2001/199/EC: Commission Decision of 9 March 2001 authorising the Member States to provide for derogations from certain provisions of Council Directive 2000/29/EC in respect of potatoes, other than potatoes intended for planting, originating in New Zealand (notified under document number C(2001) 685)
Date: 2001-03-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: New Zealand, derogation from EU law, originating product, plant health control, plant health legislation, potato

L 71/28

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

13.3.2001

COMMISSION DECISION

of 9 March 2001

authorising the Member States to provide for derogations from certain provisions of Council
Directive 2000/29/EC in respect of potatoes, other than potatoes intended for planting, originating
in New Zealand

(notified under document number C(2001) 685)

(2001/199/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(6)

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

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

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), and in
particular Article 15(1) thereof,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Having regard to the request made by the United Kingdom,

Article 1

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Under the provisions of Directive 2000/29/EC, potatoes,
other than potatoes intended for planting, originating in
New Zealand may in principle not be introduced into
the Community because of
introducing
potato diseases unknown in the Community.

the risk of

By Decisions 98/81/EC (2), 1999/209/EC (3) and 2000/
193/EC (4) the Commission authorised 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, 1999
and 2000 seasons respectively.

There were no confirmed findings of diseases and pests
on samples drawn from potatoes imported pursuant to
Decisions 1999/209/EC and 2000/193/EC and due to
technical reasons there were no imports made under
Decision 98/81/EC.

In relation to the requirements laid down in point 25.2
of Annex IV, part A, section I to Directive 2000/29/EC
and on the basis of
information provided by New
Zealand, and international scientific technical literature,
New Zealand is known to be free from Clavibacter michi-
ganensis (Smith) Davis et al. ssp. sepedonicus (Spiecker-
mann & Kotthoff) Davis et al.

(5)

The circumstances
obtain.

justifying the authorisation still

(1) OJ L 169, 10.7.2000, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 14, 20.1.1998, p. 29.
(3) OJ L 72, 18.3.1999, p. 37.
(4) OJ L 60, 7.3.2000, p. 26.

1.
By derogation from Article 4(1) of Directive 2000/29/EC,
with regard to the prohibitions referred to in part A, point 12
of Annex III, Member States may between 1 March to 31
August 2001, permit the introduction into their territory of
potatoes, other than potatoes intended for planting, originating
in New Zealand, under conditions laid down in paragraphs 2
and 3.

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

(a) 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 or in a country from which the entry
into the Community of potatoes intended for planting is
permitted pursuant to Directive 2000/29/EC which were
imported into New Zealand directly from the Community,
or,
in the case of seed potatoes originating in a third
country, directly from that country;

(b) except in the case of early potatoes, they shall have been
treated for the suppression of their faculty of germination;

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

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

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 71/29

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

— they shall have been found free,

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

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,

— the premises referred to in point (d).

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 time of
import.

(e) 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;

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

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

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

from soil,

(h) the potatoes intended for the Community shall be accom-
panied by a phytosanitary certificate issued in New Zealand
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 organ-
isms mentioned in points (c) and (d). The certificate shall
state, under
‘This consignment
meets the conditions laid down in Decision 2001/199/EC’.

‘Additional declaration’,

3.

(a) 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 2000/29/EC 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 intro-
duction 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 introduction shall inform and coop-
erate with the said 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 2(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g) and (h) and 3(a), (b), (c), (d)
and (e); 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

(c) the

as

testing,

including

inspections

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 offi-
cial 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 and where appro-
priate 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 inspec-
tions 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 paragraph of that Directive;

(d) the potatoes shall be packed or repacked only at prem-
ises 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 point (d), as well as the New Zealand
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 thereof, of imported potatoes pursuant to
this Decision,
for official examination in respect of
Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. and Clavi-
bacter michiganensis (Smith) Davis et al. ssp. sepedonicus
(Spieckermann and Kotthoff) Davis et al., in accordance
with the Community established methods for the detec-
tion and diagnosis of Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith)
Yabuuchi et al. and Clavibacter Michiganensis (Smith)

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Official Journal of the European Communities

13.3.2001

Davis et al. spp. sepedonicus (Spieckermann and Kotthoff)
Davis et al.; 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 (Smith) Davis et al. ssp. sepedo-
(Spieckermann and Kotthoff) Davis et al. or
nicus
Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. was not
confirmed in those examinations.

of each phytosanitary certificate shall be transmitted to the
Commission.

Article 3

The present Decision shall be revoked if it is established 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.

Article 2

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 4

Member States shall inform the other Member States and the
Commisison by means of the notification referred to in Article
1(3)(b) of any use made of
the authorisation. They shall
provide the Commission and the other Member States, before 1
November 2001, 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

Done at Brussels, 9 March 2001.

For the Commission

David BYRNE

Member of the Commission

ANNEX

Information required on the label

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

1. Name of the authoritiy issuing the label.

2. Name of the exporter's 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 2001/199/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.