No C 29/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 8. 2. 90 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 77/93/EEC on protective measures 
against the introduction into the Member States of organisms harmful to plants or plant 
products 
COM(8 9) 646 final 
(Submitted by the Commission on 21 December 1989) 
(90/C 29/09) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, 
Whereas by Directive 77/93/EEC ('), as last amended by 
Directive 89/439/EEC (2), the Council laid down 
protective measures against the introduction into the 
Member States of organisms harmful to plants or plant 
products; whereas the protection of plants against such 
organisms is absolutely necessary to increase agricultural 
productivity, which is one of the objectives of the 
common agricultural policy; 
Whereas the completion of the Single Market at the end 
of 1992 will entail the application of the Community 
plant health regime established by Directive 77/93/EEC, 
with effect from that time, to the Community as an area 
without internal frontiers; whereas it is furthermore 
considered that areas which are not affected by 
particular harmful organisms need protection wherever 
they are located in the Community; whereas, 
accordingly, the scope of the regime should no longer be 
restricted to trade between Member States and third 
countries, but should also be extended to marketing 
within single Member States; 
Whereas, in principle, all parts of the Community should 
benefit from the same degree of protection against 
harmful organisms; whereas, however, differences in 
ecological conditions and in the distribution of certain 
harmful organisms must be taken into account; whereas, 
in consequence, 'ecological regions', exposed to rela­tively uniform plant health risks, should be established, 
and there should also be provision for the recognition of 
defined 'isolated zones', in which harmful organisms 
established elsewhere in the Community are not known 
to occur; whereas such 'ecological regions' and 'isolated 
zones' should be accorded special protection under 
conditions compatible with the Single Market; 
Whereas to ensure more effective application of the 
Community plant health regime in the Single Market, it 
must be possible to use for the purpose of plant health 
checks, available official manpower other than that of 
Member States' official plant-protection organisations, 
whose training shall be coordinated and supported finan­
cially by the Community; 
Whereas the application of the Community plant health 
regime to the Community as an area without internal 
frontiers, and the introduction of ecological regions and 
isolated zones will necessitate a restructuring, based, in 
particular, on a more realistic assessment of plant health 
risks arising from Community products, of the 
requirements laid down in the Annexes to Directive 
77/93/EEC, so as to classify them as applicable to 
Community products on the one hand and to imports 
from third countries on the other, and to identify 
harmful organisms relevant for particular ecological 
regions and isolated zones; whereas this restructuring 
should lead to a simplification of the annexes, in 
particular by the removal of a number of harmful 
organisms established in part of the Community and the 
related requirements; whereas some of this restructuring 
should be entrusted to the Commission assisted by the 
Standing Committee on Plant Health, established by 
Council Decision 76/894/EEC (3); 
Whereas in the context of the Single Market it must be 
possible to rely on plant health checks carried out in 
consignor Member States; wheres it is accordingly 
necessary to establish more detailed and more uniform 
rules for these checks; 
(') OJ No L 26, 31. 1. 1977, p. 20. 
(2) OJ No L 212, 22. 7. 1989, p. 106. (') O] No L 340, 9. 12. 1976, p. 25. 
8. 2. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 29/11 
Whereas the most appropriate place for carrying out 
plant health checks is the place of production; whereas, 
in respect of Community products, these checks must 
therefore be made mandatory at the place of production 
and should extend to all relevant plants and plant 
products grown, produced, used or otherwise present 
there, and to the growing medium used there; whereas, 
for the efficient operation of such a system of checks, all 
producers should be officially registered; 
Whereas, if the results of the checks are satisfactory, 
instead of the phytosanitary certificate used in interna­
tional trade, a conventional mark ('plant passport'), 
adapted to the type of product, should be attached to the 
product, in order to ensure its free movement 
throughout the Community or those parts thereof for 
which it is qualified; 
Whereas the official measures to be taken when the 
results of the checks are not satisfactory should be 
specified; 
Whereas, to ensure compliance with the Community 
plant health regime in the context of the Single Market, 
a system of official checks during marketing should be 
established; whereas this system should be as reliable and 
uniform as possible throughout the Community but 
should exclude specific controls at borders between 
Member States; 
Whereas, as from completion of the Single Market, 
products originating in third countries should in principle 
be subjected to plant health checks on first introduction 
into the Community; whereas, if the results of the checks 
are satisfactory, third country products should be issued 
with a plant passport, ensuring free movement, in the 
same way as Community products; 
Whereas it should no longer be possible for Member 
States to adopt any special plant health provisions upon 
the introduction into their territory of plants or plant 
products originating in other Member States; whereas all 
provisions on plant health requirements for plants and 
plant products should be established at Community level; 
whereas Article 18 (2) of Directive 77/93/EEC should 
therefore be deleted and replaced by a simplified 
procedure for establishing the coherence of the 
provisions of the Directive with other Community 
provisions on plant health requirements; 
Whereas Directive 77/93/EEC has already been substan­
tially amended on a number of occasions and is likely to 
be subject to substantial further amendments, in 
particular of the Annexes in view of the restructuring 
required under this Directive; whereas, in the interests of 
clarity and legal certainty it is necessary to establish a 
rapid procedure for the regular adoption of consolidated 
versions of the Directive, HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
Directive 77/93/EEC is amended as follows: 
1. The title is replaced as follows: 
'Council Directive 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'. 
2. In Article 1, the following paragraph 5 is added: 
'5. With effect from 1 January 1993, this 
Directive shall also concern protective measures 
against the spread of harmful organisms within the 
Community by other means, including those related 
to movements of plants or plant products within a 
Member State.' 
3. In Article 2(1), point (f) is replaced by the following 
text: 
'(f) plant passport: shall be considered to mean any 
document, label, seal, stamp, mark or other 
indication, which gives evidence that the 
provisions of this Directive related to plant 
health standards and special requirements are 
satisfied, and which is 
— standardized at Community level for 
different types of plants or plant products, 
and 
— officially issued or endorsed 
for that purpose. 
The standardization shall be established in 
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 
16a. Under this standardization, different formats 
shall be determined for plant passports which are not 
valid, in accordance with the provisions of Article 10 
(1) second subparagraph, for all parts of the 
Community.' 
4. In Article 2(1) the following points are added: 
'(g) ecological region: shall be considered to mean a 
region in the Community which is exposed to a 
relatively uniform plant health risk as 
determined by similar ecological and agricultural 
conditions as well as by the presence of potential 
host plants and other vectors of harmful 
organisms. 
The ecological regions shall be established in 
accordance with the procedure laid down in 
Article 16a. Under the same procedure, they 
may be subdivided in ecological subregions. 
(h) isolated zone: shall be considered to mean an 
area in the Community 
— in which one or more harmful organisms 
referred to in this Directive, which are estab­
lished in one or more parts of the rest of the 
Community, are not known to occur, despite 
favourable conditions for them to establish 
there, and 
No C 29/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 8. 2. 90 
— which has been recognized, in accordance 
with the procedure laid down in Article 16a, 
as fulfilling the conditions set out in the first 
indent, on request of the Member State 
concerned and on the grounds that the 
results of appropriate surveys the nature of 
which has been specified by the Commission 
and which have been monitored, under its 
authority, by the experts referred to in 
Article 19a, show no evidence to the 
contrary. 
A harmful organism shall be considered to be 
established in a part of the Community, if it is 
known to occur there and if either no official 
measures have been taken there with a view to 
its eradication, or such measures have proved, 
for a period of at least two successive years, to 
be ineffective. 
(i) a statement or measure shall be considered to be 
official, if made or taken, without prejudice to 
the provisions of Article 19a, 
— by representatives of the official plant-
protection organization of a Member State 
or, under their responsibility, by other public 
servants, in the case of statements or 
measures related to the issuing of the 
certificates specified in Article 7 (1) or 8 (2); 
— either by such representatives or public 
servants, or by 'qualified agents' employed 
by other public bodies of a Member State, in 
all other cases. 
The minimum standards for the qualifications of 
the 'qualified agents' referred to in the second 
indent may be established in accordance with 
the procedure laid down in Article 16a. 
The Commission shall coordinate at Community 
level the training of persons employed as 
'qualified agents'. It may financially support the 
training of those agents, within the limits of 
appropriations available for that purpose in the 
Community budget.' 
5. In Article 3, (4), (5), (6) and (7) are replaced by the 
following text: 
'4. With effect from 1 January 1993, Member 
States shall provide that the provisions of paragraphs 
1 and 2 will be applied in such way that they will 
also ban the spread of the harmful organisms 
concerned within the territory of a Member State. 
5. Member States shall ban from the same date 
the introduction and the spread of: 
(a) the harmful organisms listed in Annex I, Part B 
section 1; 
(b) the plants and plant products listed in Annex II, 
Part B section 1, where they are contaminated 
by the relevant harmful organisms listed there 
into and within the ecological regions or subregions 
for which the organisms are relevant. They shall also ban the introduction or the spread of 
the harmful organisms listed in Annex I Part B 
section II or Annex II Part B section II into and 
within the respective isolated zones located in their 
territory. 
6. In accordance with the procedure laid down in 
Article 16a, 
(a) the harmful organisms listed in Annexes I and II 
shall be subdivided as follows: 
— organisms not known to occur in any part of 
the Community and relevant for the entire 
Community shall be listed in Annex I part A 
section I and Annex II part A section I 
respectively; 
— organisms known to occur in the Community 
and relevant for the entire Community shall 
be listed in Annex I part A section II and 
Annex II part A section II respectively; 
— the other organisms shall be listed in Annex I 
part B section I and Annex II part B section I 
respectively, against the one or more 
ecological regions or subregions for which 
they are relevant; 
(b) harmful organisms established in one or more 
parts of the Community shall be deleted, save 
those referred to in the third indent of point (a) 
and those for which isolated zones have been 
recognized. These latter organisms shall be listed 
in Annex I part B section II and Annex II part B 
section II respectively, against the respective 
isolated zone or zones; 
(c) the titles of Annex I and II as well as the 
different parts and sections thereof shall be 
adapted to the above. 
7. In accordance with the procedure laid down in 
Article 16a, it may be decided that Member States 
shall lay down that the introduction into their terri­
tories, and the spread within their territories, of 
specified organisms which are considered to be 
harmful to plants or plant products but not listed in 
Annexes I and II, whether genetically modified or 
not, shall be prohibited or require special authori­
zation under conditions specified under the same 
procedure.' 
6. The provisions of Article 4 (2) point (a) are replaced 
by the following: 
'(a) ban from 1 January 1993 the introduction of 
plants, plant products and other objects listed in 
Annex III part B into the ecological regions or 
subregions specified in respect of them. Member 
States shall also ban the introduction of plants, 
plant products and other objects listed there into 
the respective isolated zones located in their 
territory'.' 
8. 2. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 29/13 
7. In Article 4, the following paragraphs are added: 
'3. In accordance with the procedure laid down in 
Article 16a, Annex III shall be revised in such a way 
that part A contains plants or plant products which 
constitute a plant health risk for all parts of the 
Community and part B contains plants or plant 
products which constitute a plant health risk only for 
certain ecological regions or subregions or isolated 
zones. Those regions, subregions and zones, shall be 
specified there respectively. 
4. With effect from 1 January 1993, the provisions 
of paragraph 1 shall no longer apply to plants or 
plant products originating in the Community, and 
the provisions of paragraph 2 (b) shall be deleted.' 
8. In Article 5, the second sentence of paragraph 1, and 
point (a) of paragraph 2 are deleted. 
9. The provisions of Article 5 (2) are replaced by the 
following: 
'2. Member States shall ban from 1 January 1993 
the introduction and the movement of the plants, 
plant products and other objects listed in Annex IV 
part B section I into and within the ecological 
regions or subregions specified there respectively, 
unless the relevant special requirements indicated in 
that part of the Annex are met. 
They shall also ban the introduction or the 
movement of the plants, plant products or other 
objects listed in Annex IV Part B section II into and 
within the respective isolated zones located in their 
territory, unless the relevant special requirements 
indicated in that part of the Annex are met.' 
10. In Article 5, the following paragraphs are added: 
'3. In accordance with the procedure laid down in 
Article 16a, Annex TV shall be amended in 
accordance with the criteria laid down in Article 3 
(6). 
4. With effect from 1 January 1993, the provisions 
of paragraph I shall be extended to ban also the 
movement of plants, plant products and other 
objects within the territory of a Member State, 
without prejudice however to the provisions in 
Article 6 (5).' 
11. In Article 6 (1) the words 'part A' are inserted after 
the words 'Annex V. 
12. In Article 6, the following paragraph is inserted after 
paragraph 1: 
'la As soon as the measures provided for in 
Article 3 (6) (a) and in Article 5 (3) are adopted, the provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply only in respect 
of Annex I part A section II, Annex II part A section 
II and Annex IV part A section II.' 
13. In Article 6 (2), the words 'Article 3 (5), (6) and (7)' 
are replaced by the words 'Article 3 (4), (5) and (7)'. 
14. In Article 6, the following paragraphs are added: 
'4. With effect from 1 January 1993, the 
provisions of paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) shall also 
apply to the movement of plants, plant products and 
other objects within the territory of a Member State, 
save as otherwise provided for in paragraph 5. 
The official examinations referred to in paragraphs 
(1), (2) and (3) shall be carried out in accordance 
with the following provisions: 
(a) They shall extend to all relevant plants or plant 
products grown, produced or used by the 
producer or otherwise present on his premises as 
well as to the growing medium used there. 
(b) They shall be made on the premises, preferably 
at the place of production. 
(c) They shall be made regularly at appropriate 
times, at least twice per year, and they shall also 
be made on request by the producer or by the 
Commission. 
(d) They shall be made at least by visual obser­
vation; in case of doubt, as well as in cases 
specified in Annex IV, they shall be made by 
appropriate testing on appropriate samples taken 
on the premises, preferably at the place of 
production. 
(e) Any producer subjected to such examination 
shall be listed in an official register under a 
registration number enabling his identification. 
He shall notify immediately to the competent 
authorities of the Member State concerned any 
unusual occurence of harmful organisms or any 
other abnormality related to plant health. 
(f) The official registers established pursuant to (e) 
shall be accessible to the Commission. 
5. Member States may exempt the local movement 
of plants, plant products or other objects from the 
provisions of Article 6 (4). A local movement shall be 
considered to mean a movement which is restricted 
to the territory of the local administrative area where 
the premises of the producer are located, and of the 
adjoining local administrative areas. 
Producers whose entire production and sale of 
relevant plants or plant products are restricted to 
final usage within the above limits may be exempted 
from official examination and official registration. 
6. In accordance with the procedure laid down in 
Article 16a, implementing rules related to: 
NoC 29/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 8. 2. 90 
— the frequency, timing and other details of the 
official examination (paragraph 4 (c) and (d), 
— the exemptions referred to in paragraph 5, may 
be adopted. 
7. Implementing rules related to the registration 
procedure and the registration number (paragraph 4 
(e)) may be adopted in accordance with the 
procedure laid down in Article 17a. 
8. Member States may apply the provisions of 
paragraphs 4 and 5 in advance of 1 January 1993, 
either wholly, or in relation to certain regions or to 
certain types of plants or plant products. 
In such cases, the Member States concerned shall 
immediately inform the Commission and the other 
Member States of the provisions adopted for that 
purpose.' 
15. In Article 7 (2) and Article 8 (1), the words 'part A' 
are inserted after the words 'Annex V respectively. 
16. After Article 9, the following Articles are inserted: 
'Article 10 
1. With effect from 1 January 1993, where it is 
considered, on the basis of the examination laid 
down in Article 6(1), (2) and (3) and carried out in 
accordance with the provisions of Article 6 (4), that 
the conditions therein are fulfilled, a plant passport 
shall be officially issued or its number officially 
registered, instead of the issuing of the phytosanitary 
certificates referred to in Articles 7 or 8. 
If the examination does not concern conditions 
relevant to certain ecological regions or subregions 
or to certain isolated zones, or if it is considered that 
such conditions are not fulfilled, the plant passport 
shall be valid only for the other parts of the 
Community and it shall have the format reserved for 
such cases, pursuant to Article 2 (1) (f). 
2. With effect from 1 January 1993, plants, plant 
products and other objects listed in Annex V part A 
may not be moved within the Community, other 
than locally within the meaning of Article 6 (5), 
unless a plant passport valid for the territory 
concerned and issued or registered in accordance 
with the provisions of paragraph 1 is attached to 
them, to their packaging or to the vehicles trans­
porting them. 
3. A plant passport can be replaced at any time 
and in any part of the Community by another plant 
passport. This may be officially issued or its number 
officially registered only under official supervision 
and if there is no evidence that the conditions 
referred to in paragraph 1 are not or no longer 
fulfilled. The plant passports replaced shall be 
destroyed, and the references thereof, the place and 
date of replacement as well as the references of the 
replacing plant passport shall be officially recorded. 4. Member States which make use of Article 6 (7) 
may use, as soon as available, plant passports instead 
of phytosanitary certificates in advance of 1 January 
1993. 
Article 10a 
1. Where it is not considered, on the basis of the 
examination laid down in Article 6 (1) (2), and (3) 
and carried out in accordance with the provisions of 
Article 6 (4), that the conditions therein are fulfilled, 
a plant passport shall not be issued, without 
prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 2. 
2. Where it is established, taking into account the 
nature of the findings made in the examination 
concerned, that part of the plants or plant products 
grown, produced or used by the producer or 
otherwise present on his premises, or part of the 
growing medium used there, cannot present any risk 
of spreading harmful organisms, the provisions of 
paragraph 1 shall not apply to that part. 
3. To the extent that the provisions of paragraph 
1 apply, the plants, plant products or growing 
medium concerned shall be the subject of one or 
more of the following official measures: 
— appropriate treatment, 
— permit for local movements, 
— permit for movements, under official control, to 
other areas, where they do not present an 
additional risk, 
— permit for movement, under official control, to 
places for industrial processing, 
— destruction. 
4. To the extent that the provisions of paragraph 
1 apply, the listing of the producer in the official 
register shall be suspended until it is established that 
the risk of spreading harmful organisms is elim­
inated. As long as this listing is suspended, the 
producer is not considered to be subjected to the 
examination required under Article 6 (4).' 
17. In Article 11, the following paragraphs are added: 
7. With effect from 1 January 1993, the 
provisions of paragraphs 1, 3 and 3a shall no longer 
have effect and Member States shall instead organize 
official checks on compliance with the provisions of 
this Directive, in particular of Article 10 (2), which 
shall be carried out at random and without any 
discrimination in respect of the origin of the plants, 
plant products or other objects, and in accordance 
with the following provisions: 
— occasional checks, at any time and at any place 
where plants, plant products or other objects are 
moved, 
8. 2. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 29/15 
— occasional checks on premises where plants, 
plant products or other objects are grown, 
produced, stored or offered for sale, as well as 
on the premises of purchasers, 
— occasional checks at the same time as any other 
documentary check which is carried out for 
reasons other than plant health, 
— checks at boundaries of ecological regions or 
subregions or of isolated zones, provided that 
these boundaries are properly marked with 
appropriate traffic signs. 
The checks may be regular and may be targeted if 
facts have come to light to suggest that one or more 
provisions of this Directive have not been complied 
with. 
Member States may lay down that occupiers of 
premises where plants, plant products or other 
objects are grown, stored or offered for sale shall 
also be listed in an official register. In such case, the 
checks may be regular. 
8. Purchasers of plants, plant products or other 
objects, other than final users shall retain the related 
plant passports for at least one year, and make 
references to them in their records. 
Inspectors shall have access to the plants, plant 
products or other objects. They shall be entitled to 
make any investigation necessary for the checks 
concerned, including those related to the records 
and the plant passports. 
9. The Member States may be assisted in the 
official checks by the experts referred to in Article 
19a. 
10. Where it is established, through the official 
checks carried out in accordance with paragraphs 7 
and 8, that plants, plant products or other objects 
present a risk of spreading harmful organisms, they 
shall be the subject of one or more of the official 
measures mentioned in Article 10a (3).' 
18. In Article 12 (1) and (3a), the words 'Part B' are 
inserted respectively after the words 'Annex V. 
19. In Article 12 (1) (b), the references to Article 4, 5 
and 9 are deleted respectively. 20. In Article 12, the following paragraphs are added: 
'6. With effect from 1 January 1993, the words 
'Part A' are deleted in paragraph 1 (a) respectively, 
and also paragraphs 3 and 4 are deleted. With effect 
from the same date, the provisions of paragraph 1 
shall apply on the occasion of the first introduction 
of the plants, plant products or other objects 
concerned into the Community, without prejudice to 
specific agreements concluded in this respect 
between the Community and certain third countries. 
The places where the inspections shall be carried out 
may be designated, with primary regard for phyto-
sanitary considerations and with due regard for 
other administrative formalities, including customs 
formalities, where applicable, in accordance with the 
procedure laid down in Article 16a. Member States 
may derogate from the provisions of the preceding 
sentence only under the terms which have been set 
up in the technical arrangements referred to in 
paragraph 5. 
7. With effect from the same date, the provisions 
of Article 10(1) and (3) shall accordingly apply to 
the plants, plant products or other objects referred to 
in paragraph 1, where it is considered, on the basis 
of the inspection laid down in paragraph 6, that the 
conditions referred to in paragraph 1 are fulfilled.' 
21. After Article 17, the following Article is inserted: 
'Article 17a 
Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to 
be followed, the Commission shall be assisted by the 
Committee, acting as committee of an advisory 
nature and chaired by the representative of the 
Commission. 
The representative of the Commission shall submit to 
the Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. 
The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft, 
within a time limit which the chairman may lay 
down according to the urgency of the matter, if 
necessary by taking a vote. 
The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in 
addition, each member State shall have the right to 
ask to have its position recorded in the minutes. 
The Commission shall take the utmost account of 
the opinion delivered by the Committee. It shall 
inform the Committee of the manner in which its 
opinion has been taken into account.' 
22. Article 18 (2) is replaced by the following: 
'2. In accordance with the procedure laid down in 
Article 16a, amendments to this Directive shall be 
adopted which are necessary to establish coherence 
with Community provisions referred to in paragraph 
1. 
3. In accordance with the procedure laid down in 
Article 16a, consolidated versions of this Directive 
shall be adopted, the aim being to incorporate all 
amendments made thereto.' 
No C 29/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 8. 2. 90 
23. Former Article 18 (3) becomes Article 18 (4). 
24. In Annex V, the following part A is inserted: 
'A. Plants, Plant Products and other Objects orig­
inating in the Community. 
1. Plants, intended for planting, other than pot 
plants, seeds and aquarium plants. 
2. The parts of plants as shown below. 
Fruit of: 
Citrus L. 
3. Potato tubers. 
4. Growing medium as such, as specified in part 
B, 5 (a).' 
25. In Annex V, the current text becomes part B, 
entitled as follows: 
'B. Plants, Plant Products and other Objects orig­
inating in territories other than those referred to 
in part A.' Article 2 
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, 
regulations or administrative provisions necessary to 
comply with this Directive by 1 January 1991. The 
provisions adopted pursuant to the first subparagraph 
shall make express reference to this Directive. 
They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof. 
2. Member States shall immediately communicate to 
the Commission all provisions of national law which they 
adopt in the field governed by this Directive. The 
Commission shall inform the other Member States 
thereof. 
Article 3 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.