98/201/EC: Commission Decision of 4 March 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 Hungary or Romania
Date: 1998-03-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Central and Eastern Europe, crop production, derogation from EU law, import, plant health control, plant propagation

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 76/39

COMMISSION DECISION

of 4 March 1998

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

(98/201/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 Commission
Directive 98/2/EC (2), and in particular Article 14(1)
thereof,

Having regard to the request made by Austria, in respect
of plants of Vitis L., other than fruits, originating in
Hungary or Romania,

Whereas, under 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 the use of propagating material of Vitis L.
imported from Hungary or Romania had become an es-
tablished practice before Austria’s accession to the Com-
munity; whereas this propagating material was intended
to be used to produce grafted material in Austria;

Whereas, in respect of the said imports into the Com-
munity of the said plants, on the basis of information
supplied by the relevant Member State, it appears that in
Hungary or Romania, plants of Vitis L. can be grown
under adequate health conditions and that there are no
sources for the introduction of exotic diseases affecting
plants of Vitis L.;

and without prejudice

Whereas therefore a derogation should be authorised for a
limited period, provided that it includes specific condi-
tions
to Council Directive
68/193/EEC (3), as last amended by the Act of Accession
of Austria, Finland and Sweden, and any implementing
measures made thereunder;

(1) OJ L 26, 31. 1. 1977, p. 20.
(2) OJ L 15, 21. 1. 1998, p. 34.
(3) OJ L 93, 17. 4. 1968, p. 15.

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 15
of Annex III thereto for plants of Vitis L., other than
fruits, originating in Hungary or Romania.

2.

The following specific conditions shall be satisfied:

(a) the plants shall be propagating material in the form of
unrooted cuttings (hereinafter referred to as ‘cuttings’)
of the following rootstock varieties:

— Vitis berlandieri x Vitis riparia, selection Kober

5BB,

— Vitis berlandieri x Vitis riparia 5C;

(b) the cuttings shall be intended to be used in the
Community at premises referred to in (h), as root-
stocks for grafting in order to produce grafted plants
in the Community;

(c) the cuttings intended for the Community shall be:

— harvested from stock plantation 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 derogation
and to the Commission, at the latest by 1 February
1998. These lists shall include the name(s) of the
the number of rows planted
rootstock varieties,
with these varieties, the number of plants per row
for each of
these vineyards, as far as they are
deemed suitable for dispatch to the Community in
1998, under the conditions laid down in this De-
cision,

— properly packed and the packaging made recog-
nisable with a marking, enabling the identification
of the registered nursery and the variety,

— accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued
in Hungary or Romania in accordance with Article
the
7 of Directive 77/93/EEC, on the basis of

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13. 3. 98

examination laid down in Article 6 thereof,
in
particular for freedom from the following harmful
organisms:

— Daktulosphaira vitifoliae (Fitch),

— Xylophilus ampelinus (Panagopoulos) Willems

et al.,

— Grapevine Flavescence dor(cid:130)e MLO,

— Xylella fastidiosa (Well et Raju),

— Trechispora brinkmannii (Bresad.) Rogers,

— Tobacco ringspot virus,

— Tomato ringspot virus,

— Blueberry leaf mottle virus,

— Peach rosette mosaic virus.

The certificate shall state under ‘Additional Declara-
tion’,
the
the indication ‘this consignment meets
conditions laid down in Decision 98/201/EC’;

(d) the official plant protection organisation of Hungary
or Romania shall ensure the identity of the cuttings
from the time of harvesting as referred to in (c), first
indent, until the time of loading for export to the
Community;

(e) the inspections required pursuant

to Article 12 of
Directive 77/93/EEC shall be made by the responsible
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 cuttings will be
used as rootstocks. Without prejudice to the monit-
oring referred to in Article 19a(3) second indent, first
possibility, the Commission shall determine to which
extent the inspections referred to in Article 19a(3)
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;

(f)

the cuttings 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

to introduction into the Community,
the
importer shall notify each introduction sufficiently in
in the
advance to the responsible official bodies
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 confirmation

of the point of entry,

— the names, addresses and the locations of

the
premises referred to in (h) where the cuttings will

be used as rootstocks and where the grafted plants
will subsequently be planted.

At
the time of
confirmation of
advance notification.

import
the details of

the importer shall provide
the aforementioned

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

(i) and (j);

(h),

(g),

(e),

(f),

(h) the cuttings shall be used as rootstocks for grafting
and the grafted plants subsequently planted, only at
premises:

— for which the names, addresses and the locations
have been notified by the person who intends to
use the cuttings imported pursuant to this De-
cision, to the said responsible official bodies of the
Member State in which the premises are situated,
and

— authorised for the purpose indicated in the first
indent by the said responsible official bodies as
satisfying the provisions laid down in the Annex.

this derogation,

In those cases where the place of grafting or planting
is situated in a Member State other than the Member
the said res-
State making use of
ponsible official bodies of the Member State making
use of this derogation, at the moment of receipt of the
aforementioned
from the
notification
importer, shall
inform the said responsible official
bodies of the Member State in which the cuttings will
be used for grafting and subsequently planted giving
the names, addresses and the locations of the premises
where the plants will be grafted or planted;

advance

(i) at the premises referred to in (h), the

shall be subjected immediately upon
— cuttings
arrival
to testing on representative samples and
using appropriate laboratory methods, and, where
appropriate, indicator plants for the detection of at
least the following harmful organisms:

a. Blueberry leaf mottle virus,

b. Grapevine Flavescence dor(cid:130)e MLO and other

grapevine yellows,

c. Peach rosette mosaic virus,

d. Tobacco ringspot virus,

e. Tomato ringspot virus (strain ‘yellow vein’ and

other strains),

f. Xylella fastidiosa (Well & Raju),

g. Xylophilus ampelinus (Panagopoulos) Willems

et al.

The material which has been found free from the
harmful organisms referred to in this indent may
then be used for grafting and the grafted plants
shall be planted and grown in fields belonging to
the premises referred to in (h) and shall remain on
the premises, whether planted or stored in a bare
rooted state until they are ready for sale,

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— grafted plants shall be, in the growing period fol-
lowing importation, visually inspected by the said
responsible official bodies of the Member State in
which the grafted plants are planted, at appropriate
times, for the presence of harmful organisms or for
signs or symptoms caused by any harmful or-
ganism including those of Daktulosphaira vitifo-
liae (Fitch); in order to identify the harmful orga-
nisms having caused such signs or 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 testing, referred to in the
previous indents, from harmful organisms listed
under (c) third indent, or otherwise of quarantine
concern, shall be immediately destroyed under
control of the said responsible bodies;

(j) any grafted plant resulting from a successful grafting
using the cuttings referred to in (a) shall only be
released in 1999.

grafting and in which the grafted plants are planted, after
the import, shall also provide the Commission and the
other Member States, before 1 July 1998, with a detailed
technial 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
March and 31 March 1998. It shall be revoked if it is esta-
blished that the conditions laid down in Article 1(2) are
not sufficient to prevent the introduction of harmful orga-
nisms or have not been complied with.

Article 2

Article 5

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
Member States, before 1 July 1998, with the information
on amounts imported pursuant to this Decision and with
a detailed technical report of
the official examination
referred to in Article 1(2)(i). Furthermore any other
Member State in which the rootstocks are used for

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 4 March 1998.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

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ANNEX

The quarantine containment conditions of the premises and facilities at the site or sites at which the activ-
ities are to be undertaken shall be sufficient to ensure a safe handling of the material such that any harmful
organisms of concern are contained and the risk of spreading such harmful organisms eliminated. For each
activity specified in the application, the risk of spread of the harmful organisms held under quarantine
containment conditions shall be determined by the responsible official body, having regard to the type of
material and the activity envisaged, and to the biology of the harmful organisms, the means of their dispersal,
the interaction with the environment and other relevant factors relating to the risk posed by the material
concerned. As a result of the assessment of the risk the responsible official body shall consider and lay down
as appropriate:

(a) the following quarantine measures concerning the premises, facilities and working procedures:

— physical isolation from all other plant/harmful organism material, including consideration of control

of vegetation in surrounding areas,

— designation of a contact person responsible for the activities,

— restricted access to the premises and facilities, and to the surrounding area, as appropriate, to named

personnel only,

— appropriate identification of the premises and facilities indicating the type of activities and the

personnel responsible,

— maintenance of a register of the activities performed and a manual of operating procedures, including

procedures in the event of escape of harmful organisms from containment,

— appropriate security and alarm systems,

— appropriate control measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the premises of

harmful organisms,

— controlled procedures for sampling and for transfer between premises and facilities, of the material,

— controlled waste, soil and water disposal, as appropriate,

— appropriate hygiene and disinfection procedures and facilities for personnel, structures and equip-

ment,

— appropriate measures and facilities for disposal of experimental material,

— appropriate indexing (including testing) facilities and procedures;

and

(b) further quarantine measures according to the specific biology and epidemiology of the type of material

involved and the activities approved,

— maintenance in facilities with separate chamber ‘double door’ access to personnel,

— maintenance under negative air pressure,

— maintenance in escape-proof containers with appropriate mesh size and other barriers e.g. water

barrier for mites, closed soil containers for nematodes, electric insect traps,

— maintenance in isolation from other harmful organisms and material, e.g. viruliferous plant food

material, host material,

— maintenance of material for breeding in breeding cages with manipulation devices,

— no interbreeding of the harmful organisms with indigenous strains or species,

— avoidance of continuous culture of the harmful organisms,

— maintenance under conditions that strictly control the multiplication of the harmful organism, e.g.

under an environmental regime such that diapause does not occur,

— maintenance in such a way that no spread by propagules can occur, e.g. air streams should be avoided,

— procedures to check the purity of cultures of the harmful organisms for freedom from parasites and

other harmful organisms,

— appropriate control programmes for the material to eliminate possible vectors,

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— for in vitro activities, handling of the material under sterile conditions: equipping the laboratory for

the performance of aseptic procedures,

— maintenance of harmful organisms spread by vectors under conditions such that there is no spread via

the vector e.g. controlled mesh size, containment of soil,

— seasonal isolation to ensure the activities are done during periods of low plant health risk.