CELEX: 51993PC0058
Language: en
Date: 1993-02-23
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE on the control of potato ring rot

No C 93 / 12                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                      2 . 4 . 93
                                  Proposal for a Council Directive on the control of potato ring rot
                                                              93 / C 93 / 03 )
                                                          COM(93) 58 final
                                         (Submitted by the Commission on 23 February 1993)
  THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                              Directive 92 / 103 / EEC (2), such measures to be notified to
                                                                         the other Member States and to the Commission;
  Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
  Economic Community , and in particular Article 43
  thereof,                                                               Whereas Council Directive 80 / 665 / EEC of 24 June 1980
                                                                         on the control of potato ring rot (3 ) laid down minimum
  Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ,                    measures to be taken by the Member States against potato
                                                                         ring rot;
  Having regard       to the opinion of the European
  Parliament ,
                                                                         Whereas since that time there have been significant
                                                                         developments in the understanding and detection of potato
  Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social                ring rot disease;
  Committee ,
 Whereas potato production occupies an important place in                Whereas the application of the Community plant health
  Community agriculture; whereas the potato yield is                     regime to the Community as an area without internal
 constantly threatened by harmful organisms;                             frontiers will require the re-examination and the revision
                                                                         of some provisions of Directive 80 / 665 / EEC ;
 Whereas, through the protection of potato cultivation
 against such harmful organisms , not only should
 productive capacity be maintained but agricultural                     Whereas, as a result of such re-examination the provisions
 productivity should also be increased;                                  of Directive 80 / 665 / EEC have been found insufficient
                                                                         and further specification of measures is necessary;
 Whereas protective measure to prevent the introduction of
 harmful organisms into the territory of a Member State
 would have only a limited effect if such organisms were                Whereas in that situation Directive 80 / 665 / EEC should
 not controlled simultaneously and methodically                         be repealed and the necessary measures adopted;
 throughout the Community and were not prevented from
 spreading;
                                                                        Whereas the measures have to take into account, firstly ,
                                                                        that the disease can remain latent and unobserved both in
 Whereas one of the organisms most harmful to potatoes is
 Clavibacter michiganensis (Smith ) Davis et al. ssp .                  the growing crop and in stored tubers , and so can be
sepedonicus (Spieck. et Kotth .) Davis et al., the pathogenic           effectively prevented only by production and use of seed
 agent of the potato ring rot disease; whereas this disease             potatoes free from infection, and secondly , that systematic
 has occurred in some parts of the Community and some                   official surveys are necessary to locate it; whereas there is
 limited sources of infection still exist ;                             little , if any, spread of the disease with the growing crop ,
                                                                        but the disease can exist through the winter in self-sown
Whereas there is a permanent risk to potato cultivation                 (volunteer) potato plants and these are a major source of
throughout the Community if effective measures are not                  infection being carried from one season to the next;
taken to locate this disease and determine its distribution,            whereas the disease is spread mainly by the contamination
                                                                        of potatoes through contact with infected potatoes and
to prevent it from occurring and spreading, and if found,
to prevent its spread and to control it with the aim of                 through contact with planting, harvesting and handling
eradication;                                                            equipment or transport and storage containers which have
                                                                        become contaminated with the organism by previous
Whereas in order to ensure this, certain measures must be               contact with infected potatoes; whereas such contaminated
                                                                       objects can remain infectious for some time after such
taken within the Community; whereas Member States
must in addition be able to take additional or stricter                contamination; whereas spread of the disease can be
                                                                       reduced or prevented by disinfection of such objects ;
measures where necessary and provided that there is no
hindrance to the movement of potatoes within the                       whereas any such contamination of seed potatoes poses a
                                                                       major risk for the spread of the disease;
Community, except in so far as laid down in Council
Directive 77 / 93 / EEC ('), as last amended by Commission
                                                                       ( 2) OJ No L 363 , 11 . 12 . 1992 , p. 1 .
(') OJ No L 26 , 31 . 1 . 1977 , p. 20 .                               ( 3) OJ No L 180 , 14 . 7 . 1980 , p. 30 .
 ---pagebreak---   2 . 4 . 93                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No C 93 / 13
  Whereas , for the determination of the details of such               3.      The following provisions may be adopted in
  general measures as well as for those stricter or additional         accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 16a of
   measures taken by Member States to prevent the                      Directive 77 / 93 / EEC :
   introduction of the disease into their territory, it is
   desirable for Member States to cooperate closely with the           — the details of the surveys provided for in paragraph 1 ,
   Commission within the Standing Committee on Plant                       to be carried out in accordance with sound scientific
  Health (hereinafter referred to as 'the Committee'),                     and statistical principles,
                                                                       — the details of the notification provided for in
                                                                           paragraph 2 .
  HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE :
                                                                                                   Article 3
                             Article 1
                                                                       Member States shall ensure that the suspected occurrence
  The Directive concerns the measures to be taken with the
                                                                      or the confirmed presence of the organism , in potato
  Member States against Clavibacter micbiganensis ( Smith)            plants and tubers or harvested , stored or marketed tubers
  Davis et al. ssp . sepedonicus (Spieck. et Kotth .) Davis et        shall be reported to their responsible official bodies.
  al.y the cause of potato ring rot (hereinafter referred to as
  'the organism'), in order to:
  ( a ) locate it and determine its distribution;                                                  Article 4
  (b ) prevent its occurrence and spread; and                          1.     In cases of suspected occurrence, the responsible
                                                                      official bodies of the Member State in which these cases
  (c) if found, to prevent its spread and to control it with         have been reported shall:
        the aim of eradication .
                                                                      ( a) ensure completion of official or officially supervised
                                                                            laboratory testing, in accordance with the conditions
                            Article 2                                       specified in point 1 of Annex II and using the method
                                                                            provided for in Annex I , in order to confirm or refute
  1.      Member States shall conduct systematic official                   the suspected occurrence. In the former case , the
 surveys for the organism on tubers of potato ( Solatium                    requirements laid down in point 2 of Annex II shall
 tuberosum L. ) originating in their territory, for the                     apply ;
 confirmation of absence of the organism .
                                                                     (b ) prohibit the movement of all lots or consignments
                                                                            from which the samples have been taken, except
 For these surveys , samples of both seed and ware potatoes                 under their control and provided that it has been
 shall be taken, preferably from lots in store and subjected               established that there is no identifiable risk of the
 to official or officially supervised laboratory testing in                 organism spreading, pending the confirmation or
 accordance with the provisions of Annex I for the                          refutation of the suspected occurrence;
 detection and diagnosis of the organism , and
supplemented with , where appropriate, official or                   (c) take steps to trace the origin of the suspected
officially supervised visual inspection by cutting of the                  occurrence ;
tubers .
                                                                     (d) introduce        appropriate     additional  precautionary
The number , origin, stratification and timing of collection               measures based on the level of estimated risk, in order
of samples shall be decided by the responsible official                    to prevent any spread of the organism . These
bodies within the meaning of Directive 77 / 93 / EEC based                 measures may include the official control of the
on sound scientific and statistical principles and the                     movement of all other tubers or plants within or off
biology of the organism, and taking into account the                       premises associated with the suspected occurrence.
particular potato production systems of the Member States
concerned . The details thereof shall be submitted to the
                                                                     2.      The measures referred to in paragraph 1 (d) may be
other Member States and the Commission, with a view to               adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in
ensuring comparable levels of assurance between Member              Article 16a of Directive 77 / 93 / EEC .           t
States for confirmation of the absence of the organism.
2.       The results of the official surveys provided for in
                                                                                                  Article 5
paragraph 1 shall be notified at least once a year to the
other Member States and to the Commission . The details
of this notification shall be confidential . They may be             1.      If official or officially supervised laboratory testing
submitted to the Committee in accordance with the                   using the method provided for in Annex I confirms the
procedure laid down in Article 16a of Directive                     presence of the organism in a sample of tubers, plants, or
77 / 93 / EEC .                                                     parts of plants, the responsible official bodies of a Member
 ---pagebreak---   No C 93 / 14                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                        2 . 4 . 93
  State, having regard to sound scientific principles, the                                            Article 7
  biology of the organism and the particular production,
  marketing and processing systems in that Member State,                 1.     Member States shall prescribe that tubers or plants,
  shall :                                                               designated to be contaminated pursuant to Article 5 ( 1 ) ( a)
                                                                        may not be planted and that, under the control of their
  (a) designate as contaminated the tubers or plants,                   responsible official bodies, they shall be:
        consignment and / or lot, and the machinery, vehicle,
        vessel , store , or units thereof, and any other objects        — destroyed, or
        including packaging material, from which the sample
        was taken, and, where appropriate , the place(s) of             — otherwise disposed of, subject to officially supervised
        production and field(s) from which the tubers or                     measure(s), in accordance with the provisions of
        plants were harvested ;                                              point 1 of Annex IV , provided that it is established
                                                                             that there is no identifiable risk of the organism
  ( b ) determine in accordance with the provisions of                       spreading.
        point 1 of Annex III the extent of probable
        contamination through pre- or post-harvest contact or           2.      Member States shall prescribe that tubers or plants
        through production link with the designated                     determined as probably contaminated pursuant to
        contamination ;                                                 Article 5 ( 1 ) (b ) may not be planted and, without prejudice
                                                                        to the special requirements as specified in Article 6 shall,
  (c) demarcate a zone on the basis of the designation of               under the control of their responsible official bodies, be
        contamination under ( a ), the determination of the             put to appropriate use or disposal as specified in point 2 of
        extent of probable contamination under (b), and the             Annex IV, in such a way that it is established that there is
        possible spread of the organism.                                no identifiable risk of the organism spreading and
                                                                        provided that their origin can be traced back.
 2.       Member States shall immediately notify the other              3 . Member States shall prescribe that any machinery,
 Member States and the Commission, in accordance with                  vehicle, vessel , store, or units thereof, and any other
 the provisions of point 2 of Annex III , of any                        objects including packaging material , designated as
 contamination designated under paragraph 1 ( a) and the                contaminated pursuant to Article 5 ( 1 ) ( a ) or determined
 details of the zone demarcation under paragraph 1 (c).                as probably contaminated pursuant to Article 5 ( 1 ) ( b),
                                                                       shall either be destroyed or else cleansed and disinfected
 The details of this notification shall be confidential . They         using appropriate methods as specified in point 3 of
 may be submitted to the Committee in accordance with                  Annex IV, for which it has been established that there is
 the procedure laid down in Article 16a of Directive                   no identifiable risk of the organism spreading, before
 77 / 93 / EEC .                                                       coming into contact with other tubers or plants . After
                                                                       disinfection any such objects shall no longer be considered
                                                                       contaminated .
 3.       As a result of the notification under paragraph 2,
 other Member States detailed in the notification shall , as
 appropriate, designate contamination, determine the                   4.      Without prejudice to the measures implemented
 extent of probable contamination and demarcate a zone,                pursuant to paragraphs 1 , 2 and 3 , Member States hall
 in accordance with paragraph 1 (a), (b) and (c)                       prescibe that, in the zone demarcated pursuant to
 respectively .                                                        Article 5 ( 1 ) (c) a series of measures, as specified in point 4
                                                                       of Annex IV , shall be implemented.
                              Article 6                                                              Article 8
 Member States shall prescribe that where tubers or                    1.      Member States shall prescribe that seed potatoes
                                                                       shall meet the requirements of Directive 77 / 93 / EEC and
plants have been designated to be contaminated pursuant                shall derive in direct line from material obtained under an
to Article 5 ( 1 ) ( a), testing in accordance with
Article 4 ( 1 ) ( a) shall be carried out on potato stocks             officially approved programme which has been found free
which are clonally related to those involved in the                    of the organism in official or officially supervised testing in
                                                                       accordance with the method referred to in Annex I.
contamination. The testing shall be carried out on as many
such tubers or plants as are needed to determine the
probable prinfary source of infection and the extent of the            The aforesaid testing shall be carried out:
probable contamination , preferably in order of degree of              — in cases where the contamination affects the seed
risk .
                                                                            potato production of the Member State or Member
                                                                            States concerned, on the plants of the initial clonal
As a result of the testing, further designation of                          selection ,
contamination, determination of the extent of probable
contamination and demarcation of a zone shall be done, as              — in other cases, either on the plants of the initial clonal
appropriate, pursuant to Article 5 ( 1 ) (a), (b) and (c)                   selection or on representative samples of the basic seed
respectively .                                                              potatoes or earlier propagations .
 ---pagebreak---   2 . 4 . 93                             Official Journal of the European Communities                              No C 93 / 15
  2.      The following provisions may be adopted in                The details of these measures shall be notified to the other
  accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 16a of          Member States and to the Commission .
  Directive 77 / 93 / EEC :
                                                                                              Article 12
  — the detailed rules of application of the first indent of
       the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 ,                     Amendments to the Annexes of this Directive to be made
                                                                    in the light of developments in scientific or technical
  — the rules concerning the representative           samples       knowledge shall be adopted in accordance with the
       provided for in the second indent of the second              procedure laid down in Article 16a of Directive
       subparagraph of paragraph 1 .                                77 / 93 / EEC .
                                                                                              Article 13
                             Article 9
                                                                    1.     By 31 March 1993 Member States shall adopt and
 Member States shall ban the introduction, holding, and             publish the provisions necessary to comply with this
 handling of the organism .                                         Directive. They shall immediately inform the Commission
                                                                    thereof.
                                                                   When Member States adopt these provisions, these shall
                            Article 10                             contain     a  reference  to   this  Directive or   shall  be
                                                                   accompanied by such reference at the time of their official
 Without prejudice to Article 14 ( 1 ) (c) (i ) of Directive       publication. The procedure for making such reference
 77 / 93 / EEC , Member States may authorize derogations           shall be adopted by Member States .
 from the measures referred to in Articles 6 , 7 and 9 of this
 Directive for experimental or scientific purposes, and for        Member States shall apply these provisions from 1 April
                                                                   1993 .
 work on varietal selection, provided that such derogations
 do not prejudice the control of the organism and create no        2.     Member States shall immediately communicate to
risk of spread of the organism .                                   the Commission all provisions of national law which they
                                                                   adopt in the field covered by this Directive. The
                                                                   Commission       shall inform    the  other  Member    States
                            Article 11                             thereof.
Member States may adopt such additional or stricter                                          Article 14
measures as may be required to combat the organism or to
prevent it from spreading.                                         Directive 80 / 665 / EEC is hereby repealed with effect from
                                                                   1 April 1993 .
Without prejudice to Article 15 of Directive 77/ 93 / EEC,
such additional or stricter measures may not include                                         Article 15
restrictions to trade other than those laid down in this
Directive .                                                        This Directive is addressed to the Member States .
 ---pagebreak--- No C 93 / 16                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                         2 . 4 . 93
                                                                ANNEX I
             In the systematic official surveys for the organism referred to in Article 2 ( 1 ), the appropriate testing method
             for the detection and diagnosis of the organism shall be the current Community established method, and shall
             be performed on a sample, officially drawn , of, at least, 200 tubers per lot of 25 tonnes or less.
                                                                ANNEX II
             1 . For each suspected occurrence for which a positive immunofluorescent test has been identified according
                 to the Community established method including amendments, and confirmation or refutation by
                 completion of the Community established method is awaited, there should be the retention and
                 appropriate conservation of:
                 — all tubers sampled, wherever possible, and
                 — any remaining extract and additional prepared immunofluorescent slides,
                 until the completion of the Community established method .
             2 . In the case of positive confirmation of the organism, there should be retention and appropriate
                 conservation of the material specified in paragraph 1 plus retention of both a conserved sample of the
                 infected eggplant material and the isolated culture of the organism until at least one month after the
                 notification procedure pursuant to Article 5 (2).
 ---pagebreak--- 2 . 4 . 93                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                         No C 93 / 17
                                                                ANNEX 111
           1 . The elements in the determination of the extent of probable contamination pursuant to Article 5(1 ) (b),
               shall include :
               — tubers or plants grown at a place of production designated as contaminated pursuant to
                   Article 5 ( 1 ) ( a ),
               — place(s) of production or premises with some production link to the tubers designated as contaminated
                   pursuant to Article 5 ( 1 ) ( a), including those sharing production equipment and facilities directly or
                   through a common contractor ,
               — tubers or plants produced in the place(s) of production referred to in the previous indent, or present
                   during the period when the tubers or plants designated as contaminated pursuant to Article 5 ( 1 ) ( a )
                   were present on the premises or places of production referred to in the previous indent,
               — central stores handling potatoes from the above places of production ,
               — any machinery, vehicle, vessel , store, or units thereof, and any other objects including packaging
                  material , that may have come into contact with the tubers or plants designated as contaminated
                  pursuant to Article 5 ( 1 ) ( a ), during the previous 12 months ,
               — any tubers or plants stored in , or in contact with , any of the structures or objects listed in the previous
                  indent , prior to the cleansing and disinfection of such structures and objects.
           2 . The details of the notification referred to in the first paragraph of Article 5 (2 ) shall include:
               — for any potato consignment or lot designated as contaminated, the passport or registration number, as
                  appropriate ,
               — the variety name for seed potato stocks, and were possible in all other cases ,
               — a description of the elements of the designated contamination and zone demarcation ,
               — the availability of extract, prepared immunofluorescent slides, infected eggplant material and an
                  isolated culture of the organism from the test in which positive confirmation of the organism has been
                  made .
 ---pagebreak--- No C 93 / 18                                        Official Journal of the European Communities                                         2 . 4 . 93
                                                                          ANNEX IV
              1.     The officially supervised measures referred to in Article 7 ( 1 ) for the disposal of tubers designated to be
                     contamined pursuant to Article 5 ( 1 ) (a) shall include:
                     — use for industrial processing through direct and immediate delivery to a processing plant with
                           appropriate waste disposal facilities for which it has been established that there is no identifiable risk
                           of the organism spreading, and with a system of disinfection of storage areas and departing vehicles
                           at least during the period of, and immediately following, the handling of contaminated tubers, or
                     — other measures, provided that it has been established that there is no identifiable risk of the organism
                           spreading, such measures to be notified to the Commission and to the other Member States.
             2.      The appropriate use or disposal of the tubers determined as probably contaminated pursuant to Article 5
                     ( 1 ) (b) and referred to in Article 7 (2), under the control of the responsible official bodies of the Member
                     States , shall include :
                     — use as ware potatoes intended for consumption , packed ready for direct delivery and use without
                           repacking, and intended for such direct delivery and use, or
                     — use as ware potatoes intended for industrial processing, and intended for direct and immediate
                           delivery to a processing plant with appropriate waste disposal and disinfection facilities , or
                     — some other use or disposal , provided that it is established that there is no identifiable risk of the
                           organism spreading.
             3.     The appropriate methods for cleansing and disinfecting of all the objects referred to in Article 7 (3 ) shall
                    be those for which it has been established that there is no identifiable risk of the organism spreading and
                    shall be employed under the supervision of the responsible official bodies of the Member State(s).
             4.     The series of measurs to be implemented by Member States within the demarcated zone established
                    pursuant to Article 5 ( 1 ) (c) and referred to in Article 7 (4) shall include:
             4.1 . in places of production designated as contaminated pursuant to Article 5 ( 1 ) (a ):
                    ( a) in a field designated to be contaminated pursuant to Article 5 ( 1 ) (a), either:
                              (i ) — during at least the three growing seasons following the season of the designated
                                       contamination ,
                                       — measures shall be taken to elimante volunteer potato plants , and
                                       — no potato tubers, plants or seeds, or other naturally found host plants of the organism,
                                            or crops for which there is an identified risk of the organism surviving or spreading,
                                            shall be planted until the field is found free from volunteer potato plants for at least two
                                           consecutive seasons ,
                                    — in the first potato cropping season following the period specified in the preceding indent
                                       and for the first succeeding potato cropping season, officially certified seed potatoes shall be
                                       planted for ware production only and an offical survey , as detailed in Article 2(1 ), shall be
                                       done ,
                                    — in the potato cropping season succeeding those referred to in the previous indent, officially
                                       certified seed potatoes shall be planted for either seed or ware production and an official
                                       survey as detailed in Article 2 ( 1 ), shall be done, or;
                            ( ii ) — during the four growing seasons following that of the designated contamination ,
                                       — measures shall be taken to eliminate volunteer potato plants , and
                                       — the field shall be laid to , and maintained in , bare fallow,
                                    — in the first potato cropping season following the period specified in the preceding indent,
                                       officially certified seed potatoes shall be planted for either seed or ware production and an
                                       official survey, as detailed in Article 2 ( 1 ), shall be done;
                   ( b ) in other fields :
                           — in the growing season following the designated contamination no potato tubers, plants or seeds
                                  or other naturally found host plants of the organism shall be planted , and measures shall be
                                  taken to eliminate volunteer potato plants , as appropriate ,
 ---pagebreak--- 2 . 4 . 93                                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                     No C 93 / 19
                         — in the first growing season after that referred to in the previous indent officially certified
                             potatoes may be planted for ware production only, and measures shall be taken to eliminate
                             volunteer potato plants,
                         — for , at least the first growing season following that specified in the preceding indent, only
                             officially certified seed potatoes shall be planted, for either seed or ware production,
                         — in each of the growing seasons referred to in the previous indents an official survey as detailed in
                             Article 2 ( 1 ), shall be done;
                   ( c) immediately following the designation of contamination pursuant to Article 5 ( 1 ) ( a ) and in each of
                         the subsequent growing seasons up to and including the first potato growing season on the field(s)
                         designated as contaminated, all machinery and storage facilities on the place of production and
                         involved in potato production shall be cleansed and disinfected at appropriate times and using
                         appropriate methods, as specified in point 3 ;
                  ( d ) in those production systems where complete replacement of the growing medium is possible:
                         — no tubers or plants shall be planted unless the production unit has been subjected to officially
                            supervised measures to eliminate the organism and remove any potato or other Solanaceous
                            material , including, at least, a complete change in growing medium and cleansing and
                             disinfection of the production unit, and all equipment, and subsequently has been granted
                             approval for potato production by the responsible official bodies, and
                         — potato production shall be from officially certified seed potatoes, or from mini-tubers or
                            micro-plants derived from tested sources;
           4.2 . within the demarcated zone, without prejudice to the measures detailed under point 4.1 , the Member
                  States shall :
                  (a ) immediately , and for at least three growing seasons, after the designated contamination:
                        — ensure supervision by their responsible official bodies of premises growing, storing or handling
                            potato tubers , together with premises which operate potato machinery under contract,
                        — require regular cleansing and disinfection of machinery and stores on such premises, as
                            appropriate, and using appropriate methods, as specified under point 3 ,
                        — require the planting of certified seed only for all potato crops within that zone,
                        — require the separate handling of harvested seed stocks to those of ware on all premises within the
                            zone ,
                        — conduct an official survey as detailed in Article 2 ( 1 );
                 (b ) establish a programme for the replacement of all potato stocks over an appropriate period of
                        time .
                 The measures implemented pursuant to point 4.2, along with the registration numbers of producers,
                 collective warehouses and dispatching centres within the demarcated zone, shall be notified annually to
                 the other Member States and to the Commission .
           5.    In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17 of Directive 77 / 93 / EEC , a Member State may
                 be authorized at its request to permit derogations from the measures referred to in the first indent of
                 point 4 ( 1 ) (b) in respect of certain parts of a place of production , provided that it has been established
                 that there is no identifiable risk of the organism spreading.