WRITTEN QUESTION E-0811/04 by Enrique Monsonís Domingo (ELDR)and Joan Vallvé (ELDR) to the Commission. Pests affecting citrus fruit.
Date: 2004-03-15
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Argentina, Brazil, citrus fruit, destruction of crops, health certificate, import (EU), import restriction, plant health control, surveillance concerning imports, traceability

8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 88 E/711

A study, commissioned by DG Economic and Financial Affairs (1), concludes that the benefits of further
integrating EU financial markets would be shared, even though not equally distributed, by the Member
States. Whereas in some Member States the industrial sectors would stand to gain more from access to
non-domestic financial markets, the financial sector would gain in relative terms in other Member States
following an increased demand.

In spring 2004, the Commission will produce a first annual report on the state of integration of the EU
financial system. From this report, it is clear that, as integration proceeds, natural regional clusters (also
cross-border) emerge, whereas other markets may be reduced in importance. The occurrence of a higher
market concentration in the advance towards integration cannot a priori be excluded but eventually,
regional and national markets are expected to reorganise to reap the benefits from increasingly integrated
and liquid markets.

(1)

‘Financial Market Integration, Corporate Financing and Economic Growth’ by Mariassunta Giannetti, Luigi Guiso,
Tullio Jappelli, Mario Padula and Marco Pagano (2002).

(2004/C 88 E/0732)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0811/04

by Enrique Monsonís Domingo (ELDR)
and Joan Vallvé (ELDR) to the Commission

(15 March 2004)

Subject: Pests affecting citrus fruit

The European Union’s borders are exposed to the entry of citrus products from third countries, owing to
lax inspections and a shortage of inspectors specialising in citrus pests.

In summer last year (2003) quarantine pests originating in citrus fruit from Brazil and Argentina were
detected in Spain only. During the last citrus marketing year around 190 000 tonnes of citrus fruit were
imported from third countries, including 59 000 tonnes from Argentina and 25 000 tonnes from Brazil.
During inspections three kinds of quarantine diseases which do not occur in European-produced citrus
fruit were detected: Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. Citri, which causes citrus canker, Guignardia citricarpa,
which causes citrus ‘black spot’ on the skin of citrus fruit and, finally, the Elsinoe fungus.

A total of 993 tonnes of citrus fruits from Argentina and 2 226 tonnes from Brazil were refused entry. The
inspections resulted in 83 consignments from these countries being rejected in Spain. Finally, the Spanish
Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food banned citrus imports from both these countries by means of
Order APA/315/2003 of 12 November. A petition has been submitted to the European Committee on
Plant Health calling for this ban to be extended to the rest of the European Union. Apparently the
Committee will take a decision on 22 or 23 March.

Can the Commission say whether there are plans to suspend citrus imports from Argentina and Brazil in
the European Union in time for the forthcoming citrus harvest in the Southern hemisphere? Or, if they are
not banned, will a specific import protocol be introduced? If such a protocol is introduced, will checks be
carried out at origin in the presence of European inspectors and will a tracing system be set up? What
measures are envisaged to prevent the entry of quarantine pests and diseases of citrus fruit into the
European Union? Do they make provision for specific European entry points for fruit and vegetables from
third countries where inspectors specialising in these pests/diseases will operate?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(23 April 2004)

The Commission would like to inform the Honourable Member that it has no intention at the moment of
suspending citrus fruit imports into the EU from Argentina and Brazil for the next marketing year.

C 88 E/712

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.4.2004

At the meeting of the Standing Committee on Plant Health in March 2004, the Commission presented to
the Member States a draft decision on temporary emergency measures in respect of certain citrus fruits
originating in Argentina or Brazil. This draft decision corresponds to the ‘specific import protocol’ to
which the Honourable Member refers.

The main aspects of this draft decision, which was approved by the meeting of the Standing Committee
and now has to be adopted by the Commission, can be summarised as follows: The fruits of Citrus L.,
Fortunella Swingle, Poncirus Raf. and their hybrids (hereinafter referred to as ‘citrus fruits’) originating in
Argentina or Brazil may be imported into the Community territory only if they comply with certain
specific requirements, which take the form of two options:

(cid:1) either they originate in an area recognised as being free from Xanthomonas campestris and

Guignardia citricarpa, which must be mentioned on the plant health certificate,

(cid:1) or, as evidenced by an official inspection, no symptoms of either disease have been observed in the
place of production since the beginning of the last cycle of vegetation, and the place of production,
packing facilities, exporters and any other operator involved in the handling of the fruits are officially
registered for this purpose. In addition to these two conditions, an additional requirement applies in
the case of Xanthomonas campestris, namely that fruits harvested in the place of production are free
inspection and examination including
from this harmful organism, as evidenced by an official
appropriate tests, and the fruits must have been subjected to appropriate treatment, which must be
mentioned on the plant health certificate.

Furthermore, the citrus fruits concerned may be imported into the Community only if they originate from
a production system which ensures their traceability from the place of production to the point of export to
the Community. Information on this system must be made available to the Commission.

Finally, each Member State importing citrus fruits originating in Argentina or Brazil must provide the
Commission and the other Member States with a detailed technical report on the results of plant health
checks carried out on those fruits. The Commission will continually follow the development of the
situation throughout the 2004 export season. If these emergency measures are not sufficient to prevent the
entry of the diseases concerned into the Community, or if they have not been complied with, the
Commission might introduce more stringent or alternative measures in accordance with the plant health
legislation in force (Article 16, paragraph 3, of Directive 2000/29/EC (1)).

The Commission feels that the proposed measures are suitable with regard to limiting, as far as possible,
the entry of quarantine pests and diseases of citrus fruit into the European Union.

There are, however, no plans for Food and Veterinary Office inspectors to carry out checks at origin.
However, the FVO might consider organising an inspection mission to the two countries concerned in the
near future in order to check on the conditions under which the citrus fruits in question are produced and
exported to the Community and on how the new scheme established by the above-mentioned draft
decision is applied.

Finally, there are no plans to designate specific European ports for specialised inspections of fruits and
vegetables from third countries.

(1) 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, OJ L 169,
10.7.2000, as most recently amended by Commission Directive 2003/116/EC, OJ L 321, 6.12.2003.

(2004/C 88 E/0733)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0841/04

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission

(9 March 2004)

Subject: Female sexual mutilation

More than a hundred million women in the world have suffered severe sexual mutilation, and every year
two and a half million fall victim to various barbaric acts that kill huge numbers of teenage girls. In the