WRITTEN QUESTION P-1117/02

by Dana Scallon (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(15 April 2002)

Subject: Grocers' sales of younger leeks under Regulation (EC) No 2396/2001

Regulation (EC) No 2396/2001(1) states that grocers must not sell younger leeks with a diameter of less than 8 mm or older ones that measure less than 10 mm. The size is determined by the diameter measured at right angles to the longitudinal axis above the swelling of the neck. There must be no soil between the leaves which should be neatly cut. The white to greenish-white part must represent at least one-third of the total length or half the sheathed part. However, in early leeks, the white to greenish part must represent at least one-quarter of the total length or one-third of the sheathed part.

Is the Commission aware that these standards are not compatible with the natural cultivation of leeks?

In order to fulfil these standards, I have been informed that this is possible only with the use of chemicals and that it is not possible to grow a crop to this specification without excessive use of chemicals. What is the Commission position on this, and how is the quantity of chemicals used to grow these crops evaluated?

Are there any quality management criteria forecast in order to evaluate the implementation of the Regulation (EC) No 2396/2001: in this case, do they include the measurement of the chemicals used to grow these crops?

(1) OJ L 325, 8.12.2001, p. 11.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 2002)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2396/2001 of 7 December 2001 laying down the marketing standard applicable to leeks is a recasting of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1292/81 of 12 May 1981 laying down quality standards for leeks, aubergines and courgettes(1) and Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1076/89 of 26 April 1989 amending Regulation (EEC) No 1292/81(2). This means that the marketing standard for leeks, including the special requirements the Honourable Member describes in detail in her question, has been in force in the Community for over 20 years. Furthermore, the Regulation has been aligned on the international standard for leeks recommended by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, an instrument that has existed in similar form from 1970.

No information has come to the attention of the Commission since the standards came into force to indicate that they are not compatible with the natural cultivation of leeks. On the contrary, the availability of significant quantities of organically grown leeks that conform to Regulation (EC) No 2396/2001 persuades the Commission that there is no need for excessive quantities of pesticides to be used in order to grow leeks that comply with these requirements.

The only case reported to the Commission concerns the difficulty of controlling thrips, a parasite against which many potentially usable pesticides have been (or are to be) withdrawn from the market under the programme for the review of active substances referred to in Article 8 of Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market(3). One of the amendments to the rules for the marketing of leeks in the Community made by Regulation (EC) No 2396/2001 was to increase the tolerances for damage caused by thrips.

Pesticide use in the cultivation of leeks is governed by Directive 91/414/EEC which stipulates that Member States must require them to be used in an appropriate way, notably in accordance with Article 4. Furthermore, leeks produced and imported into the Community must meet the requirements of Council Directive 76/895/EEC of 23 November 1976 relating to the fixing of maximum levels for pesticide residues in and on fruit and vegetables(4) and Council Directive 90/642/EEC of 27 November 1990 on the fixing of maximum levels for pesticide residues in and on certain products of plant origin, including fruit and vegetables(5). These upper limits are set as low as is consistent with sound agricultural practice and in any case at levels such that pesticides have not been used in circumstances which present a threat to human or animal health or the environment.

Regulation (EC) No 2396/2001 applies without prejudice to the application of the pesticide rules described above, under which Member States determine the uses for which pesticides are authorised along with the dose to be applied for each authorised use. The Commission is not planning, therefore, to introduce special measures concerning the quantities of pesticides to be used in the cultivation of leeks. The Member States conduct regular checks for residues in these vegetables as part of annual Community control programmes.

(1) OJ L 129, 15.5.1981.

(2) OJ L 114, 27.4.1989.

(3) OJ L 230, 19.8.1991.

(4) OJ L 340, 9.12.1976.

(5) OJ L 350, 14.12.1990.