2008/954/EC: Commission Decision of 15 December 2008 amending Decision 2006/133/EC requiring Member States temporarily to take additional measures against the dissemination of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Steiner et Buhrer) Nickle et al . (the pine wood nematode) as regards areas in Portugal, other than those in which it is known not to occur (notified under document number C(2008) 8298)
Date: 2008-12-15
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Portugal, conifer, parasitology, plant health control, plant health legislation, wood product

L 338/64

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

17.12.2008

COMMISSION DECISION

of 15 December 2008

amending Decision 2006/133/EC requiring Member States temporarily to take additional measures
against the dissemination of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Steiner et Buhrer) Nickle et al. (the pine
wood nematode) as regards areas in Portugal, other than those in which it is known not to occur

(notified under document number C(2008) 8298)

(2008/954/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No 15 on wood
packaging material originating in continental Portugal
and destined for intra-Community trade or export.

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 16(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(5)

(6)

(1)

(2)

(3)

Commission

with
Portugal

In
accordance
Decision
2006/133/EC (2),
a plan
against the dissemination of the pine wood nematode
(PWN)
to other Member States as well as within its
own territory.

implementing

is

been detected

Sweden and Finland informed the Commission between
August and October 2008 that several cases of PWN-
in Portuguese
infested wood had
consignments. As a result of
these cases, Sweden
informed the Commission on 18 September 2008 on
the additional measures that it was taking to prevent
the introduction into and spread within its territory of
PWN.

Spain informed the Commission on 12, 14 and
18 November 2008 about cases where susceptible
including wood packaging
wood and wood products,
material, had been moved recently from Portugal
to
Spain though the requirements laid down in Decision
2006/133/EC were not fulfilled. In some of those cases
PWN was detected.

it

this information,

In view of
is necessary that all
susceptible wood, originating in the demarcated areas
in the form of packing cases, boxes, crates, drums and
similar packings, pallets, box pallets and other
load
spacers and bearers,
boards, pallet collars, dunnage,
its natural round
including that which has not kept
is treated and marked before it is moved out
surface,
of
instead of only the newly
produced material.

the demarcated area,

it

is

the

that

those

appropriate

circumstances

information also indicates

This
existing
requirements for movements of all types of susceptible
wood other than those referred to in recital 5 and orig­
inating in the demarcated areas are not fully applied.
Under
to
introduce a general prohibition for movements of such
wood out of the demarcated areas. Exceptions from the
general prohibition should be provided for as regards
movements of
from authorised
susceptible wood
processing plants. Those plants should be authorised
and inspected by the responsible official body to ensure
that an effective treatment is carried out. They should be
included in a list established and updated by the
Commission. Traceability should be guaranteed by a
plant passport or by a mark as set out in the applicable
FAO Standard.

(7)

Member States
should have the possibility to take
measures to ascertain whether the susceptible wood,
bark or plants, moving from demarcated areas into
their territory is free from PWN.

(8)

Decision 2006/133/EC should therefore be amended
accordingly.

(4)

adopted a ministerial decree Portaria
Portugal has
n.o 1339-A/2008 on 20 November 2008,
including
the application of the measures in FAO International

(9)

(1) OJ L 169, 10.7.2000, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 52, 23.2.2006, p. 34.

The measures provided for
accordance with
Committee on Plant Health,

the

in this Decision are in
Standing
the

of

opinion

17.12.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 338/65

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 2

Article 1

The text of Article 3 to Decision 2006/133/EC is replaced by
the following:

‘Article 3

Member States of destination other than Portugal may:

The Annex to Decision 2006/133/EC is amended in accordance
with the Annex to this Decision.

Article 3

take all measures to comply with this
Member States shall
Decision and,
if necessary, amend the measures which they
have adopted to protect themselves against the introduction
and spread of PWN in such a manner that those measures
comply with this Decision. They shall immediately inform the
Commission of those measures.

(a) subject consignments of susceptible wood, bark and
plants, coming from Portugal and moved into their
territory, to testing for the presence of PWN;

Article 4

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

(b) take further appropriate steps to carry out official moni­
toring in respect of such consignments and to ascertain
whether
conditions
relevant
In case non-compliances are
specified in the Annex.
confirmed, appropriate measures
in accordance with
Article 11 of Directive 2000/29/EC shall be taken.’

they comply with the

Done at Brussels, 15 December 2008.

For the Commission

Androulla VASSILIOU
Member of the Commission

L 338/66

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

17.12.2008

ANNEX

In the Annex to Decision 2006/133/EC, point 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1. Without prejudice to the provisions referred to in point 2, in the case of movements from demarcated areas into
areas, other than demarcated areas in Member States or into third countries, as well as for movements from the
part of the demarcated areas in which PWN is known to occur to the part of the demarcated areas designated as
buffer zone, of:

(a) susceptible plants, those plants shall be, for destinations within the Community, accompanied by a plant
passport prepared and issued in accordance with the provisions of Commission Directive 92/105/EEC (*),
after:
— the plants have been officially inspected and found free from signs or symptoms of PWN, and
— no symptoms of PWN have been observed at the place of production or in its immediate vicinity since

the beginning of the last complete cycle of vegetation;

(b) susceptible wood and isolated bark, other than wood in the form of:

— chips, particles, wood waste or scrap obtained in whole or part from these conifers,
— packing cases, boxes, crates, drums and similar packings,
— pallets, pallet collars, box pallets or other load boards,
— dunnage, spacers and bearers,

but including that which has not kept its natural round surface, that wood and isolated bark shall not be
allowed to leave the demarcated area; the responsible official body may grant an exception from this
prohibition where the wood or isolated bark, for destinations within the Community, is accompanied by
the plant passport referred to in point (a), after having undergone an appropriate heat treatment to achieve a
minimum core temperature of 56 °C for 30 minutes in order to ensure freedom from live PWNs;

(c) susceptible wood in the form of chips, particles, wood waste or scrap obtained in whole or part from these
conifers, that wood shall not be allowed to leave the demarcated area; the responsible official body may grant
an exception from this prohibition where that wood, for destinations within the Community, is accompanied
by the plant passport referred to in point (a), after having undergone an appropriate fumigation treatment in
order to ensure freedom from live PWNs;

(d) susceptible wood, originating in the demarcated areas in the form of dunnage, spacers and bearers, including
that which has not kept its natural round surface, as well as in the form of packing cases, boxes, crates,
drums and similar packings, pallets, box pallets and other load boards, pallet collars, whether or not actually
in use in the transport of objects of all kinds, that wood shall not be allowed to leave the demarcated area;
the responsible official body may grant an exception from this prohibition where that wood has been subject
to one of the approved treatments as specified in Annex I to the FAO International Standard for Phyto-
sanitary Measures No 15 on Guidelines for regulating wood packaging material in international trade and
marked according to Annex II of the said Standard.

The responsible official body shall authorise the processing plants to carry out the treatments referred to under
points (b), (c) and (d), and to issue the plant passports referred to in point (a) for susceptible wood under points
(b) and (c) or to mark, in accordance with the FAO International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No 15, the
susceptible wood under point (d). Official inspections of the authorised processing plants shall be carried out on a
continuous basis to verify the effectiveness of the treatment as well as the traceability of the wood.

The Commission shall compile a list of the processing plants authorised by the responsible official body and
convey that list to the Standing Committee on Plant Health and to the Member States. That list shall be updated
according to the results of official inspections to verify the effectiveness of the treatment as well as the traceability
of the wood and according to the findings notified under Article 16(1) of Directive 2000/29/EC.

Portugal shall ensure that only processing plants included in that list are authorised to issue plant passports
referred to in point (a) for susceptible wood under points (b) and (c) or to mark, in accordance with the FAO
International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No 15, the susceptible wood under point (d).

The plant passport referred to in point (a) or the mark in accordance with the FAO International Standard for
Phytosanitary Measures No 15 shall be attached by the authorised processing plant to each unit of susceptible
wood, bark and plants that is moved.

___________
(*) OJ L 4, 8.1.1993, p. 22.’