2005/359/EC: Commission Decision of 29 April 2005 providing for a derogation from certain provisions of Council Directive 2000/29/EC as regards oak (Quercus L.) logs with bark attached, originating in the United States of America (notified under document number C(2005) 1298)
Date: 2005-04-29
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: United States, deciduous tree, derogation from EU law, import (EU), import licence, originating product, plant disease, plant health control, plant health treatment, wood product

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COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 29 April 2005

providing for a derogation from certain provisions of Council Directive 2000/29/EC as regards oak
(Quercus L.) logs with bark attached, originating in the United States of America

(notified under document number C(2005) 1298)

(2005/359/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(4)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

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
their spread within the Community (1), and in
and against
particular Article 15(1) thereof,

Whereas:

Under Directive 2000/29/EC, oak (Quercus L.) logs with
bark attached, originating in the United States of
America, may, in principle, not be introduced into the
Community because of the risk of introducing Ceratocystis
fagacearum (Bretz) Hunt, the cause of oak wilt.

It is also possible to dispense with fumigation, as regards
oak wood belonging to the white oak group, under
certain technical
conditions. Certain Member States
have requested a further derogation to allow impor-
tations of white oak during certain months of the year.
This second derogation should be limited to those parts
of the Community where potential vectors of Ceratocystis
fagacearum (Bretz) Hunt have little or no activity during
the winter, i.e. to areas north of 45o latitude.

The Commission will ensure that the United States of
America makes
information
necessary to monitor the functioning of the protective
measures required.

technical

available

all

The Member States should therefore be granted a dero-
gation, for a limited period of time, for the introduction
of oak (Quercus L.) logs with bark from the United States
of America.

The measures provided for
accordance with
Committee on Plant Health,

the

in this Decision are in
Standing
the

of

opinion

(5)

(6)

(7)

Experience has shown that in respect of the United States
of America, the risk of spreading Ceratocystis fagacearum
(Bretz) Hunt can be eliminated by applying certain
measures.

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

One of these measures is fumigation. Certain Member
States have requested that
fumigated oak
logs takes place only through specified ports where the
appropriate
are
available.

inspection facilities

import of

handling

and

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

last amended by

Commission Directive 2005/16/EC (OJ L 57, 3.3.2005, p. 19).

Article 1

By way of derogation from Article 5(1) of Directive 2000/29/EC
and from the third indent of Article 13(1)(i) of that Directive
to that Directive, Member
with regard to Annex IV(A)(I)(3)
States shall be authorised, with effect from 1 January 2005,
to permit the introduction into their territory of oak (Quercus
L.) logs with bark attached, originating in the United States of
America (hereinafter the logs), if the conditions provided for in
Articles 2 to 7 are complied with.

(1)

(2)

(3)

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Article 2

In order to benefit from this exemption the logs must

1.
have been fumigated and identified as set out in Annex I.

The Commission and the responsible official bodies of all other
Member States shall immediately be informed of the details of
the consignment concerned.

2. Member States may exempt
requirements provided for
storage, 5(2) and 6(2).

fumigated logs from the
in Articles 5(1) as regards wet

Article 3

The logs

1.
Annex II.

shall only be unloaded in ports

listed in

Upon request by the Member State concerned, the list of
2.
ports of unloading in Annex II may be amended by the
Commission, after consultation with the other Member States.

Article 4

The inspections

required pursuant

to Article 13 of
1.
Directive 2000/29/EC shall be made by officials
specially
instructed or trained for the purposes of this Decision with
the assistance of
the experts referred to in Article 21 of
Directive 2000/29/EC under the procedure laid down therein,
either in the ports listed in Annex II or at the first place of
storage referred to in Article 5.

Article 5

1.
The logs shall only be stored in places which have been
notified to and approved by the responsible official bodies of
the Member State concerned and which have appropriate wet
storage facilities, available for
in
paragraph 2.

the period provided for

2.
The logs shall be kept in continuous wet storage, starting
at the latest at the time of flushing in the neighbouring oak
stands.

3.
Neighbouring oak stands shall regularly be inspected for
symptoms of Ceratocystis fagacearum (Bretz) Hunt at appropriate
intervals by the responsible official bodies.

If symptoms which may have been caused by Ceratocystis faga-
cearum (Bretz) Hunt are found, further official testing shall be
carried out in accordance with appropriate methods to confirm
whether or not the fungus is present.

the presence of Ceratocystis

If
fagacearum (Bretz) Hunt
confirmed, the Commission shall immediately be informed.

is

If the port of unloading and the first place of storage are located
in different Member States, those Member States shall make
arrangements covering the place where the inspections are to
be carried out, and the exchange of
information about the
arrival and storage of the consignments.

Article 6

The logs shall only be processed at plants which have
1.
been notified to and approved by the said responsible official
bodies.

2.

The inspections shall include the following:

The bark and other waste arising from processing shall

2.
immediately be destroyed at the place of processing.

(a) an examination of each phytosanitary certificate;

Article 7

(b) an identity check consisting of comparing the marking on
each log and the number of logs with the information given
in the related phytosanitary certificate;

Prior

to importation,

1.
shall notify each
consignment sufficiently in advance to the responsible official
bodies of the Member State of the envisaged first place of
storage, providing the following information:

the importer

(c) a fumigation colour reaction test, as specified in Annex III,
on an appropriate number of the logs selected at random
from each consignment.

3.
If the inspections do not show that the consignment fully
complies with the conditions provided for in Article 2(1), the
whole consignment shall be rejected and removed from the
Community.

(a) quantity of logs,

(b) country of origin,

(c) port of shipment,

(d) port or ports of unloading,

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(e) place or places of storage,

(f) place or places where processing will be carried out.

2. When an importer notifies the intended import of a
consignment as referred to in paragraph 1 he or she shall be
informed by the responsible official body, prior to import, of
the conditions provided for in this Decision.

3.
Copies of the information provided for in paragraphs 1
and 2 shall be conveyed by the responsible official body of the
Member State concerned to the competent authority of the port
of unloading.

Article 8

1. Member States may exempt logs of Quercus L. species
belonging to the white oak group from the fumigation
if the following conditions are
provided for in Article 2(1),
satisfied:

(a)

the logs shall be in consignments composed solely of logs
belonging to species of the white oak group;

the Member State of

By way of derogation from point (c), the plant protection orga-
nisation of
storage may permit
consignments to be unloaded and put into wet storage after
30 April of the following year, as provided for in that point, if
their arrival at the port of unloading has been unforeseeably
delayed.

Paragraph 1 shall not apply to Greece, Spain,

2.
Cyprus, Malta and Portugal.

Italy,

Article 9

Member States shall communicate to the Commission and the
other Member States the text of the provisions which they
adopt under the authorisation provided for in Article 1.

Article 10

Member States which have made use of the derogation provided
for in this Decision shall report to the Commission on its
operation by 30 June 2007. The report shall
include details
of the quantities imported.

(b) the logs shall be identified in accordance with Annex IV;

Where appropriate a similar report shall be provided by 30 June
2009.

(c)

the logs shall be dispatched from the ports of shipment on
15 October at the earliest and reach the place of storage on
30 April of the following year at the latest;

(d) the logs shall be kept in wet storage;

(e)

(f)

the logs shall not be introduced into or through areas south
of 45o latitude; however, Marseilles may be used as port of
unloading, provided that it is ensured that the consignment
is moved immediately to areas north of 45o latitude;

the inspections referred to in Article 4 shall comprise,
in
place of the fumigation colour reaction test, a white oak log
identification colour test as specified in Annex IV, on at
random from each
least 10 % of
consignment.

the logs selected at

Article 11

This Decision shall expire on 31 December 2010.

Article 12

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 29 April 2005.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU

Member of the Commission

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ANNEX I

CONDITIONS ON FUMIGATION AND RELATED IDENTIFICATION REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 2.1

1. The logs shall have been piled on an impervious surface under a gas-proof cover in such a way and to such a height as

to ensure effective gas dispersal through the logs.

2. Without prejudice to any additional export requirements set by the official plant protection organisation of the United
States of America (i.e. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service — APHIS) the pile shall have undergone fumigation
with pure methyl bromide which is carried out at a minimum rate of 240 g/m3 of total volume under cover for
72 hours and at a temperature of the logs of at least + 5 °C. After 24 hours of treatment, an addition of gas shall have
been made to regain the aforementioned concentration; the temperature of the logs shall have been maintained at
+ 5 °C, at least, throughout the procedure. It may be decided, based on scientific evidence and in accordance with the
that other methods shall or may be used.
procedure referred to in Article 18(2) of Directive 2000/29/EC,

3. The fumigation procedures as described in 1 and 2 shall have been carried out by officially licensed fumigation

operatives, using proper fumigation facilities and qualified staff to requisite standards.

The operatives shall have been informed of the details of the procedures required for log fumigation.

The lists of licensed fumigation operatives and their changes shall have been notified to the Commission. The
Commission may declare that individual licensed fumigation operatives can no longer be accepted for the purpose
of this Decision. The sites at which the licensed operatives shall carry out the fumigation procedures shall be located at
the ports of shipment to the Community, but selected inland sites may also be approved by the official plant
protection organisation concerned.

4. A fumigation batch identification mark (digits and/or letters) shall have been placed in a non-removable manner on
the base end of each log of the pile undergoing fumigation. The fumigation batch identification mark shall have been
reserved to the shipper. It shall not have been used for logs of other batches. Records of the identification marks shall
be kept by the licensed fumigation operatives.

5. The individual fumigation procedure including the marking referred to in 4 shall have been systematically supervised
at the fumigation sites, directly by officials of the official plant protection organisation concerned or by cooperating
State/province officials in such a way as to guarantee compliance with the requirements laid down in 1, 2, 3 and 4.

6. The official phytosanitary certificate required pursuant to Article 13(1)(ii) of Directive 2000/29/EC shall have been
issued by the official plant protection organisation concerned after finalisation of the fumigation, and have been based
on the actions mentioned in 5 and the examination carried out in accordance with Article 6 of the said Directive
relating to the conditions laid down in Article 6(1)(a) of that Directive and in this Annex.

7. This certificate shall indicate the botanical name of the genus or the species, the number of logs in the consignment
and the fumigation batch identification marks referred to in 4, without prejudice to the information required under the
section related to disinfestation and/or disinfection treatment.

In all cases, the certificate shall bear the following ‘Additional Declaration’:

‘It is hereby certified that the logs shipped under this certificate have been fumigated by ……………… (licensed
fumigation operative) ……………… at ……………… (fumigation site) ……………… in accordance with the
provisions laid down in Annex I to Commission Decision 2005/359/EC.’

8. In the case of logs to be dispatched via Canadian ports of shipment, all or part of the measures set out in points 1 to
7 and to be carried out by the official plant protection organisation concerned, may be carried out by the Canadian
Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

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ANNEX II

PORTS OF UNLOADING

1. Amsterdam

2. Antwerp

3. Arhus

4. Bilbao

5. Bremen

6. Bremerhaven

7. Copenhagen

8. Hamburg

9. Klaipeda

10. Larnaca

11. Lauterborg

12. Leghorn

13. Le Havre

14. Lemesos

15. Lisbon

16. Marseilles

17. Marsaxlokk

18. Muuga

19. Naples

20. Nordenham

21. Oporto

22. Piraeus

23. Ravenna

24. Rostock

25. Rotterdam

26. Salerno

27. Sines

28. Stralsund

29. Valencia

30. Valletta

31. Venice

32. Vigo

33. Wismar

34. Zeebrugge

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ANNEX III

FUMIGATION COLOUR REACTION TEST

The fumigation colour reaction test referred to in Article 4(2)(c) shall be performed as follows:

Samples of the entire sapwood thickness shall be taken with an increment borer from areas with intact bark at least one
metre from the log ends and soaked in a freshly prepared (less than one day old) 1 % solution of 2,3,5-triphenyl-2H-
tetrazolium chloride (TTC) made with distilled water. Samples which show no red coloration after three days soaking are
considered as having been adequately fumigated.

ANNEX IV

WHITE OAK LOG IDENTIFICATION

1. Officials of the official plant protection organisation concerned shall have identified each log as belonging to the white
oak group either by visual means, as far as possible, or by carrying out white oak log identification colour tests as
specified in 2. This identification colour test shall be performed on at least 10 % of the logs per consignment.

2. The white oak log identification colour test shall be carried out by means of spraying or painting 10 % sodium nitrite
solution to an area of clean superficially dried heartwood at least five centimetres in diameter. Evaluation of the test
shall be done within 20 to 60 minutes of application. At temperatures below 2,5 °C, 20 % ethylene glycol can be
added to the solution as an antifreeze agent. Samples of logs in which the natural colour initially turns reddish brown
becoming black to grey blue in later stages are considered as belonging to the white oak group.

3. Each log shall be marked ‘WO’, under the supervision of the official plant protection organisation concerned or

cooperating State/province officials.

4. The official phytosanitary certificate required pursuant to Article 13(1)(ii) of Directive 2000/29/EC shall be issued by
the official plant protection organisation concerned, and be based on the actions mentioned in 1, 2 and 3. The
certificate shall indicate the botanical name of the genus or the species and the number of logs in the consignment. It
shall bear the following ‘Additional Declaration’:
‘It is hereby certified that the logs shipped under this certificate belong solely to species of the white oak group.’