor country. 26: - Directive 89/439/EEC, cited in footnote 9 above. 27: - There is clearly a mistake here. It should read: 'need not be; cf. French version : 'n'ait pas besoin. This is confirmed by consultation of the other language versions. 28: - Directive 92/103/EEC, cited in footnote 11 above. 29: - Articles 3(6), 5(3) and 16a of the Directive as amended by Directives 89/439/EEC and 91/683/EEC. 30: - Paragraph 63. 31: - Case C-12/92 [1993] ECR I-6381. 32: - Ibid., paragraphs 25 and 27. 33: - Ibid., paragraph 7.