1999/750/EC: Commission Decision of 3 November 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 South Africa (notified under document number C(1999) 3542)
Date: 1999-11-03
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: South Africa, derogation from EU law, originating product, plant health legislation, potato

20. 11. 1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 299/33

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 3 November 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 South Africa

(notified under document number C(1999) 3542)

(1999/750/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 introduction into the
Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products
their spread within the Community (1), as last
and against
amended by Commission Directive 1999/53/EC (2), and in
particular Article 14(1) thereof,

technical

(4) Whereas it is expected that South Africa makes available
information necessary to assess in the
all
future, the phytosanitary status of potato production in
South Africa,
in particular details on the regular
monitoring of seed and ware potatoes imported into,
and marketed within South Africa by means of exam-
ination and testing of representative samples by scientif-
ically recognized methods for Clavibacter michiganensis
(Smith) Davis et al. ssp. sepedonicus (Spieckermann et
Kotthoff) Davis et al., Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith)
Smith and potato spindle tuber viroid, as well as the
results of the said examination and testing;

Having regard to the request made by the United Kingdom,

(5) Whereas the circumstances justifying the authorisation

still obtain;

(1) Whereas, under the provisions of Directive 77/93/EEC,
potatoes, other than potatoes intended for planting,
originating in South Africa may in principle not be
introduced into the Community because of the risk of
introducing exotic potato diseases which would present
a plant health risk to the Community;

the Commission authorised

(2) Whereas by Decisions 93/159/EEC (3), 95/95/EC (4) and
96/112/EC (5)
certain
Member States to provide for derogations in respect of
potatoes for human consumption originating in South
Africa, under specified conditions in the 1993, 1995
and 1996 seasons respectively, and by Decision 98/
688/EC (6) in respect of potatoes other than potatoes
intended for planting originating in South Africa in the
1999 season;

(3) Whereas there were no confirmed findings of diseases
and pests on samples drawn from potatoes imported
pursuant to Decisions 93/159/EEC, 96/112/EC and 98/
668/EC and whereas due to technical reasons there were
no imports made under Decision 95/95/EC;

(1) OJ L 26, 31.1.1977, p. 20.
(2) OJ L 142, 5.6.1999, p. 29.
(3) OJ L 67, 19.3.1993, p. 24.
(4) OJ L 79, 4.4.1995, p. 19.
(5) OJ L 27, 3.2.1996, p. 26.
(6) OJ L 324, 2.12.1998, p. 37.

(6) Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are
the Standing

in accordance with the opinion of
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 exceptions
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, origin-
ating in South Africa.

2.
In addition to the requirements laid down in Annexes I, II
and IV to Directive 77/93/EEC in relation to potatoes other
than potatoes intended for planting,
the following specific
conditions shall be satisfied:

(a) the potatoes

shall be potatoes other

than potatoes

intended for planting;

L 299/34

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Official Journal of the European Communities

20. 11. 1999

(b) they shall have been grown in South Africa directly from
seed potatoes certified in the South African seed potato
certification scheme or from seed potatoes certified in one
of the Member States and imported into South Africa
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 not
prohibited pursuant to Annex III of Directive 77/93/EEC;

(c) they shall have been grown in areas where Ralstonia solana-
is known not to occur;

cearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al.

(d) 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;

(e) they shall be packed either in new bags or in containers
which have been disinfected in an appropriate manner;
label shall be applied to each bag or
and an official
container, bearing the information specified in the Annex;

(f) prior to export the potatoes shall have been cleaned free
leaves and other plant debris;

from soil,

(g) the potatoes intended for the Community shall be accom-
panied by a phytosanitary certificate issued in South Africa
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 harmful organism
mentioned in (c).

The certificate shall state:

— under ‘Additional Declarations’,

consignment meets
Decision 1999/750/EC’;

the conditions

the indication ‘This
laid down in

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;

(j) the 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 Directive; of these inspections, the
plant health checks shall be carried out by the Member
State making use of this derogation. Furthermore during
the said plant health check that Member State(s) shall also
inspect for all other harmful organisms. Without prejudice
to the monitoring referred to in Article 19a(3) second
indent, first possibility of the said Directive, the Commis-
sion shall determine to which extent
the inspections
referred to in Article 19a(3) second indent, second poss-
ibility of the said Directive shall be integrated into the
inspection programme
in accordance with Article
19a(5)(c) of that Directive;

(k) the potatoes shall be packed and repacked only at pre-
mises which have been authorised and registered by the
said responsible official bodies;

(l) 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 (k), as
well as the South African origin;

(h) the potatoes shall be introduced through points of entry
situated within the territory of a Member State and desig-
nated 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 suffi-
ciently in advance by the Member States to the Commis-
sion 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
responsible official bodies of the Member State of intro-
duction shall inform and cooperate with the said respons-
ible official bodies of the Member States making use of
this
this derogation to ensure that
Decision are complied with;

the provisions of

(i) prior to introduction into the Community, the importer
shall be officially informed of the conditions laid down in
(a) to (l); the said importer shall notify details of each
introduction sufficiently in advance to the responsible offi-
cial 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 confirmation of

the point of entry.

least

(m) Member States making use of this derogation shall, where
in cooperation with the Member State of
appropriate,
introduction ensure that at
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 and Clavibacter michiganensis ssp.
sepedonicus, in accordance with the Community established
methods for the detection and diagnosis of Ralstonia sola-
nacearum and Clavibacter 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 michi-
ganensis ssp. sepedonicus or Ralstonia solanacearum 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)(i) of any use made of the authorisation. They shall provide
the Commission and the other Member States, before 1
September 2000, with the information on amounts imported
pursuant to this Decision and with a detailed technical report
of the official examination referred to in Article 1(2)(m); copies
of each phytosanitary certificate shall be transmitted to the
Commission.

20. 11. 1999

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 299/35

1.

Article 1 shall apply during the period between 1 December 1999 and 30 June 2000.

2.
The present Decision shall be revoked if it is established 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 3

This Decision is adressed to the Member States.

Article 4

Done at Brussels, 3 November 1999.

For the Commission

David BYRNE

Member of the Commission

ANNEX

Information required on the label

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

1. Name of the authority issuing the label.

2. Name of the exporters' organisation.

3. Indication ‘South African potatoes other than potatoes intended for planting’.

4. Variety.

5. Area and/or place of production.

6. Size.

7. Declared net weight.

8. Indication ‘In accordance with EC conditions laid down in Decision 1999/750/EC’.

9. A mark printed or stamped on behalf of the South African plant protection organisation.