1999/29/EC: Commission Decision of 18 December 1998 deferring, as regards the importation of vegetable propagating and planting material, other than seed, from third countries, the date referred to in Article 16(2) of Directive 92/33/EEC (notified under document number C(1998) 4262)
Date: 1998-12-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: import, market gardening, plant health control, plant propagation, seedling, third country

14. 1. 1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 8/29

COMMISSION DECISION

of 18 December 1998

deferring, as regards the importation of vegetable propagating and planting
material, other than seed, from third countries, the date referred to in Article
16(2) of Directive 92/33/EEC

(notified under document number C(1998) 4262)

(1999/29/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 92/33/EEC of 28
April 1992 on the marketing of vegetable propagating and
planting material other than seed (1), as last amended by
Commission Decision 97/109/EC (2), and in particular
Article 16(2) thereof,

Whereas, by virtue of Commission Decision 97/109/EC,
the date in Article 16(2) of the said Directive was deferred
until 31 December 1998;

Whereas the Commission is required pursuant to Article
16(1) of Directive 92/33/EEC to decide whether vegetable
and planting material other than seed produced in a third
country and affording the same guarantees as regards
obligations on the supplier, identity, characteristics, plant
health, growing medium, packaging, inspection arrange-
ments, marking and sealing, are equivalent in all these
respects to vegetable propagating and planting material
other
than seed produced in the Community and
complying with the requirements and conditions of the
Directive;

Whereas, however, the information presently available on
the conditions applying in third countries is still not
sufficient to enable the Community to make any such
decision in respect of any third country at this stage;

Whereas it is known that, Member States have imported
vegetable propagating and planting material other than
seed produced in certain third countries; whereas, in order
to prevent trade patterns from being disrupted Member
States should be allowed to continue to apply to the
vegetable propagating and planting
importation of
material other than seed from third countries conditions
to those applicable to the production and
equivalent

marketing of products obtained in the Community, in
accordance with Article 16(2) of the said Directive;

Whereas vegetable propagating and planting material
other than seed imported by a Member State in accord-
ance with a decision taken by that Member State pursuant
to Article 16(2), first subparagraph of the said Directive
should be subject to no marketing restrictions as regards
the matters referred to in Article 16(1) of
the said
Directive in other Member States;

Whereas accordingly the date referred to in Article 16(2)
of the said Directive should be further deferred;

Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are in
accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee
on Seeds and propagating Materials for Agriculture, Horti-
culture and Forestry,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The date referred to in Article 16(2), first subparagraph of
Directive 92/33/EEC is hereby deferred until 31
December 2001.

Article 2

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 18 December 1998.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 157, 10. 6. 1992, p. 10.
(2) OJ L 39, 8. 2. 1997, p. 21.