WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2428/96 by Christian JACOB to the Commission. Bacteria Xanthomonas Campestris p.v. Phaseoli
Date: 1996-09-11
Institutions: European Parliament, JACOB
Subjects: EU law, leguminous vegetable, parasitology, plant disease, plant health control, plant health legislation, seed













EUR-Lex - 91996E2428 - EN






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91996E2428

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2428/96 by Christian JACOB to the Commission. Bacteria Xanthomonas Campestris p.v. Phaseoli  


Official Journal C 011 , 13/01/1997 P. 0095 





WRITTEN QUESTION P-2428/96 by Christian Jacob (UPE) to the Commission (11 September 1996)Subject: Bacteria Xanthomonas Campestris p.v. PhaseoliIn 1992 the Commission proposed that several harmful organisms, including Xanthomonas Campestris p.v. Phaseoli, should be transferred from Directive 77/93/EEC ((OJ L 26, 31.1.1977, p. 20. )) and included under the directives on the marketing of seeds. Following this proposal, the Committee on Plant Health agreed that the organism should be included in Directive 70/458/EEC ((OJ L 225, 12.10.1970, p. 7. )).Does the Commission intend to transfer Xanthomas from Directive 77/93 to Directive 70/458 and, if so, what measures has it taken, or will it take, to do so?What measures will the Commission take to carry out a standard and harmonized laboratory test on Xanthomonas on bean seeds?Does the Commission agree that the current quarantining of Xanthomonas in the European Community imposes a needless economic burden on bean seed producers operating in climactic zones where the disease has not been detected or has caused only very limited damage?Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (26 September 1996)The Commission would inform the Honourable Member that when revising the Community phytosanitary arrangements, particularly the technical annexes, in connection with the setting up of the internal market, it did indeed examine where it was necessary to keep certain harmful organisms such as the xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli in 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 (last amended by Commission Directive 96/14/EC ((OJ L 68 of 19.3.1996. ))). In this context, it considered 'transferring' these organisms from the phytosanitary directive to the directives on the marketing of seeds, which would mean fixing a certain tolerance and monitoring compliance at the production stage.To this end, the Commission organized a number of meetings with experts from Member States at which the participants discussed parameters for inclusion in Commission Directive 70/458/EEC regarding the marketing of vegetable seeds, particularly the tolerance level and method of analysis. However, it has not yet been possible to define a standard, harmonized method for detection of xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli in bean seeds. Furthermore, the problem of phytosanitary risks which vary depending on the soil and climate in different regions of the Community is currently unresolved. Discussions on all of these matters are continuing.The Commission does not share the Honourable Member's views about the economic consequences of maintaining these bacteria in quarantine, as this harmful organism, albeit of restricted distribution in the Community, can cause significant damage to bean producers in regions where the conditions of high humidity and temperature encourage the spread of bacteria; a scheme providing for the organism's control is therefore of utmost importance.