WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2101/98 by Sebastiano MUSUMECI to the Commission. Measures to prevent the illegal importation of extra- Community citrus fruit
Date: 1998-07-10
Institutions: European Parliament, MUSUMECI
Subjects: citrus fruit, fraud, import policy, import restriction, parasitology, plant disease, plant health control, plant health legislation, protected area, third country

C 96/36

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

8.4.1999

The Regulation is directly applicable and provides a common set of rules for all Member States to administer. As
this particular exclusion is precise, the Commission is not aware of any Member State holding a different
interpretation of its provision.

(1999/C 96/049)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2101/98

by Sebastiano Musumeci (NI) to the Commission

(10 July 1998)

Subject: Measures to prevent the illegal importation of extra-Community citrus fruit

Citrus fruit continue to be imported illegally from third countries, often with the complicity of Member States
(Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands) that naturalize produce from third countries and then admit it to Community
territory as though it were their own.

By ministerial decree 126 of 22 December 1993 Italy was declared a (cid:145)protected area(cid:146) so that citrus fruit from third
countries cannot be introduced on to its territory for plant health reasons.

What measures does the Commission intend to take to protect Italian citrus fruit producers and consumers against
fraudulent and illegal imports?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(3 September 1998)

The current phytosanitary regime applicable to the import of citrus fruit into the Community is specified in
Council Directive 77/93/EEC of 21 December 1976 on protective measures against the introduction into the
Member States of harmful organisms of plants or plant products (1) and against their spread within the
Community, as last amended by Commission Directive 98/2/EC (2).

According to Commission Directive 95/40/EC of 19 July 1995 (3) amending Directive 92/76/EEC recognizing
protected zones exposed to particular plant health risks in the Community (4), the protected zone which aimed at
protection against unspecified harmful organisms and for which a ban on the introduction of third country citrus
fruit was introduced, expired on 1 April 1996. Such recognition was not further extended on the grounds that a
protection against unspecified organisms was inappropriate under internationally established principles and
could not be justified scientifically. Thus, in order to comply with the Community(cid:146)s international obligations
under the World trade organisation (WTO) the said phytosanitary regime for the import of citrus fruit into the
Community including protective measures against citrus canker, citrus leaf spot and citrus black spot, became
applicable to all parts of the Community.

The Community phytosanitary regime has recently been improved by Directive 98/2/EC to ensure continued
adequate protection to all citrus production areas of the Community. Within the phytosanitary responsibilities of
the Commission, activities are carried out for the purpose of ensuring the correct and uniform application of the
provisions of the said Council Directive 77/93/EEC.

Moreover, the non-application of Community legislation by Italy and the action taken by Italy to continue to ban
the introduction of the relevant citrus fruit originating in third countries is at present subject to detailed
examination by the Commission in order to determine the appropriate steps to be envisaged.

(1) OJ L 26, 31.1.1977.
(2) OJ L 15, 21.1.1998.
(3) OJ L 182, 2.8.1995.
(4) OJ L 305, 21.10.1992.