98/112/EC: Commission Decision of 27 January 1998 authorising the Member States to provide for derogations from certain provisions of Council Directive 77/93/EEC in respect of potatoes other than potatoes intended for planting originating in the Republic of Slovenia
Date: 1998-01-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Slovenia, derogation from EU law, import, plant health legislation, potato, protection of plant life

4. 2. 98

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 28/43

COMMISSION DECISION

of 27 January 1998

authorising the Member States to provide for derogations from certain
provisions of Council Directive 77/93/EEC in respect of potatoes other than
potatoes intended for planting originating in the Republic of Slovenia

(98/112/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),
amended by Directive
last
97/14/EC (2), and in particular Article 14(1) thereof,

as

Having regard to the request made by Luxembourg,

Whereas, under the provisions of Directive 77/93/EEC,
potatoes other than potatoes intended for planting origin-
ating in the Republic of Slovenia may in principle not be
introduced into the Community because of the risk of
introducing potato diseases unknown in the Community;

Whereas by Decisions 96/114/EC ( 3) and 97/3/EC (4) the
Commission authorised certain Member States to provide
for derogations in respect of potatoes other than potatoes
intended for planting originating in the Republic of
Slovenia, under specified conditions in the 1996 and 1997
seasons;

Whereas, in relation to the requirements laid down in
point 25.3 of Annex IV, part A, section I to Directive
77/93/EEC and on the basis of information provided by
the Republic of Slovenia, and of international scientific
technical literature, it is apparent that the Republic of
Slovenia is not a country where potato spindle tuber
viroid is known to occur;

Whereas, due to technical reasons there were no imports
pursuant to Decision 96/114/EC; whereas there have been
no confirmed findings of harmful organisms on samples
drawn from potatoes introduced pursuant to Decision
97/3/EC;

Whereas the circumstances justifying the authorisation
still obtain;

(1) OJ L 26, 31. 1. 1977, p. 20.
(2) OJ L 87, 2. 4. 1997, p. 17.
(3) OJ L 27, 3. 2. 1996, p. 33.
(4) OJ L 1, 3. 1. 1997, p. 3.

Whereas the Commission will ensure that the Republic of
Slovenia makes available all technical information neces-
sary to assess the phytosanitary status of the production of
potatoes in Slovenia;

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

1.
The Member States are hereby authorised to provide,
under the conditions laid down in paragraph 2, for excep-
tions from Article 4(1) of Directive 77/93/EEC, with
regard to the prohibitions referred to in Part A, point 12
of Annex III thereto for potatoes other than potatoes
intended for planting originating in the Republic of
Slovenia.

In addition to the requirements

2.
laid down in
Annexes I and II to Directive 77/93/EEC in relation to
potatoes the following specific conditions shall be satis-
fied:

(a)

(b)

(c)

the potatoes shall be other than potatoes intended for
planting;

they shall have been grown from seed potatoes certi-
fied in the seed potato certification scheme of the
Republic of Slovenia or from seed potatoes certified
in one of the Member States or from seed potatoes
certified in any other country for which the entry
into the Community of potatoes intended for plant-
ing is permitted pursuant to Directive 77/93/EEC;

they shall have been grown in areas known to be free
from Synchytrium endobioticum (Schilbersky)
Percival, and no symptoms of Synchytrium endobio-
ticum (Schilbersky) Percival have been observed
either at the place of production or in its immediate
vicinity since the beginning of an adequate period;

(d)

they shall have been grown in areas where Pseudo-
monas solanacearum (Smith) Smith is not known to
occur;

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Official Journal of the European Communities

4. 2. 98

(e)

(f)

(g)

imports

regular planned monitoring of
into the
Republic of Slovenia, and of seed potatoes and ware
potatoes marketed within the Republic of Slovenia is
continued by means of examination and testing of
representative samples by scientifically recognised
methods for Clavibacter michiganensis (Smith) Davis
et al. ssp. sepedonicus (Spieckermann et Kotthoff)
Davis et. al., Pseudomonas solanacearum (Smith)
Smith and potato spindle tuber viroid;

they shall have been handled by machinery which is
reserved for them or which has been disinfected in an
appropriate manner after each use for other purposes;

they shall be packed either in new bags or in con-
tainers which have been disinfected in an appropriate
manner; and an official label shall be applied to each
bag or container, bearing the information specified in
the Annex;

(h) prior to export the potatoes shall have been cleaned

free from soil, leaves and other plant debris;

(i)

the potatoes intended for the Community shall be
accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued in
the Republic of Slovenia in accordance with Article 7
of Directive 77/93/EEC, on the basis of the examina-
tion laid down therein, in particular freedom from
the harmful organisms mentioned in (c) and (e).

The certificate shall state:

— under ‘Additional declaration’, the indication ‘this
consignment meets the conditions laid down in
Decision 98/112/EC’;

(j)

the potatoes shall be introduced through points of
entry within the territory of a Member State making
use of this derogation and designated for the purpose
of this derogation by that Member State. In those
cases where the introduction into the Community,
takes place in a Member State other than the Member
State making use of this derogation, the responsible
official bodies referred to in Directive 77/93/EEC, of
the Member State of introduction shall inform and
cooperate with the said responsible official bodies of
the Member State making use of this Derogation to
ensure that
this Decision are
complied with;

the provisions of

(k) prior

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

— the type of material,

— the quantity,

— the declared date of introduction and confirma-

tion of the point of entry,

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

(l)

the inspections required pursuant to Article 12 of
Directive 77/93/EEC shall be made by the respons-
ible official bodies referred to in the said Directive.
Without prejudice to the monitoring referred to in
the
Article 19a(3) second indent,
first possibility,
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)

(m) Member States making use of this derogation shall,
where appropriate, in cooperation with the Member
State of introduction ensure that at least two samples
of 200 tubers shall be drawn from each consignment
of 50 tonnes or part thereof, of imported potatoes
pursuant to this Decision, for official examination in
respect of Pseudomonas solanacearum in accordance
with the Community interim test scheme for the
diagnosis, detection and identification of Pseudo-
monas solanacearum, and in the case of Clavibacter
michiganensis ssp. sepedonicus,
in accordance with
the Community established method for the detection
and diagnosis of Clavibacter michiganensis ssp. sepe-
donicus; in the case of suspicion the lots shall remain
separate, under official control and may not be
marketed or used until it has been established that
the presence of Clavibacter michiganensis ssp. sepe-
solanacearum was not
donicus or Pseudomonas
suspected or detected in those examinations.

Article 2

Member States shall inform the other Member States and
the Commission by means of the notification referred to
in Article 1(2)(k), first sentence of any use made of the
authorisation. They shall provide the Commission and the
other Member States, before 1 September 1998, with the
information on amounts imported pursuant to this De-
cision and with a detailed technical report of the official
examination referred to in Article 1(2)(m); copies of each
phytosanitary certificate shall be transmitted to the
Commission.

Article 3

The autorisation granted in Article 1 shall apply in

1.
the period between 1 February 1998 and 30 June 1998.

2.
The authorisation shall be revoked if it is established
that the conditions laid down in Article 1(2) have been
insufficient to prevent the introduction of harmful or-
ganisms or have not been complied with.

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This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 4

Done at Brussels, 27 January 1998.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

ANNEX

Information required on the label

(referred to in Article 1(2)(g))

1. Name of the authority issuing the label.

2. Name of the exporters’ organisation, if available.

3. Indication ‘potatoes other than potatoes intended for planting of Slovenian origin’.

4. Variety.

5. Place of production (name of plant protection office at district level in which the place of production is

situated should be mentioned).

6. Size.

7. Declared net weight.

8. Indication ‘In accordance with EC requirements 1998’.

9. A mark printed or stamped on behalf of the Slovenian plant protection administration.