2001/99/EC: Commission Decision of 18 January 2001 authorising Member States temporarily to provide for derogations of Council Directive 2000/29/EC in respect of potatoes, other than potatoes intended for planting, originating in Cuba (notified under document number C(2001) 121)
Date: 2001-01-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Cuba, derogation from EU law, originating product, plant disease, potato, protection of plant life

7.2.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 36/5

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 18 January 2001

authorising Member States temporarily to provide for derogations of Council Directive 2000/29/EC
in respect of potatoes, other than potatoes intended for planting, originating in Cuba

(notified under document number C(2001) 121)

(2001/99/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to the 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), and in
particular Article 15(1) thereof,

Having regard to the request made by the Netherlands,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Under the provisions of Directive 2000/29/EC, potato
tubers other than those officially certified as seed pota-
toes pursuant to other Community provisions, origin-
ating in Cuba may in principle not be introduced into
the Community because of the risk of introducing exotic
potato harmful organisms which would present a plant
health risk to the Community.

The early growing in Cuba of potatoes, other than pota-
toes intended for planting, from seed potatoes supplied
by Member States has become an established practice.
Part of the early supply of potatoes in the Community
has been ensured by imports of such material from
Cuba.

By Decisions 87/306/EEC (2), 88/223/EEC (3), 89/
152/EEC (4), 91/593/EEC (5), 93/36/EEC (6), 95/96/EC (7)
and 96/157/EC (8), the Commission authorised deroga-

(1) OJ L 169, 10.7.2000, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 153, 13.6.1987, p. 41.
(3) OJ L 100, 19.4.1988, p. 44.
(4) OJ L 59, 2.3.1989, p. 29.
(5) OJ L 316, 16.11.1991, p. 47.
(6) OJ L 16, 25.1.1993, p. 40.
(7) OJ L 75, 4.4.1995, p. 22.
(8) OJ L 36, 14.2.1996, p. 38.

tions under special technical conditions in respect of
potatoes for human consumption originating in the
province of Pinar del Rio in Cuba, in the 1987 to 1996
by Decisions 97/186/EC (9), 1999/
seasons,
222/EC (10) and 2000/246/EC (11) in respect of potatoes,
other than potatoes intended for planting originating in
the province of Pinar del Río in Cuba in the 1997 to
2000 seasons.

and

(4)

(5)

(6)

There have never been confirmed findings of harmful
organisms on samples drawn from imports pursuant to
the said Decisions.

Information supplied by Cuba and collected in the
country during a mission carried out in July 1999 by the
Food and Veterinary Office, has shown that the pota-
toes, other than potatoes intended for planting, in the
provinces of Ciego de Avila, La Habana and Matanzas
can also be grown under adequate health conditions.

In the light of this information, there appears to be no
risk of spreading harmful organisms affecting potatoes,
other than those intended for planting, imported from
the provinces of Ciego de Avila, La Habana, Matanzas or
Pinar del Río, provided that certain special technical
conditions are satisfied.

(7)

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

(9) OJ L 77, 19.3.1997, p. 32.
(10) OJ L 82, 26.3.1999, p. 47.
(11) OJ L 77, 28.3.2000, p. 20.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

7.2.2001

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

(i) prior to export, have been cleaned free from soil, leaves

and other plant debris;

Article 1

1.
By derogation from Article 4(1) of Directive 2000/29/EC
with regard to the prohibitions referred to in Part A(12) of
Annex III, Member States may permit the introduction into
their territory of potatoes, other than potatoes intended for
planting, originating in Cuba, under the conditions laid down
in paragraphs 2 and 3.

2.
Potatoes, other than potatoes intended for planting, intro-
duced pursuant to paragraph 1, shall satisfy the following
conditions,
in addition to the requirements laid down in
Annexes I, II and IV to Directive 2000/29/EC:

(a) either be immature, i.e.

‘unsuberised’ potatoes with loose
skin, or have been treated for the suppression of their
faculty of germination;

(b) have been grown in the provinces of Ciego de Avila, La
Habana, Matanzas or Pinar del Río in areas where Ralstonia
solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. is known not to occur;

(c) belong to varieties the seed potatoes of which were
imported into Cuba only from Member States or from any
other country for which the entry into the Community of
potatoes intended for planting is not prohibited pursuant
to Annex III to Directive 2000/29/EC;

(d) have been grown in the provinces referred to in (b) directly
from seed potatoes certified in one of 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 to
Directive 2000/29/EC; or from the first direct progeny of
such seed potatoes, which have been grown in the prov-
inces referred to in (b), officially certified and qualified as
seed potatoes in accordance with the current rules applic-
able in Cuba;

(e) have been grown either on farms which have not grown
potatoes of varieties other than those specified in (c) over
the previous five years, or, in the case of State farms, on
parcels of land which are kept separate fom other land
where potatoes of varieties other than those specified in (c)
have been grown over the last five years;

(f) 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) not have been in storehouses where potatoes of varieties
other than those specified in (c) have been stored;

(j) be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued in
Cuba in accordance with Articles 7 and 13 of Directive
2000/29/EC, on the basis of the examination laid down
therein, in particular certifying freedom from the harmful
organism mentioned in (b).

The certificate shall state:

— under ‘Additional declaration’:

— the indication ‘This consignment meets the conditions

laid down in Decision 2001/99/EC’,

— name of variety,

— identification number or name of the farm where the

potatoes have been grown and its location,

— reference allowing the identification of seed lot used in

accordance with (d),

— under

‘Disinfestation and/or disinfection treatment’, all
information related to the possible treatments referred to in
(a) second option and/or (h).

3.

(a) The potatoes shall be introduced through points of
entry designated for the purpose of this derogation by
the Member State in which they are situated;
these
points of entry and the name and address of the respon-
sible official body referred to in Directive 2000/29/EC in
charge of each point shall be notified sufficiently in
advance by the Member State to the Commission and
shall be made 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
responsible official bodies of the Member State of intro-
duction shall inform and cooperate with the responsible
official bodies of the Member States making use of this
derogation to ensure that the provisions of this Decision
are complied with.

(b) Prior to introduction into the Community, the importer
shall be officially informed of the conditions laid down
in paragraphs 2(a), 2(b), 2(c), 2(d), 2(e), 2(f), 2(g), 2(h),
2(i), 2(j), 3(a), 3(b), 3(c), 3(d) and 3(e); the said importer
shall notify details of each introduction sufficiently in
advance to the responsible official bodies in the Member
State of introduction indicating:

— the type of material,

— the quantity,

— the declared date of introduction and point of entry

into the Community,

— the premises referred to in (d).

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

The importer shall inform the official bodies concerned
of any changes to the above advance notification as soon
as they are known and in any case prior to the time of
import.

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The Member State concerned shall inform the Commis-
sion of the above details, and details of any changes to
them without delay.

(c) The

as

inspections

including testing,
appropriate,
required pursuant
to Article 13 of Directive 2000/
29/EC 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 abovementioned plant health
check Member State(s) shall also inspect and where
appropriate test
for all other harmful organisms.
Without prejudice to the monitoring referred to in
Article 21(3), second indent, first possibility, of the said
Directive, the Commission shall determine to which
extent
the inspections referred to in Article 21(3),
second indent, second possibility, of the said Directive
shall be integrated into the inspection programme in
accordance with Article 21(5), third subparagraph, of
that Directive.

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

(e) 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 pack-
aging shall bear the number of the registered premises
referred to in (d), as well as the Cuban origin.

(f) Member States making use of

this derogation shall,
in cooperation with the Member
where appropriate,
State of introduction ensure that at least two samples of
200 tubers shall be drawn from each consignment of
50 tonnes or part
imported potatoes
thereof, of
pursuant to this Decision, for official examination in
respect of Ralstonia solanacearum and Clavibacter michiga-
nensis
the
Community established methods for the detection and
diagnosis of Ralstonia solanacearum and Clavibacter michi-
sepedonicus, and in the case of potato
ganensis ssp.
the return-PAGE method, or
spindle tuber viroid:

in accordance with

sepedonicus,

ssp.

in the case of suspi-
c-DNA hybridisation procedure;
cion, 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, Ralstonia solanacearum or potato spindle
tuber viroid was not detected in those examinations.

Moreover, the tubers shall be officially examined for the
presence of Meloidogyne chitwoodi Golden et al.
(all
populations) or Meloidogyne fallax Karssen.

Article 2

Member States shall inform the other Member States and the
Commission by means of the notification referred to in Article
the authorisation. They shall
1(3)(b) of any use made of
provide the Commission and the other Member States, before 1
September 2001 and before 1 September 2002 respectively,
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(3)(f); copies of each phyto-
sanitary certificate shall be transmitted to the Commission.

Article 3

Article 1 shall apply to potatoes, other than potatoes
1.
intended for planting, introduced into the Community, in the
periods between 1 March 2001 and 30 April 2001 and
between 1 March 2002 and 30 April 2002.

The present Decision shall be revoked if it is established
2.
that the conditions laid down in Article 1(2) and 1(3) are not
sufficient to prevent the introduction of harmful organisms or
have not been complied with.

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 4

Done at Brussels, 18 January 2001.

For the Commission

David BYRNE

Member of the Commission

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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ANNEX

Information required on the label

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

1. Name of the authority issuing the label

2. Name of the exporters' organisation,

if available

3. Indication ‘potatoes other than potatoes intended for planting of Cuban origin’

4. Variety

5. Province of production

6. Size

7. Declared net weight

8. Indication ‘In accordance with EC requirements laid down in Decision 2001/99/EC’

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