98/503/EC: Commission Decision of 11 August 1998 amending Decision 96/301/EC and authorising Member States temporarily to take emergency measures against the dissemination of Pseudomonas solanacearum (Smith) Smith as regards Egypt (notified under document number C(1998) 2480)
Date: 1998-08-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Egypt, health certificate, parasitology, plant disease, plant health control, potato

L 225/34

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

12. 8. 98

COMMISSION DECISION

of 11 August 1998

amending Decision 96/301/EC and authorising Member States temporarily to
take emergency measures against the dissemination of Pseudomonas solana-
cearum (Smith) Smith as regards Egypt

(notified under document number C(1998) 2480)

(98/503/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 98/2/
EC (2), and in particular Article 15(3) thereof,

Whereas, where a Member State considers that there is an
imminent danger of the introduction into its territory of
Pseudomonas solanacearum (Smith) Smith, the cause of
potato brown rot, from a third country, it may temporarily
take any additional measures necessary to protect itself
from that danger;

Whereas in 1996, on the basis of continued interceptions
of Pseudomonas solanacearum (Smith) Smith in potatoes
originating in Egypt, several Member States (cid:190) France,
Finland, Spain and Denmark (cid:190) adopted measures to
implement a ban on potatoes originating in Egypt, with a
view to ensuring more efficient protection against the
introduction of Pseudomonas solanacearum from Egypt
into their respective territories;

Whereas the Commission, by Decision 96/301/EC (3),
authorised Member States temporarily to take additional
measures against the dissemination of Pseudomonas sola-
nacearum (Smith) Smith as
regards Egypt; whereas
furthermore as a result of considerable numbers of inter-
ceptions of Pseudomonas solanacearum (Smith) Smith on
imports of potatoes originating in Egypt during the
import
season 1996/97, Decision 96/301/EC was
amended and further strengthened by Decision 98/105/
EC (4) and the import into the Community of potatoes
originating in Egypt was banned unless the emergency
measures against the dissemination of Pseudomonas sola-
nacearum (Smith) Smith as laid down in the Annex to
the said Decision were complied with;

(1) OJ L 26, 31. 1. 1977, p. 20.
(2) OJ L 15, 21. 1. 1998, p. 34.
(3) OJ L 115, 9. 5. 1996, p. 47.
(4) OJ L 25, 31. 1. 1998, p. 101.

Whereas during the 1997/98 import season, Finland, on
the basis of continued interceptions of Pseudomonas
solanacearum in potatoes originating in Egypt adopted
on 2 April 1998 measures to implement a ban on pota-
toes originating in Egypt, with a view to ensuring more
efficient protection against the introduction of Pseudo-
monas solanacearum from Egypt into Finland;

Whereas Denmark adopted on 9 May 1998 similar meas-
that organism into
ures against
Denmark;

the introduction of

that

Whereas,
the
therefore it has become apparent
strengthened measures laid down in Decision 98/105/EC
are not sufficient to prevent the entry of Pseudomonas
solanacearum (Smith) Smith or have not been complied
with; whereas, in particular, the operation of a ‘qualified
in which no outbreak of Pseudomonas solana-
area',
cearum (Smith) Smith has occurred, seems to be insuffi-
cient to prevent such a risk of entry and should be altered
to operate on the basis of ‘pest-free area' in which Pseudo-
monas solanacearum (Smith) Smith is known not
to
occur, as established by official surveys and monitoring
procedures in accordance with the ‘FAO International
Standard for Phytosanitary Measures Part 4: Pest Surveil-
lance (cid:190) Requirements for the Establishment of Pest-free
Areas';

Whereas
into the
in such a situation the import
Community of potatoes originating in Egypt should be
prohibited until the Commission establishes that such
‘pest-free areas' have been approved in Egypt in accord-
ance with the said FAO International Standard;

Whereas the Commission will ensure that Egypt makes
available all technical information in relation to surveying
and monitoring for the approval of such ‘pest-free areas'
in accordance with the said FAO International Standard
in order to enable the Commission to carry out the neces-
sary assessment for its aforesaid action;

Whereas the effects of the emergency measures will be
assessed continually, in the import season 1998/99, and
whereas if it is established that the conditions laid down
in this Decision have not been complied with,
the
consequences should be specified;

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 225/35

Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are in
accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee
on Plant Health (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Commit-
tee'),

cial monitoring in Egypt have not been sufficient to
prevent the risk of introduction of Pseudomonas sola-
nacearum into the Community.'

4. The text in Article 2 is replaced by the following:

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

‘Article 2

Article 1

Decision 96/301/EC is hereby amended as follows:

1. The text in Article 1 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 1

1.
The entry into the territory of the Community of
tubers of Solanum tuberosum L. which originate in
Egypt, other than those already prohibited under the
provisions laid down in Annex III, part A, point 10 to
Directive 77/93/EEC, shall be prohibited from 15
September 1998.

2.
Paragraph 1 shall not apply to consignments
leaving Egypt before the Commission has informed
Egypt of the present Decision.'

2. A new Article 1a is inserted as follows:

‘Article 1a

By way of derogation to Article 1, the entry into
1.
the territory of the Community of tubers of Solanum
tuberosum L. which originate in Egypt shall be
permitted from the said “pest-free areas” referred to in
paragraph 2, provided that the measures applicable to
tubers grown in these areas and as laid down in the
Annex of this Decision, are complied with.

2.
The Commission establishes whether “pest-free
areas” have been approved in Egypt in accordance
with the “FAO International Standard for Phytosani-
tary Measures Part 4: Pest Surveillance (cid:190) Require-
ments for the Establishment of Pest-free Areas”, in
particular point 2.3 thereof, and compiles a “list of
including identification
approved pest-free areas”,
details. The Commission shall convey such a list to
the Committee and to the Member States.'

3. A new Article 1b is inserted as follows:

‘Article 1b

The provisions of Article 1a shall no longer apply as
soon as the Commission has notified to the Member
States that more than five interceptions of Pseudo-
monas solanacearum have been confirmed in accord-
ance with points 2 or 3 of the Annex to this Decision,
in lots of potatoes introduced into the Community
pursuant to this Decision during the 1998/99 import
season, and that it has been found that interceptions
indicate that the method for the identification of
“pest-free areas” in Egypt or the procedures for offi-

The importing Member States
shall provide the
Commission and the other Member States, before 30
August 1999, with information on the amounts
imported pursuant
to this Decision and with a
detailed technical report on the official examination
referred to in point 2 of the Annex; copies of each
plant health certificate shall be transmitted to the
Commission. In cases of notification of a suspect or
confirmed finding as referred to in point 4 of the
Annex copies of the plant health certificates and their
attached documents shall be transmitted with the said
notification.'

5. In Article 4 ‘30 September 1998' is replaced by ‘30

September 1999'.

6. The text in the opening paragraph and point 1(a) of
the Annex to the Decision are replaced by the
following:

‘For the purpose of the provisions of Article 1a, the
following emergency measures shall be complied
with, in addition to the requirements for potatoes laid
down in parts A and B of the Annexes I, II and IV to
Directive 77/93/EEC, with the exception of those laid
down in Annex IV, part A, section I, point 25.8:

1(a) the potatoes destined for introduction into the
Community shall have been produced in fields
located in an approved “pest-free area” in Egypt
as established by the Commission in accordance
with Article 1a of this Decision; in respect of any
such approved areas and for the purpose of this
Decision,
the identification of “area” shall be
based on, at least, for the delta region, “village”
(administrative units already established which
cover a group of “basins”), and for the desert
regions, “basin” (irrigation unit); and shall be
identified by its individual or collective name
and
code number,
including each basin or village official code
number.'

individual

official

its

7. Point 1(b) of the Annex to the Decision is deleted.

8. The text in point 1(c) first indent of the Annex to the

Decision is replaced by the following:

‘(cid:190) grown

either

from potatoes,

of
Community origin or once grown from such
potatoes, produced in an approved “pest-free area”
as established under Article 1a of this Decision
and which have been officially tested for latent

directly

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Official Journal of the European Communities

12. 8. 98

immediately prior

in
infection,
accordance with the Community interim test
scheme as laid down in Decision 97/647/EC (*),
and found free from Pseudomonas solanacearum
(Smith) Smith in such testing.

to planting,

(*) OJ L 273, 6.10.1997, p. 1.'

9. The text in point 1(c) third indent of the Annex to

the Decision is replaced by the following:

‘(cid:190) transported to packing stations officially approved
by the Egyptian authorities to handle only pota-
toes eligible for export to the Community during
the 1998/99 export season and on arrival at such
an approved packing station:

(cid:190) accompanied by documents attached to each
lorry load at the field of harvest stating the
origin, by area as specified in (a), of the load.

These documents shall be held at the packing
the
station until after
export season,

the completion of

(cid:190) officially inspected on samples of cut tubers
for symptoms of potato brown rot caused by
Pseudomonas solanacearum (Smith) Smith
and found free from such symptoms in these
inspections, at a sampling rate,
for 70 kg
sacks or equivalent, of 10 % of sacks of 40
tubers inspected per sack and, for 1 or 1,5
tonne sacks, at a sampling rate of 50 % of
sacks and 40 tubers inspected per sack.

The list of packing stations officially approved by
the Egyptian authorities shall have been made
available
1
December 1998.'

the Commission prior

to

to

10. The text in point 1(c), eighth indent, of the Annex to

the Decision is replaced by the following:

‘(cid:190) clearly labelled on each bag, under the control of
the competent Egyptian authorities, with an
indelible indication of the relevant official code
number as given in the list of “approved pest-free
areas” compiled under Article 1a of this Decision,
and of the relevant lot number.'

11. In point 1(c),

indent, of
Decision ‘1 February 1998'
December 1998'.

last

the Annex to the
replaced by ‘1
is

12. In point 3 of the Annex to the Decision the term ‘per
area' is replaced by ‘from each village or basin per
area as referred to in point 1a'.

13. In point 5 of the Annex to the Decision the term ‘list
is replaced by ‘list of approved

of qualified areas'
pest-free areas'.

Article 2

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 11 August 1998.

For the Commission

Martin BANGEMANN

Member of the Commission