1999/76/EC: Commission Decision of 20 January 1999 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 (notified under document number C(1999) 81)
Date: 1999-01-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Hungary, Romania, crop production, derogation from EU law, originating product, plant health legislation

L 23/56

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Official Journal of the European Communities

30. 1. 1999

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 20 January 1999

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

(notified under document number C(1999) 81)

(1999/76/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
established practice before Austria’s accession to the
this propagating material was
Community; whereas
intended to be used to produce grafted material
in
Austria;

in respect of

the said imports

Whereas,
into the
Community of the said plants, on the basis of information
supplied by the relevant Member State, it appeared that in
Hungary or Romania, plants of Vitis L. could be grown
under adequate health conditions and that there were no
sources for the introduction of exotic diseases affecting
plants of Vitis L.; whereas therefore, by Decision 98/
201/EC (3), Member States were authorised to provide for
a derogation, for a limited period, and under specific
conditions, without prejudice to Council Directive 68/
193/EEC (4), as last amended by the Act of Accession of
Austria, Finland and Sweden, and any implementing
measures made thereunder;

Whereas there were no confirmed findings of diseases
and pests on samples drawn from cuttings imported
pursuant to Decision 98/201/EC or on visual inspections
of grafted plants using such cuttings;

Whereas the circumstances justifying the authorisation
still obtain;

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

(1) OJ L 26, 31. 1. 1977, p. 20.
(2) OJ L 15, 21. 1. 1998, p. 34.

(3) OJ L 76, 13. 3. 1998, p. 39.
(4) OJ L 93, 17. 4. 1968, p. 15.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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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.

In addition to the requirements

2.
laid down in
Annexes I, II and IV of Directive 77/93/EEC in relation
to plants of Vitis L., the following specific conditions
shall be satisfied:

(a)

the plants shall be propagating material in the form
of rootstock cuttings for grafting (hereinafter referred
to as ‘cuttings') of the following rootstock varieties:

— Vitis berlandieri (cid:253)

Vitis riparia,

selection Kober 5BB,

— Vitis berlandieri (cid:253)

Vitis riparia

5C;

(b)

the cuttings shall be intended to be used in the
Community at premises referred to in (h), in order to
produce rooted grafts in the Community;

(c)

the cuttings intended for the Community shall be:

— harvested in stock nurseries, which are officially
registered. The lists of
the registered nurseries
shall be made available to the Member States
making use of the derogation and to the Commis-
sion, at the latest by 1 December 1998.

These lists shall include the name(s) of the root-
stock varieties, the number of rows planted with
these varieties, the number of plants per row for
each of these nurseries, as far as they are deemed
suitable for dispatch to the Community in 1998
and 1999, under the conditions laid down in this
Decision,

— 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
Articles 7 and 12 of Directive 77/93/EEC, on the
basis of the examination laid down therein, in
particular 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.

(d)

(e)

The certificate shall state under ‘Additional declara-
tion',
the indication ‘This consignment meets the
conditions laid down in Decision 1999/76/EC';

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;

the cuttings shall be introduced through points of
entry situated within the territory of a Member State
and designated for the purpose of this derogation by
that Member State; these points of entry and the
name and address of the responsible official body
referred to in Directive 77/93/EEC in charge of each
point shall be notified sufficiently in advance by the
Member States to the Commission and shall be held
available on request to other Member States. 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 said respons-
ible official bodies of the Member State of introduc-
tion shall inform and cooperate with the said respons-
ible official bodies of the Member States making use
of this derogation to ensure that the provisions of this
Decision are complied with;

(f) prior

the
to introduction into the Community,
importer shall be officially informed of the conditions
laid down in (a) to (k); the said importer shall notify
details of each introduction sufficiently in advance to
the responsible official bodies in the Member State of
introduction and that Member State, without delay,
shall 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 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.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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The importer shall provide details of any changes to
the aforementioned advance notification,
to the
responsible official bodies of their own Member State,
preferably as soon as they are known and in any case
prior to the time of import, and that Member State,
without delay, shall convey the details of the changes
to the Commission;

(g)

these inspections,

including testing, as appropriate,
the inspections
required pursuant
to Article 12 of Directive 77/
93/EEC and in accordance with provisions laid down
in the present Decision shall be made by the re-
referred to in the said
sponsible official bodies,
Directive; of
the plant health
checks shall be carried out by the Member State
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.
Furthermore during the said plant health check that
for all other
Member State(s)
the
to
harmful
second
monitoring referred to in Article 19a(3),
the
indent,
the said Directive,
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;

organisms. Without prejudice

referred to in Article 19a(3),

first possibility, of

shall also inspect

(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
to this
Decision, to the said responsible official bodies of
the Member State in which the premises are situ-
ated, and

imported pursuant

— officially registered and approved for the purposes
the

this derogation including in respect of

of
provisions laid down in the Annex.

In those cases where the place of grafting or planting
is situated in a Member State other than the Member
State making use of
the said re-
sponsible official bodies of the Member State making
use of this derogation, at the moment of receipt of the
aforementioned
from the
notification
inform the said responsible official
importer, shall

this derogation,

advance

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 prem-
ises where the plants will be grafted or planted;

(i)

the said responsible official bodies shall ensure that
any cutting not used in accordance with (h) shall be
destroyed under the control of the said responsible
official bodies. Records shall be kept available to the
Commission on the numbers of plants destroyed;

(j)

at the premises referred to in (h):

— the cuttings shall be subjected immediately upon
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,

— the grafted plants shall be, in the growing period
following 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 any harmful
organism or for signs or symptoms caused by any
harmful organism including those of Daktulos-
phaira vitifoliae (Fitch); as a result of such visual
inspection any harmful organism having caused
such signs or symptoms shall be identified by an
appropriate testing procedure,

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— any plant which has not been found free during
the said inspections or testing, referred to in the
previous indents,
from the harmful organisms
listed under (c), third indent, or otherwise of quar-
antine concern, shall be immediately destroyed
under control of the said responsible bodies;

(k) any grafted plant resulting from a successful grafting
using the cuttings referred to in (a) shall only be
released as rooted grafts in 2000.

Article 2

Member States shall inform the other Member States and
the Commission by means of the notification referred to
in Article 1(2)(f), first sentence, of any use of the author-
isation. They shall provide the Commission and the other
Member States, before 1 October 1999, with the informa-
tion on amounts imported pursuant to this Decision and
with a detailed technical report of the official examination
referred to in Article 1(2)(j) including identification of any
harmful organism; copies of each phytosanitary certificate
shall be transmitted to the Commission. Furthermore any
other Member State in which the rootstocks are used for
grafting and in which the grafted plants are planted after
the import, shall also provide the Commission and the
other Member States, before 1 October 1999, with a
detailed technical
the official examination
report of
referred to in Article 1(2)(j).

Article 3

Without prejudice to the provisions laid down in Article
14(3) of Directive 77/93/EEC,
the Member States
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

Article 1 shall apply during the period between 15
December 1998 and 15 February 1999. The present
Decision shall be revoked if it is established that the
conditions laid down in Article 1(2) are not sufficient to
prevent the introduction of harmful organisms or have
not been complied with.

Article 5

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 20 January 1999.

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 activities
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 equipment,

— 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.