2001/14/EC: Commission Decision of 19 December 2000 on a Community financial contribution to cover expenditure incurred by Spain, France, Italy, Austria and Portugal for the purpose of combating organisms harmful to plants or plant products (notified under document number C(2000) 3868)
Date: 2000-12-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU financing, expenditure, parasitology, plant disease, protection of plant life

9.1.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 4/25

COMMISSION DECISION

of 19 December 2000

on a Community financial contribution to cover expenditure incurred by Spain, France, Italy,
Austria and Portugal for the purpose of combating organisms harmful to plants or plant products

(notified under document number C(2000) 3868)

(Only the Spanish, French, Italian, German and Portuguese texts are authentic)

(2001/14/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

(6)

Having regard to Council Directive 2000/29/EC of 8 May 2000
on protective measures against
the introduction into the
Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products
and against their spread within the Community (1) (‘the Direc-
tive’) and in particular Article 23 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Pursuant to the Directive, a financial contribution from
the Community may be granted to Member States to
cover expenditure relating directly to the necessary
measures which have been taken or are planned to be
taken for the purpose of combating harmful organisms
introduced from third countries or from other areas in
the Community, in order to eradicate or, if that is not
possible, to contain them.

Spain, Italy, Austria and Portugal have applied for the
allocation of such a Community financial contribution
within the time limit set out in the Directive.

Spain, Italy, Austria and Portugal have each established a
programme of actions to eradicate organisms harmful to
plants introduced in their territories. These programmes
specify the objectives to be achieved,
the measures
carried out, their duration and their cost so that the
Community may contribute to financing it.

A re-examination has taken place of the eligibility for
the reimbursement by the Community of expenditure
paid by potato producers' associations, claimed by
France in relation to the eradication programmes of
Clavibacter michiganensis ssp. sepedonicus, Globodera rosto-
chiensis and Globodera pallida carried out in 1997, in the
light of recent legal clarification concerning the eligi-
bility of such expenditure for a Community financial
contribution.

The Community financial contribution may cover up to
taking into
50 % of eligible expenditure. However,
account the restricted appropriations for that purpose in
the general budget of the European Union for 2000, the
Community financial contribution for the purposes of

(1) OJ L 169, 10.7.2000, p. 1.

this Decision is set in general to 19 %, noting that the
programmes received have been treated in equal way.

For the expenditure incurred by France in 1997 referred
to above, the Community financial contribution for the
purpose of this Decision is set at 40 %, consistent with
the level set for the Community contribution in respect
of other 1997 programmes, as allocated by Decision
2000/38/EC.

An extension, of one, two or three years of the period in
which eradication measures have to take place, as fore-
seen in Article 23(5),
the
Directive, has been granted to certain programmes as the
examination of the situation has lead to the conclusion
that the objective of the above eradication measures is
likely to be achieved within that extended period.

third subparagraph, of

financial

contribution

The Community
the
programmes, running for more than two years and
covered by this Decision, has been degressive, i.e. the
eligible expenditure has been multiplied by 0,7 for the
third year, 0,6 for the fourth year and 0,5 for the fifth
year.

for

The expenditure, which Spain, France, Italy, Austria and
Portugal have incurred, and taken into account in this
Decision, relates directly to the matters specified in
Article 23(2)(a) and Article 23(2)(b) of the Directive.

The technical information provided for by Spain, France,
Italy, Austria and Portugal has enabled the Commission
to analyse the situation accurately and comprehensively.
The information has also been considered in detail by
the Standing Committee on Plant Health.

The contribution referred to in Article 2 is without
prejudice to further actions taken or to be taken and
necessary for the achievement of the objective of erad-
ication or control of the relevant harmful organisms.

The present Decision is without prejudice to the
outcome of the verification by the Commission under
Article 24 of the Directive on whether the introduction
of the relevant harmful organism has been caused by
the
inadequate
consequences of such verification.

examinations or

inspections

and

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

(12)

(13)

The measures provided in this Decision are in accord-
ance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on
Plant Health,

L 4/26

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

9.1.2001

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The allocation of a Community financial contribution to cover
Italy, Austria and
expenditure incurred by Spain, France,
Portugal relating directly to necessary measures as specified in
Article 23(2) of Directive 2000/29/EC and taken for the
purpose of combating the organisms concerned by the erad-
ication programmes listed in the Annex to this Decision,
is
hereby approved.

Article 2

The total amount of the financial contribution referred to

1.
in Article 1 is EUR 497 481.

The maximum amounts of

2.
the Community financial
contribution for each eradication programme and for each year
of implementation of the eradication programme shall be as
indicated in the Annex to this Decision.

The resulting maximum Community financial contribu-

3.
tion for the concerned Member States shall be as follows:
— EUR 161 273 to Spain,
— EUR 26 899 to France,
— EUR 5 168 to Italy,
— EUR 17 103 to Austria,
— EUR 287 038 to Portugal.

Article 3

1.
Subject to the verifications by the Commission under
Article 24 of Directive 2000/29/EC, the Community financial
contribution shall be paid only when evidence of the measures
taken has been given to the Commission through documenta-
tion related to the occurrence and the eradication of the rele-
vant harmful organisms.

The documentation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be

2.
included in an application including:

(a) general information on the appearance, including, inter alia,

details on:
the date on which the presence of the relevant harmful
organism was suspected or confirmed, and details on the
presumed origin of the occurrence;

(b) a description of the eradication programme, including, inter
alia, the measures taken or planned and the expected dura-
tion;

and, for each year of the eradication programme,

(c) a monitoring report on the actions undertaken to deter-
mine the nature and extent of the appearance of the rele-
vant harmful organism;

(d) an eradication report in respect of each holding on which
plants and plant products were destroyed, including, inter
alia,
— the location and address of the holding,
— the quantity of plants and plant products destroyed,

information on:

(e) a financial report including the list of beneficiaries and their
addresses, and of amounts paid (excluding VAT and taxes)
or to be paid for the carrying out of the necessary meas-
ures;

(f) a copy of

the notification of appearance made under

Article 16(1) or 16(2) of the Directive;

(g) proof or evidence of the above payments.

Article 4

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Spain, the French
Republic, the Italian Republic, the Austrian Republic and the
Portuguese Republic.

Done at Brussels, 19 December 2000.

For the Commission

David BYRNE

Member of the Commission

9.1.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 4/27

ANNEX

ERADICATION PROGRAMMES

Section I: Programmes whose Community financial contribution corresponds to 19 % of eligible expenditure

Member State

Administrative
region

Harmful organisms combated

Affected
plants

Spain

Catalonia

Erwinia amylovora

Pear, apple

Spain

Castille-La Mancha

Erwinia amylovora

Various Rosaceae

Year

1998

1999

1998

1999

2000

Eligible
expendi-
ture (*)
in EUR

Maximum
Community
contribution
in EUR

61 372

11 661

312 380

59 352

2 710

515

5 528

1 050

b

1

1

1

1

0,7

11 456

2 177

a

1

2

1

2

3

Spain

Andalusia

Rhynchophorus
ferrugineus

Palm trees

1996 and
1997

1 + 2

1

139 666

26 537

Italy

Veneto

Ralstonia solanacearum

Potato

Italy

Emilia Romagna

Ralstonia solanacearum

Potato

Austria

Tyrol

Erwinia amylovora

Apple, pear, other
Rosaceae

Portugal

Alentejo, Ribatejo
e Oeste, Algarve

Tomato spotted wilt
virus, Tomato yellow
leaf curl virus

Tomato

1998

1999

2000

1997

1998

1999

1997

1998

1998

1996

1997

3

4

5

3

4

5

3

4

1

1

2

0,7

43 074

8 184

0,6

116 956

22 222

0,5

155 661

29 575

0,7

8 423

1 600

0,6

8 180

1 554

0,5

4 958

942

0,7

1 555

295

0,6

4 090

777

1

1

1

90 014

17 103

551 292

104 745

959 437

182 293

Community contribution (at 19 %)

470 582

L 4/28

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

9.1.2001

Section II: Programmes whose Community financial contribution corresponds to 40 % of eligible expenditure

Member State

Administrative
region

Harmful organisms combated

Affected
plants

France

Champagne, Picar-
dy, Nord Ile-de-
France

Clavibacter michiganensis
ssp.
and
sepedonicus
Globadera spp.

Potato

Year

1997

a

1

b

1

Eligible
expendi-
ture (*)
in EUR

Maximum
Community
contribution
in EUR

67 248

26 899

Community contribution (at 40 %)

26 899

Total Community contribution (Section I + Section II)

497 481

Legend:
a: Year of implementation of the eradication programme.
b: degression coefficient applied.
(*) Resulting from the multiplication of eligible expenditure and the degression coefficient applied.