Commission Decision
of 28 January 2004
authorising Member States temporarily to provide for derogations from certain provisions of Council Directive 2000/29/EC in respect of plants of Vitis L., other than fruits, originating in Switzerland
(notified under document number C(2004) 122)
(2004/96/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
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 and against their spread within the Community(1), as last amended by Commission Directive 2003/116/EC(2), and in particular Article 15(1) thereof,
Having regard to the request made by France,
Whereas:
(1) Pursuant to Directive 2000/29/EC, plants of Vitis L., other than fruits, originating in third countries may not in principle be introduced into the Community.
(2) By Commission Decisions 97/159/EC(3), 1999/166/EC(4), 2000/189/EC(5), 2001/5/EC(6), 2001/836/EC(7) and 2003/69/EC(8), derogations from certain provisions of Directive 2000/29/EC in respect of plants of Vitis L., other than fruits, originating in Switzerland have been authorised for limited periods and subject to specific conditions.
(3) The circumstances justifying those derogations are still valid, and there is no new information giving cause for revision of the specific conditions.
(4) Member States should therefore be authorised to provide for derogations, for a limited period and subject to specific conditions, and without prejudice to Council Directive 68/193/EEC(9), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and any implementing measures made thereunder.
(5) That authorisation to provide for derogations should be terminated if it is established that the specific conditions laid down in this Decision are not sufficient to prevent the introduction of harmful organisms into the Community or have not been complied with.
(6) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plant Health,
Member States are hereby authorised to provide for derogations from Article 4(1) of Directive 2000/29/EC, with regard to the prohibitions referred to in point 15 of Part A of Annex III to that Directive for plants of Vitis L., other than fruits, originating in Switzerland (hereinafter referred to as "the plants").
The authorisation to provide for derogations, as provided for in paragraph 1 (hereinafter referred to as "the authorisation"), shall be subject, in addition to the requirements laid down in Annexes I and II to Directive 2000/29/EC, to the conditions provided for in the Annex, and shall only apply to plants that are introduced into the Community between 1 February and 30 March 2004.
Member States shall provide the Commission and the other Member States, before 30 November of the year of importation, with:
(a) the information on quantities of plants imported pursuant to this Decision; and
(b) a detailed technical report of the official inspections referred to in point 6 of the Annex.
Any Member State in which buds from the plants are grafted on to rootstocks and in which the grafted plants are planted after the import, shall also provide the Commission and the other Member States, before 30 November of the year of importation, with a detailed technical report of the official inspections referred to in the second indent of point 9 of the Annex.
Member States shall immediately notify the Commission and the other Member States of all consignments introduced into their territory pursuant to this Decision which were subsequently found not to comply with this Decision.
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.