98/86/EC: Commission Decision of 9 January 1998 authorising the Member States exceptionally to provide for derogations from certain provisions of Council Directive 77/93/EEC in respect of plants of Vitis L., other than fruits, originating in Croatia
Date: 1998-01-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Croatia, crop production, derogation from EU law, import, plant health control, plant health legislation

22. 1. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 17/25

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 9 January 1998

authorising the Member States exceptionally to provide for derogations from
certain provisions of Council Directive 77/93/EEC in respect of plants of Vitis L.,
other than fruits, originating in Croatia

(98/86/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 77/93/EEC of 21
December 1976 on protective measures against the intro-
duction into the Community of organisms harmful to
plants or plant products and against their spread within
the Community (1), as last amended by Directive 97/14/
EC (2), and in particular Article 14(1) thereof,

Whereas therefore a derogation should be authorised for
a limited period, provided that it includes specific condi-
tions and without prejudice to Council Directive 68/
193/EEC (4), as last amended by the Act of Accession of
Austria, Finland and Sweden;

Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are
in accordance with the opinion of
the Standing
Committee on Plant Health,

Having regard to the request made by Italy, in respect of
plants of Vitis L., other than fruits, originating in Croatia,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Whereas, pursuant
to the provisions of Directive 77/
93/EEC, plants of Vitis L., other than fruits originating
in third countries, may in principle not be introduced
into the Community;

Whereas by Decision 97/78/EC (3)
the Commission
authorised Member States to provide for derogations in
respect of plants of Vitis L., other than fruits, originating
in Croatia or Slovenia under specified conditions in the
1997 season;

Article 1

The Member States are hereby authorised to provide,
1.
under the conditions laid down in paragraph 2,
for
exceptions from Article 4(1) of Directive 77/93/EEC, with
regard to the prohibitions referred to in Part A, point 15
of Annex III thereto for plants of Vitis L., other than
fruits, originating in Croatia.

Whereas there have been no confirmed findings of
harmful organisms during the inspections on the plants
introduced pursuant to Decision 97/78/EC;

2.

(a)

The following specific conditions shall be satisfied:

the plants shall be propagating material in the form
of dormant bud material of the following varieties:

Whereas the circumstances justifying the authorisation
for Croatia still obtain;

(1) OJ L 26, 31. 1. 1977, p. 20.
(2) OJ L 87, 2. 4. 1997, p. 17.
(3) OJ L 22, 24. 1. 1997, p. 35.

 Babic,

 Plavac Mali,

(4) OJ L 93, 17. 4. 1968, p. 15.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

22. 1. 98

 Plavina,

 Debit,

 Kuc,

 Krvatica;

(b)

the buds shall be intended to be grafted in the
Community at premises referred to in point (h), on to
rootstocks produced in the Community;

(c)

the buds intended for the Community shall be:

 harvested from propagating material grown in
vineyards, which are officially registered. The lists
of the registered vineyards shall be made available
to the Member States making use of the deroga-
tion and to the Commission, at the latest by 15
include the
January 1998. These lists
rows
name(s) of
planted with these varieties, the number of plants
per row for each of these vineyards, as far as they
are
the
Community in 1998, under the conditions laid
down in this Decision,

the number of

the varieties,

dispatch to

deemed

suitable

shall

for

 properly packed and the packaging made recog-
nisable with a marking, enabling the identifica-
tion of the registered nursery and the variety,

 accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued
in Croatia in accordance with Article 7 of Dir-
ective 77/93/EEC, on the basis of
the exam-
ination laid down in Article 6 thereof, in partic-
ular freedom from the following harmful organ-
isms:

 Daktulosphaira vitifoliae (Fitch),

 Xylophilus

ampelinus

(Panagopoulos)

Willems et al.,

 Grapevine Flavescence dorée MLO,

 Xylella fastidiosa (Well et Raju),

 Trechispora brinkmannii (Bresad.) Rogers,

 Tobacco ringspot virus,

 Tomato ringspot virus,

 Blueberry leaf mottle virus,

 Peach rosette mosaic virus.

shall

certificate

‘Additional
The
Declaration',
the indication ‘this consignment
meets the conditions laid down in Decision 98/
86/EC';

state under

(d)

(e)

the official plant protection organisation of Croatia
shall ensure the identity of the buds from the time of
harvesting as referred to in point (c), first indent, until
the time of loading for export to the Community;

the inspections required pursuant to Article 12 of
Directive 77/93/EEC shall be made by the respon-
sible official bodies, referred to in the said Directive,
of the Member States making use of this derogation,
and where appropriate, in cooperation with the said
bodies of the Member State in which the buds will be

grafted. Without prejudice to the monitoring referred
to in Article 19a(3) second indent, first possibility, the
the
Commission shall determine to which extent
inspections
second
indent, second possibility of the said Directive shall
be integrated into the inspection programme in
accordance with Article 19a(5)(c) of that Directive;

referred to in Article 19a(3)

(f)

the buds shall be introduced through points of entry
situated within the territory of a Member State
making use of this derogation and designated for the
purposes of this derogation by that Member State;

(g) prior

the
to introduction into the Community,
importer shall notify each introduction sufficiently in
advance to the responsible official bodies in the
Member State of introduction and that Member State
shall without delay convey the details of the notifica-
tion to the Commission, indicating:

 the type of material,

 the variety and quantity,

 the declared date of introduction and confirma-

tion of the point of entry,

 the names, addresses and the locations of

the
premises referred to in point (h) where the buds
the
wil be grafted and/or where subsequently,
grafted plants will be planted.

At the time of import the importer shall provide
the aforementioned
confirmation of
advance notification.

the details of

The importer shall be officially informed, prior to the
introduction, of the conditions laid down in (a), (b),
(c),

(i) and (j);

(h),

(d),

(g),

(e),

(f),

(h) the buds shall be grafted on to rootstocks and the
grafted material subsequently planted only at prem-
ises for which the names, addresses and the locations
have been notified by the person who intends to use
the buds imported pursuant to this Decision, to the
said responsible official bodies of the Member State
in which the premises are situated; in those cases
where the place of grafting or planting is situated in a
Member State other than the Member State making
use of this derogation, the said responsible official
bodies of
this
derogation, at the moment of receipt of the afore-
mentioned advance notification from the importer,
shall inform the said responsible official bodies of the
Member State in which the plants will be grafted or
planted giving the names, addresses and the locations
of the premises where the plants will be grafted or
planted;

the Member State making use of

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 17/27

(i)

at the premises referred to in point (h):

 the buds shall be bench grafted and the grafted
plants shall be planted and further grown in fields
belonging to the premises referred to in point (h)
where they should remain until they are moved to
a destination outside the Community as referred
to in point (j);

 in the growing period following importation, the
grafted plants shall be visually inspected by the
said responsible official bodies of the Member
State in which the grafted plants are planted, at
appropriate times,
for harmful organisms or
symptoms caused by any harmful organism; in
order to identify the harmful organisms having
caused such symptoms an appropriate testing on
any symptom observed in the visual inspection
shall be carried out. Any plant which has not
been found free during the said inspections or
listed under
testing,
point
shall be immediately
(c),
destroyed;

from harmful organisms

third indent,

(j)

any grafted plant resulting from a successful grafting
using the buds referred to in point (a) shall be moved
in 1999 to a destination outside the Community. The
said responsible official bodies shall ensure that any
plant not so moved shall be officially destroyed.
Records shall be kept available to the Commission on
the amounts of successfully grafted plants, of offi-
cially destroyed plants and of plants sold as well as on
the country of destination of the plants sold.

Member States, before 1 November 1998, with the infor-
mation on amounts imported pursuant to this Decision
and with a detailed technical report of the official exam-
ination referred to in Article 1(2)(i). Furthermore any
other Member State in which the buds are grafted on to
rootstocks and in which the grafted plants are planted,
after the import, shall also provide the Commission and
the other Member States, before 1 November 1998, with
a detailed technical report of the official examination
referred to in Article 1(2)(i).

Article 3

Without prejudice to the provisions laid down in Article
the Member States
14(3) of Directive 77/93/EEC,
concerned shall notify the Commission and the other
Member States of all cases of consignments introduced
pursuant to this Decision which do not comply with the
conditions laid down herein.

Article 4

This Decision shall apply during the period between 15
January 1998 and 30 March 1998. It shall be revoked if it
is established that the conditions laid down in Article 1(2)
are not sufficient to prevent the introduction of harmful
organisms or have not been complied with.

Article 5

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 2

Done at Brussels, 9 January 1998.

Member States shall inform the other Member States and
the Commission by means of the notification referred to
in Article 1(2)(g) first sentence of any use of the author-
isation. They shall provide the Commission and the other

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission