2003/787/EC: Commission Decision of 6 November 2003 on a Community financial contribution to cover expenditure incurred by France, Portugal and Finland for the purpose of combating organisms harmful to plants or plant products (notified under document number C(2003) 4027)
Date: 2003-11-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU financing, Finland, France, Portugal, parasitology, plant disease, plant health treatment

11.11.2003

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 293/13

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(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 6 November 2003

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

(notified under document number C(2003) 4027)

(Only the French, Portuguese, Finnish and Swedish texts are authentic)

(2003/787/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

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) (‘the Direc-
tive’), as amended by Commission Directive 2003/47/EC (2),
and in particular Article 23 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

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.

France, Portugal and Finland have each established a
programme of actions to eradicate organisms harmful to
plants introduced in their territories. These programmes
the measures
specify the objectives to be achieved,
carried out, their duration and their cost. They have
applied for the allocation of a Community financial
contribution to these programmes within the time limit

set out in the Directive and in accordance with Commis-
sion Regulation (EC) No 1040/2002 of 14 June 2002
establishing detailed rules for the implementation of the
provisions relating to the allocation of a financial contri-
bution from the Community for plant-health control
and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2051/97 (3) (‘the Regu-
lation’).

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

The technical
information provided for by France,
Portugal and Finland has enabled the Commission to
analyse the situation accurately and comprehensively;
the information has also been considered by the
Standing Committee on Plant Health. The Commission
has concluded that the conditions for the granting of a
financial contribution in Article 23 of the Directive have
been met.

Accordingly, it is appropriate to provide a Community
financial contribution to cover the expenditure on these
programmes.

The Community financial contribution may cover up to
50 % of eligible expenditure. Excluding the programme
for which degression has to be applied in accordance
with Article 23(5), third subparagraph, of the Directive,
the Community financial contribution for the purposes
of this Decision should be 50 %.

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(1) OJ L 169, 10.7.2000, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 138, 5.6.2003, p. 47.

(3) OJ L 157, 15.6.2002, p. 38.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

The programme notified by Portugal has already been
the subject of Community contributions under Commis-
sion Decisions 2001/811/EC (1) and 2002/889/EC (2). An
extension of the period in which eradication measures
have to take place, as set out in Article 23(5), third
subparagraph, of the Directive, has been granted to this
existing programme, as the examination of the situation
has lead to the conclusion that the objective of these
eradication measures is likely to be achieved within a
reasonable period. The Community financial contribu-
tion for this programme has been progressively reduced
in accordance with Article 23(5), third subparagraph.

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

This 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 inadequate exami-
nations or inspections and the consequences of such
verification.

In accordance with Article 3(2) of Council Regulation
(EC) No 1258/1999 (3), veterinary and plant-health
measures undertaken in accordance with Community
rules shall be financed under the Guarantee Section of
the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee
Fund. Financial control of these measures comes under
Articles 8 and 9 of the above Regulation, without preju-
dice to the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1040/2002
and Article 23(8) and (9) of the Directive.

Directive 2000/29/EC and taken for the purpose of combating
the organisms concerned by the eradication 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 858 454.

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 259 104 to France,

— EUR 518 007 to Portugal,

— EUR 81 343 to Finland.

Article 3

Subject to the verifications by the Commission under Article
24 of Directive 2000/29/EC, the Community financial contri-
bution as set out in the Annex shall be paid only when:

(a) evidence of the measures taken has been given to the
Commission through appropriate documentation, in accor-
dance with the provisions laid down in the Regulation, in
particular Article 1(2) and Article 2 thereof;

(b) a request for payment of the Community financial contri-
bution has been submitted by the Member State concerned
to the Commission, in accordance with the provisions laid
down in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1040/2002.

(11)

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

Article 4

This Decision is addressed to the French Republic, the Portu-
guese Republic and the Finnish Republic.

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The allocation of a Community financial contribution to cover
expenditure incurred by France, Portugal and Finland relating
directly to necessary measures as specified in Article 23(2) of

Done at Brussels, 6 November 2003.

For the Commission

David BYRNE

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 306, 23.11.2001, p. 25.
(2) OJ L 311, 14.11.2002, p. 16.
(3) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 103.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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ANNEX

ERADICATION PROGRAMMES

Section I: Programmes whose Community financial contribution corresponds to 50 % of eligible expenditure

Member State

Harmful organisms
combated

Affected plants

Year

Eligible expen-
diture
(in EUR)

Maximum
Community
contribution
(in EUR)
Per programme

France

Diabrotica virgifera

Maize

Finland

Liriomyza huidobrensis

Various vegetables and
ornamental plants

2002 and
2003

518 209

259 104

2002

162 687

81 343

Section II: Programmes whose Community financial contribution rates differ, in application of degressivity

Member State

Harmful organisms
combated

Affected
plants

Year

Portugal

Bursaphelenchus
philus

xylo-

Pinus trees

2002

Eligible
expenditure
(in EUR)

Rate

Maximum
Community
contribution
(in EUR)

1 363 177

38

518 007

a

4

Total Community contribution (in EUR)

858 454

Legend:
a: Year of implementation of the eradication programme.