1999/209/EC: Commission Decision of 12 March 1999 authorising the Member States to provide for derogations from certain provisions of Council Directive 77/93/EEC in respect of potatoes, other than potatoes intended for planting, originating in New Zealand (notified under document number C(1999) 563)
Date: 1999-03-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: New Zealand, import restriction, marketing standard, plant health control, potato

18. 3. 1999

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 72/37

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 12 March 1999

authorising the Member States to provide for derogations from certain provisions
of Council Directive 77/93/EEC in respect of potatoes, other than potatoes
intended for planting, originating in New Zealand

(notified under document number C(1999) 563)

(1999/209/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 14(1) thereof,

Having regard to the request made by the United
Kingdom,

Whereas, under the provisions of Directive 77/93/EEC,
potatoes, other
intended for planting,
originating in New Zealand may in principle not be
introduced into the Community because of the risk of
introducing potato diseases unknown in the Community;

than potatoes

the Commission
Whereas by Decision 98/81/EC (3)
authorised the Member States to provide for derogations
in respect of potatoes, other than potatoes intended for
planting, originating in New Zealand, under specified
conditions in the 1998 season; whereas due to technical
reasons there were no imports made under Decision 98/
81/EC;

Whereas, in relation to the requirements laid down in
point 25.2 of Annex IV, part A, section I to Directive
77/93/EEC and on the basis of information provided by
New Zealand, and international scientific technical litera-
ture, New Zealand is known to be free from Clavibacter
michiganensis ssp. sepedonicus;

(1) OJ L 26, 31. 1. 1977, p. 20.
(2) OJ L 15, 21. 1. 1998, p. 34.
(3) OJ L 14, 20. 1. 1998, p. 29.

Whereas it is expected that New Zealand makes available
all technical information necessary to assess in the future,
the phytosanitary status of potato production in New
Zealand, in particular details on the regular monitoring of
seed and ware potatoes imported into, and marketed
within New Zealand by means of examination and testing
of
representative samples by scientifically recognised
methods for Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi
et al., as well as the results of the said examination and
testing;

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,

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 12
of Annex III thereto for potatoes, other than potatoes
intended for planting, originating in New Zealand.

In addition to the requirements

2.
laid down in
Annexes I and II to Directive 77/93/EEC in relation to
potatoes the following specific conditions shall be satis-
fied:

(a) the potatoes shall not be potatoes intended for

planting;

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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(b) they shall have been grown in New Zealand directly
from seed potatoes certified in the New Zealand seed
potato certification scheme or from seed potatoes
certified in one of the Member States and imported
into New Zealand exclusively from the Member
States, or from seed potatoes certified in any other
country for which the entry into the Community of
potatoes intended for planting is permitted pursuant
to Directive 77/93/EEC;

(c) they shall have been treated for the suppression of
their faculty of germination except for early potatoes;

(d) they shall have been grown in areas known to be free
from Synchytrium endobioticum (Schilbersky)
Percival, and no symptoms of Synchytrium endobio-
ticum (Schilbersky) Percival shall have been observed
either at the place of production or in its immediate
vicinity since the beginning of an adequate period;

(e) — they shall have been grown in areas where
Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al.
is known not to occur, and

— they shall have been found free in growing season
inspections and tuber inspections from all growth
stages of Graphognathus leucoloma (Boheman),
and, in addition, in tuber inspections found free
from all
leucoloma
signs of Graphognathus
(Boheman), and

— they shall have been found free,

as

appropriate,

in growing
season inspections and tests on soil or crop
samples,
from the following
harmful organisms: Globodera pallida (Stone)
Behrens, Globodera rostochiensis (Wollenweber)
solanacearum (Smith)
Behrens, Ralstonia
Yabuuchi et al. and Synchytrium endobioticum
(Schilbersky) Percival. The results of these inspec-
tions and tests shall be made available to the
Commission, upon its request;

(f) they shall have been handled by machinery which is
reserved for them or which has been disinfected in
an appropriate manner after each use for other
purposes;

(g) they shall be packed either

in
containers which have been disinfected in an appro-
priate manner; an official label shall be applied to
each bag or container bearing the information speci-
fied in the Annex;

in new bags or

(h) prior to export the potatoes shall have been cleaned

free from soil, leaves and other plant debris;

(i) the potatoes intended for the Community shall be
accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued in
New Zealand in accordance with Articles 7 and 12 of
Directive 77/93/EEC, on the basis of the examination
laid down therein, in particular certifying freedom
from the harmful organisms mentioned in (d) and (e).

The certificate shall state, under ‘Additional Declara-
tion',
‘This consignment meets the conditions laid
down in Decision 1999/209/EC';

(j) the potatoes 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-
inform and cooperate with the said
tion shall
the Member States
responsible official bodies of
making use of this derogation to ensure that the
provisions of this Decision are complied with;

(k) prior

the
to introduction into the Community,
importer shall be officially informed of the condi-
tions laid down in (a) to (n); 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 noti-
fication to the Commission, indicating:

— the type of material,

— the quantity,

— the declared date of introduction and confirma-

tion of the point of entry,

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;

(l) the inspections

these inspections,

including testing, as appropriate,
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
responsible official bodies, referred to in the said
the plant health
Directive; of
checks shall be carried out by the Member State(s)
making use of this derogation. Furthermore during
the said plant health checks that (those) Member
State(s) shall also inspect for all other harmful organ-
isms. Without prejudice to the monitoring referred to
in Article 19a(3) second indent, first possibility of the
said Directive, 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;

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(m) the potatoes shall be packed and repacked only at
premises which have been authorised and registered
by the said responsible official bodies;

(n) the potatoes shall be packed or repacked in closed
packages that are ready for direct delivery to retailers
or to final consumers, and that do not exceed a
weight common in the Member State of introduction
for that purpose, up to a maximum of 25 kilograms;
the packaging shall bear the number of the registered
premises referred to in (m), as well as the New
Zealand origin;

(o) Member States making use of this derogation shall,
where appropriate, in cooperation with the Member
State of introduction ensure that at least two samples
of 200 tubers shall be drawn from each consignment
of 50 tonnes or part thereof, of imported potatoes
pursuant to this Decision, for official examination in
respect of Ralstonia solanacearum in accordance
with the Community interim test scheme as laid
down in Commission Decision 97/647/EC (1), and in
the case of Clavibacter michiganensis ssp. sepedo-
nicus, in accordance with the Community established
method for the detection and diagnosis of Clavi-
bacter michiganensis ssp. sepedonicus; in the case of
suspicion the lots shall remain separate under official
control and may not be marketed or used until it has
been established that the presence of Clavibacter
michiganensis ssp. sepedonicus or Ralstonia solana-
cearum was not confirmed in those examinations.

Article 2

Member States shall inform the other Member States and
the Commission by means of the notification referred to
in Article 1(2)(k) of any use made of the authorisation.
They shall provide the Commission and the other
Member States, before 1 September 1999, with the infor-
mation on amounts imported pursuant to this Decision
and with a detailed technical report of the official exam-
ination referred to in Article 1(2)(o); copies of each phyto-
sanitary certificate shall be transmitted to the Commis-
sion.

Article 3

Article 1 shall apply during the period between 1

1.
April and 31 May 1999.

2.
The present Decision shall be revoked if it is estab-
lished that the conditions laid down in Article 1(2) have
been insufficient to prevent the introduction of harmful
organisms or have not been complied with.

Article 4

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 12 March 1999.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 273, 6. 10. 1997, p. 1.

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ANNEX

Information required on the label

(referred to in Article 1(2)(g))

1. Name of the authority issuing the label.

2. Name of the exporters’ organisation, if available.

3. Statement ‘New Zealand potatoes, not intended for planting'.

4. Variety.

5. Place of production.

6. Size.

7. Declared net weight.

8. Indication ‘In accordance with EC conditions laid down in Decision 1999/209/EC'.

9. A mark printed or stamped on behalf of the New Zealand plant protection administration.

10. A mark to distinguish the lot such as a code, a mark, or any other easily readable external feature.