CELEX: 51989PC0651
Language: en
Date: 1990-02-06
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) ON THE MARKETING OF FRUIT PLANT PROPAGATING MATERIAL AND FRUIT PLANTS INTENDED FOR FRUIT PRODUCTION

6. 3. 90                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 54/5
                                                               II
                                                       (Preparatory Acts)
                                                 COMMISSION
              Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on the marketing of fruit plant propagating material
                                        and fruit plants intended for fruit production
                                                     (COM(89) 651 final
                                    (Submitted by the Commission on 21 December 1989)
                                                         (90/C 54/05)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                           duction into the Member States of organisms harmful to
                                                                   plants or plant products ('), as last amended by Directive
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European              89/439/EEC( 2 );
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43
thereof,                                                           Whereas it is appropriate initially to establish
                                                                   Community rules for those fruit species which are of
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                 major economic importance in the Community, with a
                                                                   Community procedure for adding further fruit species
                                                                   later;
Having regard      to    the  opinion   of   the  European
Parliament,
                                                                   Whereas it is not appropriate to apply the Community
                                                                   rules to propagating material and fruit plants shown to
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
                                                                   be intended for export to third countries, as the rules
Social Committee,
                                                                   applicable there may be different from those contained in
                                                                   this Regulation;
Whereas the production of fruit occupies an important
place in the agriculture of the Community;
                                                                   Whereas the determination of plant health and quality
                                                                   standards for each fruit species requires lengthy and
Whereas satisfactory results in the cultivation of fruit           detailed technical and scientific consideration; whereas a
depend to a large extent on the quality and health of the          procedure should accordingly be established for the
material used for propagating fruit plants and of the fruit        determination of these;
plants themselves; whereas certain Member States have
in consequence introduced rules intended to guarantee
the quality and health of propagating material and fruit           Whereas requirements should be imposed on suppliers
plants placed on the market;                                       with a view to proper production and conservation, and
                                                                   adequate monitoring by Mamber States, of propagating
                                                                   material and fruit plants;
Whereas the different treatment accorded to propagating
material and fruit plants in different Member States is
likely to create barriers to trade and thus hinder the free        Whereas, in principle, propagating material and fruit
movement of these goods within the Community;                      plants should be marketed only if they have been found
whereas with a view to achieving the Single Market,                by official examination to meet stringent plant health
these barriers should be removed, by setting up                    and quality standards; whereas, to reflect current
Community provisions to replace those laid down by the             practice in the Community, propagating material and
Member States;                                                     fruit plants should be graded, with regard to plant
                                                                   health, either as 'virus free' — free from all relevant
                                                                   viruses and virus-like pathogens — or 'virus tested' — free
Whereas the establishment of harmonized conditions at              from certain serious viruses and virus-like pathogens
Community level will ensure that purchasers throughout             capable of reducing their usefulness;
the Community receive propagating material and fruit
plants which are healthy and of good quality;
                                                                   Whereas, although it would be desirable to restrict
                                                                   marketing of propagating material and fruit plants to
Whereas, so far as they relate to plant health, such
harmonized conditions must be coherent with the
provisions of Council Directive 77/93/EEC of 21                    O OJ No L 26, 31. 1. 1977, p. 20.
December 1976 on protective measures against the intro-            (2) OJ No L 212, 22. 7. 1989, p. 106.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 54/6                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                   6. 3. 90
those meeting the abovementioned standards, this is at           involving close cooperation beetween the Commission
present impossible as Community demand could not then             and the Member States within the Standing Committee
be satisfied; whereas, therefore, for transitional periods       on Seeds and Propagating Material for Agriculture,
only, the marketing of examined classified material               Horticulture. and Forestry, established by Council
having sufficient varietal identity and varietal purity and       Decision 66/399/EEC (!) and the Standing Committee
meeting less stringent plant health standards should be           on Plant Health, established by Council Decision
allowed;                                                          76/894/EEC (2),
Whereas, so that Community fruit producers can take               HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
advantage of good varieties produced by systematic plant
selection work, Member States should compile national                                       Article 1
catalogues of the varieties officially accepted for certifi-
cation, examination as classified plants and marketing in         1.     This Regulation applies to fruit plant propagating
their territory; whereas there should be provision for            material and fruit plants intended for fruit production,
harmonizing conditions of official acceptance and for             and marketed within the Community.
the possible establishment of a common catalogue of
varieties of fruit species;                                       2.     The following species shall be subject to the rules
                                                                  laid down in Articles 3 to 13, 14 (2), 15 to 19 and 23:
Whereas, in order to ensure the identity and orderly             — Citrus sinensis Osbeck. (orange),
marketing of propagating material and fruit plants,
Community rules must be laid down concerning sepa-               — Fragaria x ananassa Duch. (strawberry),
ration of lots, packing, sealing and marking; whereas the
labels should give the particulars needed both for official      — Malus sylvestris Mill, (apple),
control and for the information of the grower;
                                                                 — Prunus avium L. (sweet cherry),
Whereas rules should be established permitting, in the           — Prunus domestica L. (plum).
 case of temporary supply difficulties, the marketing of
propagating material and fruit plants subject to                 — Prunus persica (L.) Batsch. (peach), and
 requirements less stringent than those contained in this
 Regulation;                                                      — Pyrus communis L. (pear).
                                                                  Rootstocks of other species shall also be subject to the
Whereas as a first step towards harmonized conditions,            abovementioned rules if material of one of the above
 Member States should be prohibited from imposing new             species is grafted onto them.
 conditions or marketing restrictions on propagating
 material or fruit plants, other than those provided for in       3.     Amendments to the list of species in paragraph 2
 this Regulation;                                                 shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid
                                                                  down in Article 20.
 Whereas provision should be made for authorizing the                                        Article 2
 marketing within the Community of propagating
 material and fruit plants produced in third countries,           This Regulation shall not apply to fruit plant propa-
 provided always that they afford the same assurances as          gating material or fruit plants shown to be intended for
 propagating material and fruit plants produced in the            export to third countries.
 Community and complying with Community rules;
                                                                                             Article 3
 Whereas, in order to harmonize technical methods of               For the purposes of this Regulation, the         following
 examination used in the Member States, and to compare            definitions shall apply:
 propagating material and fruit plants produced in the
 Community with those produced in third countries,                 (a) propagating material: seeds of fruit plants and any
 comparative trials should be carried out to check                      fruit plant material, other than fruit plants, which
 compliance of propagating material and fruit plants with               reproduces the plants vegetatively;
 the requirements of this Regulation;
                                                                   (b) fruit plants: plants which, or, in the case of grafted
                                                                        plants, the elements of which, were raised directly
 Whereas, in order to facilitate the effective operation of
                                                                        from seeds or from vegetative reproduction material,
 this Regulation, the Commission should be entrusted
 with the task of adopting measures for its implemen-
 tation and for the amendment of its Annexes; whereas              (') OJ No 125, 11. 7. 1966, p. 2289/66.
 such measures should be adopted by a procedure                    O OJ No L 340, 9. 12. 1976, p. 25.
 ---pagebreak--- 6. 3. 90                                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No C 54/7
and which are intended to be planted or replanted after                  provided that the persons mentioned under points (ii)
marketing, for the production of fruit;                                  and (iii) have no personal interest in the outcome of
                                                                         such measures;
(c) nuclear stock: propagating material,
       (i) which has been produced under the responsi-              (h) virus free ('v.f.') material: material which has been
            bility of the breeder according to accepted                  tested according to methods recognised by the Inter-
            practices for the maintenance of the variety and             national Society for Horticultural Science or other
            of health,                                                   internationally recognised scientific methods, found
                                                                         free from symptoms of any virus or virus-like
      (ii) which is intended for the production of propa-                pathogen by growing season inspection, has been
            gating stock,                                                maintained under conditions ensuring freedom from
     (iii) which satisfies the conditions for nuclear stock,             infection, and is considered to be free from all
            laid down in the schedule for the species                    viruses and virus-like pathogens known in the species
            concerned, established pursuant to Article 4,                concerned occurring in the Community. Material
            and                                                          descended vegetatively in direct line in a known
                                                                         number of stages from such material, found free
     (iv) which has been found by official examination to                from symptoms of any virus or virus-like pathogen
            satisfy the abovementioned conditions;                       by growing-season inspection, and produced and
                                                                         maintained under conditions ensuring freedom from
(d) propagating stock: propagating material,                             infection shall also be considered to be virus free;
       (i) which has been obtained directly from nuclear
            stock or is descended vegetatively in a known           (i) virus tested ('v.t.') material: material which has been
            number of stages from nuclear stock,                         tested according to methods recognised by the Inter-
                                                                         national Society for Horticultural Science or other
      (ii) which is intended for the production of propa-
                                                                         internationally recognised scientific methods, found
            gating stock or fruit plants,
                                                                        free from symptoms of any virus or virus-like
    (iii) which satisfies the conditions for propagating                 pathogen by growing-season inspection, has been
            stock, laid down in the schedule for the species             maintained under conditions ensuring freedom from
            concerned established pursuant to Article 4, and            infection, and considered to be free from certain
                                                                        serious viruses and virus-like pathogens known in the
    (iv) which has been found by official examination to                species concerned occurring in the Community and
            satisfy the abovementioned conditions;                      capable of reducing the usefulness of the material.
                                                                         Material descended vegetatively in direct line in a
(e) certified plants: fruit plants                                      known number of stages from such material, found
                                                                        free from symptoms of any virus or virus-like
       (i) which have been obtained directly from propa-
                                                                        pathogen by growing-season              inspection,   and
            gating stock,
                                                                        produced and maintained under conditions ensuring
       (ii) which satisfy the conditions for certified plants           freedom from infection, shall also be considered to
            laid down in the schedule for the species                   be virus tested.
            concerned, established pursuant to Article 4,
            and
                                                                                               Article 4
    (iii) which have been found by official examination
            to satisfy the abovementioned conditions;               In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
                                                                    20, a schedule shall be established for each species
(f) supplier: any natural or legal person who transfers             referred to in Article 1 (2), containing:
    ownership of propagating material or fruit plants,
     including producers and traders;                               (a) a list of the serious viruses and virus-like pathogens,
                                                                         known in the species concerned occurring in the
(g) measures are 'official' if taken                                     Community and capable of reducing the usefulness
       (i) by State authorities,                                         of the material, which are referred to in Article 3 (i)
                                                                         in relation to virus tested material;
      (ii) by any legal person whether governed by public           (b) a list of all other viruses and virus-like pathogens,
            or by private law, acting under the responsibility           known in the species concerned occurring in the
            of the State,                                                Community, which are referred to in Article 3 (h) in
                                                                         relation to virus free material;
    (iii) in the case of ancillary activities which are also        (c) a list of harmful organisms from which standard
            subject to State control, by any natural person              plants must be free, for as long as their marketing is
            duly authorised for that purpose,                            permitted pursuant to Article 7;
 ---pagebreak--- No C 54/8                                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                    6. 3. 90
(d) the conditions with which nuclear stock, propagating             (b) be free from the harmful organisms listed for
     stock, certified plants and classified plants must                   classified plants in the schedule to be established for
     comply, in particular those relating to harmful                      the species concerned pursuant to Article 4 and
     organisms other than those listed pursuant to in                     satisfy any other conditions laid down for classified
     points (a), (b) and (c), to the growing crop and to                  plants therein; and
     varietal identity and varietal purity.
                                                                      (c) have been found by official examination, including,
The schedule may contain conditions with which root-                      where appropriate, inspection during the growing
stocks of other species must comply if material of the                    season, to satisfy the abovementioned conditions.
species concerned is grafted onto them.
                                                                     2.     The dates referred to in paragraph 1 shall be no
                              Article 5                              longer than 10 years after the dates decided for the
1.     Suppliers of propagating material and fruit plants            relevant species pursuant to the second paragraph of
shall comply with the requirements laid down in                      Article 24.
Annex I.
2.     Member States shall ensure compliance with the                                           Article 8
requirements referred to in (1) by carrying out official              1.    The official examinations referred to in Articles 3
check inspections.                                                    (c) (iv), (d) (iv), and (e) (iii) shall include at least one
                                                                     field inspection each year, carried out during the
                              Article 6                              growing season.
1.     Propagating material shall not be placed on the
market                                                               2.     Rules for carrying out the official examinations
                                                                     referred to in paragraph 1 and in Article 7 (1) (c),
— unless it satisfies the relevant conditions laid down in           including sampling methods, may be established in
     the schedule for the species concerned established               accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21.
     pursuant to Article 4, and
— unless it has been officially certified as 'nuclear                                           Article 9
     stock', 'propagating stock v.f.' or 'propagating stock
     v.t.'.                                                          Member States may —
2.     Subject to Article 7, fruit plants shall not be placed         (a) dispense with official certification of propagating
on the market                                                             material or fruit plants and with official examination
                                                                          of classified plants of any species not normally
— unless they satisfy the relevant conditions laid down                   grown in their territory;
     in the schedule for the species concerned established
     pursuant to Article 4, and                                       (b) during a transitional period of not more than five
                                                                          years after the date of application for a particular
— unless they have been officially certified as 'certified
                                                                          species of Articles 5 to 12, 14 (2), 15, 17, 18 and 23,
     plants v.f.' or 'certified plants v.t.'.
                                                                          treat propagating material of that species which has
                                                                          been used, before that date, for establishing propa-
3.     Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to                              gating nurseries, as equivalent to propagating
                                                                          material certified in accordance with the provisions
(a) propagating material of an earlier stage of multipli-                 of this Regulation if, before being used, it afforded
      cation than nuclear stock;                                           the same assurances as propagating material certified
                                                                           in accordance with those provisions.
 (b) propagating material or fruit plants intended for tests
      or for scientific purposes;
 (c) propagating material or fruit plants intended for                                          Article 10
      selection work.                                                  1.    Propagating material and fruit plants shall not be
                                                                      certified in any of the categories referred to in Article 6
                              Article 7                               (1) (2), examined as classified plants, or marketed unless
                                                                      their variety is officially accepted in one or more
 1.     Notwithstanding Article 6 and for transitional                Member States. Member States shall notify the other
periods expiring on dates to be established in accordance             Member States and the Commission of the conditions of
with the procedure laid down in Article 20, fruit plants              acceptance and the acceptance procedures.
 may be placed on the market as 'classified plants'. Such
plants shall
                                                                      2.     Each Member State shall establish one or more
 (a) have sufficient varietal identity and varietal purity;           catalogues of the varieties officially accepted for certifi-
 ---pagebreak--- 6. 3. 90                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No C 54/9
cation, examination as 'classified plants' and marketing          2.     Member States shall ensure compliance with the
in its territory. Any person may consult the catalogues.          requirements referred to in paragraph 1 by carrying out
                                                                  official check inspections.
3.    Member States shall ensure that varieties coming
from other Member States are subject to the same                                             Article 12
requirements as regards official acceptance as domestic
varieties.                                                        1.     Propagating material and fruit plants shall be
                                                                  marketed only in sufficiently homogeneous lots and in
                                                                 packages or bundles sealed and marked as prescribed in
4.    When lodging an application for official acceptance        paragraphs 2 and 3. Fruit plants shall be marked indi-
of a variety, applicants shall indicate whether acceptance       vidually.
has already been applied for in another Member State,
which Member State was concerned, and whether the
                                                                 2.     Packages and bundles of propagating material and
application was granted.
                                                                 fruit plants shall be sealed officially or under official
                                                                 supervision so that where the package or bundle is
5.    Member States shall arrange for official publication       opened the seal is damaged and cannot be re-attached.
of the catalogue of varieties accepted in their territory.
They shall also compile a file on each variety accepted,         3.     The person responsible for sealing shall affix on the
containing a description of the variety and a clear              outside of the package or bundle of propagating material
summary of all the facts on which acceptance was based.          or on individual fruit plants a label attesting compliance
                                                                 with the condition laid down in Article 3 (c) (iv), (d)
                                                                 (iv), (e) (iii) or Article 7 (1) (c), as the case may be. The
6.    Any application or withdrawal of an application for
                                                                 label shall be in one of the official languages of the
acceptance of a variety, any entry in a catalogue of
                                                                 Community and shall satisfy the conditions laid down in
varieties and any amendment to an entry shall be notified
                                                                 Annex II. The label shall be attached at the same time as
forthwith to the other Member States and the
                                                                 the seal. The colour of the label shall be white for
Commission.
                                                                 nuclear stock, blue for propagating stock, orange for
                                                                 certified plants and brown for classified plants.
7.    The following may be established in accordance
with the procedure laid down in Article 21, account              4.     Member States shall ensure compliance with the
being taken of current scientific and technical                  requirements referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 by
knowledge:                                                       carrying out official check inspections before the propa-
                                                                 gating material or fruit plants are placed on the market.
(a) the conditions of official acceptance, which may
    include, in particular, distinctness, stability and          5.     Small quantities of propagating material or fruit
    sufficient uniformity and, where appropriate, a satis-       plants delivered to a final grower in the same local
    factory value for cultivation and use;                       administrative area as the supplier or in an adjoining
                                                                 local administrative area shall be exempt from the
(b) the characteristics to be covered as a minimum by            provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3.
    the examination of the various species;
                                                                                            Article 13
(c) the minimum requirements for carrying out the
    examinations;                                                Rules may be adopted in accordance with the procedure
                                                                 laid down in Article 20 concerning the marketing of
                                                                 propagating material and fruit plants subject to
(d) the maximum period of validity of the            official
                                                                 requirements less stringent than those of this Regulation,
     acceptance of a variety.
                                                                 in case of temporary difficulties in the supply of propa-
                                                                 gating material or fruit plants satisfying the said
8.    A common catalogue of varieties of fruit species           requirements.
may be established on the basis of the national cata-
logues of the Member States. Provisions regarding the
                                                                                             Article 14
compilation and publication of the common catalogue
may be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid              1.    Subject to Article 15, Member States shall not
down in Article 21.                                              impose on propagating material or fruit plants of any
                                                                 species any conditions or marketing restrictions
                                                                 additional to or more stringent than those existing on the
                         Article 11                              day of entry into force of this Regulation, other than
                                                                 those provided for herein.
1.    While growing and during lifting or removal from
the parent material, packaging, storage and trans-
portation, propagating material and fruit plants shall be        2.     Propagating material and fruit plants which comply
kept in separate lots.                                           with the requirements and conditions of this Regulation
 ---pagebreak---  N o C 54/10                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                     6. 3. 90
 and the rules adopted for its implementation shall be                                        Article 18
 subject to no marketing restrictions as regards supplier's
 obligations, variety, characteristics, plant health, growing       1.    If, during the official examinations referred to in
 medium, packaging, examination arrangements, marking               Article 3 or Article 7 (1) (c), the official control referred
 or sealing other than those laid down in this Regulation           to in Article 17 or the trials referred to in Article 19, it is
 or in the said rules.                                              repeatedly found that propagating material or fruit plants
                                                                    marketed by a particular supplier do not comply with the
                                                                    requirements and conditions of this Regulation, the
                                                                    Member State concerned shall ensure that for a specified
                          Article 15                                period the supplier is forbidden to market propagating
Member States may impose:                                           material or fruit plants.
— requirements additional to, or more stringent than,               2.    Any measures taken under paragraph 1 shall be
     those laid down in Annex I on suppliers established            withdrawn as soon as it has been established with
     in their own territory, and                                    adequate certainty that the propagating material or fruit
                                                                    plants intended for marketing by the supplier will, in
— conditions additional to, or more stringent than,                 future, comply with the said requirements and
     those laid down in the schedules established pursuant          conditions.
     to Article 4 on propagating material and fruit plants
     produced in their own territory.
                                                                                             Article 19
                                                                    1.    Trials, including tests, where appropriate, shall be
                          Article 16                               carried out in the Member States on samples to check
1.     In accordance with the procedure laid down in               the compliance of propagating material and fruit plants
Article 20 it shall be determined whether propagating              with the requirements and conditions of this Regulation,
material and fruit plants produced in a third country,             including those relating to piant health. The Commission
and affording the same assurance as regards supplier's             may organize inspections of the trials by representatives
obligations, variety, characteristics, plant health, growing       of the Member States and of the Commission.
medium, packaging, examination arrangements, marking
and sealing, are equivalent in these respects to propa-
gating material and fruit plants produced in the                   2.     Community trials, including tests, may also be
Community and complying with the requirements and                  carried out for the same purpose. The Commission may
conditions of this Regulation.                                     organize inspections of Community trials by represen-
                                                                   tatives of the Member States and of the Commission.
2.     Until a decision has been taken under paragraph 1,
Member States may take such decisions themselves,                  3.    The trials referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall,
subject always to the provisions of Directive 77/93/EEC.           during a first stage, be used to harmonize technical
This right shall expire on 1 January 1993.                         methods of examination of propagating material and
                                                                   fruit plants. As soon as this aim is achieved annual
                                                                   progress reports shall be made on the trials and sent
In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article              in confidence to the Member States and to the
20, this period may be extended for third countries if             Commission.
and for as long as the available information does not
permit a determination under paragraph 1.
                                                                   4.     The Commission shall ensure that, in appropriate
Propagating material and fruit plants imported by a                cases, arrangements for coordinating, carrying out and
Member State in accordance with a decision taken by                inspecting the trials referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2,
that Member State pursuant to the first sub-paragraph              and assessing their results, are made within the Joint
shall be subject to no marketing restrictions as regards           Standing Committee referred to in Article 20. If
the matters referred to in paragraph 1 in other Member             necessary, specific arrangements shall be adopted in
States.                                                            accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21.
                                                                   Propagating material and fruit plants produced in third
                                                                   countries may be included in the trials.
                          Article 17
Member States shall ensure that propagating material                                         Article 20
and fruit plants are officially controlled during
marketing, at least by check sampling, to verify                   Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to be
compliance with the requirements and conditions of this            followed, the Commission shall be assisted by the
Regulation. Official controls shall not be carried out at          Standing Committee on Seeds and Propagating Material
borders between Member States.                                     for Agriculture, Horticulure and Forestry, and the
 ---pagebreak--- 6. 3. 90                             Official Journal of the European Communities                              N o C 54/11
Standing Committee on Plant Health, both hereafter             The Commission shall take the utmost account of the
called 'the Joint Standing Committee', chaired by a            opinion delivered by the Joint Standing Committee. It
representative of the Commission.                              shall inform the Joint Standing Committee of the manner
                                                               in which its opinion has been taken into account.
The representative of the Commission shall submit to the
Joint Standing Committee a draft of the measures to be
taken. The Joint Standing Committee shall deliver its                                    Article 22
opinion on the draft within a time limit which the              1.    Amendments to the Schedules established pursuant
chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the          to Article 4 shall be adopted in accordance with the
matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority         procedure laid down in Article 20.
laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty in the case of
decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a          2.     Amendments to the Annexes and detailed, rules for
proposal from the Commission. The votes of the repre-          the application of the provisions of this Regulation shall
sentatives of the Member States within the Joint               be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down
Standing Committee shall be weighted in the manner set         in Article 21.
out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.
                                                                                         Article 23
The Commission shall adopt measures which shall apply
immediately. However, if these measures are not in              1.    Member States shall ensure, subject to Article 9 (a),
accordance with the opinion of the Joint Standing              that propagating material and fruit plants produced in
Committee, they shall be communicated by the                   their territory and intended to be placed on the market
Commission to the Council forthwith. In that event, the        are officially certified, or passed as classified plants, if
Commission may defer application of the measures               they comply with the relevant requirements of this Regu-
which it has decided for a period of not more than one         lation.
month from the date of such communication.
                                                               2.     If it is found upon official examination that propa-
The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a        gating material or fruit plants cannot, by reason of
different decision within the time limit referred to in the    non-compliance with a condition relating to plant health,
previous paragraph.                                            be officially certified or passed as classified plants, the
                                                               Member States concerned shall take appropriate official
                         Article 21                            measures to eliminate any consequent plant health risk.
Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to be                                   Article 24
followed, the Commission shall be assisted by the Joint
Standing Committee referred to in Article 20, acting as        This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its
committee of an advisory nature and chaired by a               publication in the Official Journal of the European
representative of the Commission.                               Communities.
The representative of the Commission shall submit to the       In respect of Articles 5 to 12, 14 (2), 15, 17, 18 and 23
Joint Standing Committee a draft of the measures to be         the date of application for each species referred to in
taken. The Joint Standing Committee shall deliver its          Article 1 (2) shall be decided in accordance with the
opinion on the draft, within a time limit which the            procedure laid down in Article 20 at the time of
chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the          adoption of the corresponding schedule pursuant to
matter, if necessary by taking a vote.                         Article 4. These dates shall not be later than 1 January
                                                                1993.
The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in
addition, each Member State shall have the right to ask        This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
to have its position recorded in the minutes.                  directly applicable in all Member States.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 54/12                              Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s              6. 3. 90
                                                                  ANNEX      I
                                 REQUIREMENTS T O BE COMPLIED W I T H BY SUPPLIERS
            1. Suppliers shall notify Member States of the date their activities will begin and of the date they end.
            2. Conditions on suppliers' premises shall be conducive to the proper production and conservation of
               propagating material and fruit plants.
            3. Suppliers shall permit the examinations referred to in Articles 3 and 7, including the taking of samples,
               and the inspections referred to in Articles 5 (2), 11 (2) and 12 (4).
            4. Suppliers shall keep records of propagating material and fruit plants showing:
               — for any acquisitions, the date, the amount, the reference numbers of the lots and name of the
                   supplier,
               — for propagating material, the species and variety, in the case of seed, and in other cases the variety
                   of the rootstock and/or interstock and/or scion, and the virus status, where appropriate,
               — for fruit plants, the variety, and the variety of any rootstock and interstock, and the virus status,
                   where appropriate,
               — for sales (except sales of small quantities delivered to a final grower in the same local administrative
                   area as the supplier or in an adjoining local administrative area) the date, the amount, the reference
                   number of the lots and the name of the purchaser.
            5. Suppliers shall keep a detailed plan of the premises on which propagating material or fruit plants are
               grown, showing the location of each species, and of each variety of that species, with its virus status,
               where appropriate.
            6. Suppliers shall keep records of:
               — specific treatments and methods of cultivation of propagating material and fruit plants,
               — all occurrences of the harmful organisms referred to in schedules for the species established pursuant
                   to Article 4, and all measures taken in consequence.
            7. The records referred to in point 5 shall always be available for inspection by Member States, those
               referred to in points 4 and 6 for at least two years.
                                                                  ANNEX      II
                                                                    LABEL
            A. Required information
                (a) Seeds
                      1. 'EEC rules and standards'
                      2. Certifying authority (official body and Member State or their initials)
                      3. Month and year of sealing
                      4. Label number
                      5. Reference number of lot
                      6. Species, indicated at least in Roman letters
                      7. Variety, indicated at least in Roman letters
                      8. Category
                      9. Declared net or gross weight or declared number of pure seeds
 ---pagebreak--- 6. 3. 90                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                      N o C 54/13
                10. Where weight is indicated and granulated pesticides, pelleting substances or other solid
                     additives are used, the nature of the additive and also the approximate ratio between the weight
                     of pure seeds and total weight
            (b) Propagating material, other than seeds, and fruit plants, other than classified plants
                  1. 'EEC rules and standards'
                  2. Certifying authority (official body and Member State or their initials)
                  3. Year of certification, indicated by a letter of the alphabet
                 4. Label number
                  5. Reference number of the lot
                 6. Species, indicated at least in Roman letters
                 7. In the case of rootstocks and scions: variety, indicated at least in Roman letters
                  8. In the case of fruit plants, variety, and variety of any rootstock and/or interstock, indicated at
                     least in Roman letters
                 9. Category
                10. Virus status ('v.t.' or 'v.f.'), where appropriate
                11. Number of plants or parts of plants
            (c) Classified plants
                1. 'EEC rules and standards'
                2. Examining authority (official body and Member State or their initials)
                3. Year of examination, indicated by a letter of the alphabet
                4. Label number
                5. Reference number of the lot
                6. Species, indicated at least in Roman letters
                7. Variety, and variety of any rootstock and/or interstock, indicated at least in Roman letters
                8. 'Classified plant'
                9. Number of plants
         B. Minimum dimensions of label
            30 mm x 170 mm