Commission Decision of 5 July 2004 on the Community position on the amendment of the Appendices to Annex 6 to the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products (2004/660/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Decision 2002/309/EC, Euratom of the Council, and of the Commission as regards the Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation, of 4 April 2002 on the conclusion of seven Agreements with the Swiss Confederation(1), and in particular the second subparagraph of Article 5(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products, hereinafter called the «Agriculture Agreement» , entered into force on 1 June 2002 .

(2) Article 6 of the Agriculture Agreement sets up a Joint Committee for Agriculture responsible for administering the Agriculture Agreement and ensuring that it operates smoothly.

(3) Article 11 of the Agriculture Agreement provides that the Joint Committee for Agriculture may decide to amend Annexes 1 and 2 and the Appendices to the other Annexes to the Agreement.

(4) The Community position to be taken by the Commission in the Joint Committee for Agriculture regarding the amendments to the Appendices must be defined.

(5) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Standing Committee on Seeds and Propagating Material for Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The Community position to be adopted by the Commission in the Joint Committee for Agriculture set up by Article 6 of the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products shall be based on the draft Decision of the Joint Committee for Agriculture annexed to this Decision.

Article 2

In conformity with the rules of procedure of the Joint Committee for Agriculture, this draft Decision shall be signed on behalf of the European Community by:

Michael Scannell, acting as head of delegation for the matters of competence of the Directorate-General Health and Consumer Protection;

Hans-Christian Beaumond, acting as Secretary of the Joint Committee on Agriculture.

Article 3

The Decision of the Joint Committee for Agriculture shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union after adoption.

Done at Brussels, 5 July 2004 .

For the Commission

David Byrne

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 114, 30.4.2002, p. 1.

ANNEX

DECISION No 4/2004 OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE FOR AGRICULTURE SET UP UNDER THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND THE SWISS CONFEDERATION ON TRADE IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS of ... concerning the amendments to the Appendices to Annex 6 (.../.../...)

THE JOINT COMMITTEE FOR AGRICULTURE,

Having regard to the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products, and in particular Article 11 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The Agreement entered into force on 1 June 2002 .

(2) Annex 6 concerns seeds and propagating material of agricultural, vegetable, fruit and ornamental plant species and of vines. The said Annex 6 is supplemented by four appendices.

(3) Appendix 1, section 1, defines the legislation of both parties and recognises that the requirements laid down in those legislations have the same effects.

(4) Appendix 1, section 2, defines the legislation of both parties and mutually recognises the certificates drawn up in accordance with the legislation of the other by defined bodies.

(5) Appendix 2 lists the bodies responsible for conformity checks of seeds in the European Community as well as in Switzerland.

(6) Appendix 3 lists the derogations authorised by the European Community and by Switzerland.

(7) Appendix 4 lists the third countries recognised by both parties from which the seed may be imported. Furthermore it defines the species concerned and the scope of recognition.

(8) The above mentioned Appendices should be amended to take account of changes in legislation since the end of negotiations,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The Appendices to Annex 6 to the Agreement are hereby replaced by the appendices to this Decision.

Article 2

This Decision shall enter into force on 1 July 2004 .

Done at Brussels, 5 July 2004 .

For the European Community

Michael Scannell

For the Swiss Confederation

Christian Häberli

For the Secretariat of the Joint Committee on Agriculture

Hans-Christian Beaumond

APÉNDICE

APPENDIX 1

LEGISLATION

Section 1 (recognition of the conformity of legislation)

A. COMMUNITY PROVISIONS

1. Basic legislation

Council Directive 66/401/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of fodder plant seed (OJ 125, 11.7.1966, p. 2298/66), as last amended by Directive 2003/61/EC (OJ L 165, 3.7.2003, p. 23).

Council Directive 66/402/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of cereal seed (OJ 125, 11.7.1966, p. 2309/66), as last amended by Directive 2003/61/EC (OJ L 165, 3.7.2003, p. 23).

Council Directive 2002/53/EC of 13 June 2002 on the common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species (OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Official Journal L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 1).

Council Directive 2002/54/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of beet seed (OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p.12), as last amended by Directive 2003/61/EC (OJ L 165, 3.7.2003, p. 23).

Council Directive 2002/56/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of seed potatoes (OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 60), as last amended by Directive 2003/61/EC (OJ L 165, 3.7.2003, p. 23).

Council Directive 2002/57/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of seed of oil and fibre plants (OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 74), as last amended by Directive 2003/61/EC (OJ L 165, 3.7.2003, p. 23).

2. Implementing provisions

Commission Directive 74/268/EEC of 2 May 1974 laying down special conditions concerning the presence of 'Avena fatua' in fodder plant and cereal seed (OJ L 141, 24.5.1974, p. 19), as last amended by Directive 78/511/EEC (OJ L 157, 15.6.1978, p. 34).

Commission Directive 75/502/EEC of 25 July 1975 limiting the marketing of seed of smooth-stalk meadow grass (Poa pratensis L.) to seed which has been officially certified 'basic seed' or 'certified seed' (OJ L 228, 29.8.1975, p. 26)

Commission Decision 80/755/EEC of 17 July 1980 authorising the indelible printing of prescribed information on packages of cereal seed (OJ L 207, 9.8.1980, p. 37), as last amended by Decision 81/109/EEC (OJ L 64, 11.3.1981, p. 13).

Commission Decision 81/675/EEC of 28 July 1981 establishing that particular sealing systems are «non-reusable systems» within the meaning of Council Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 69/208/EEC and 70/458/EEC (OJ L 246, 29.8.1981, p. 26), as last amended by Decision 86/563/EEC (OJ L 327, 22.11.1986, p. 50).

Commission Directive 86/109/EEC of 27 February 1986 limiting the marketing of seed of certain species of fodder plants and oil and fibre plants to seed which has been officially certified as «basic seed» or «certified seed» (OJ L 93, 8.4.1986, p. 21), as last amended by Directive 91/376/EEC (OJ L 203, 26.7.1991, p. 108).

Commission Directive 93/17/EEC of 30 March 1993 determining Community grades of basic seed potatoes, together with the conditions and designations applicable to such grades (OJ L 106, 30.4.1993, p. 7).

Commission Decision 97/125/EC of 24 January 1997 authorising the indelible printing of prescribed information on packages of seed of oil and fibre plants and amending Decision 87/309/EEC authorising the indelible printing of prescribed information on packages of certain fodder plant species (OJ L 48, 19.2.1997, p. 35).

Council Decision 97/788/EC of 17 November 1997 on the equivalence of checks on practices for the maintenance of varieties carried out in third countries (OJ L 322, 25.11.1997, p. 39), as last amended by Commission Decision 2004/120/EC of 29 January 2004 (OJ L 36, 7.2.2004, p. 57).

Commission Decision 98/320/EC of 27 April 1998 on the organisation of a temporary experiment on seed sampling and seed testing pursuant to Council Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC and 69/208/EEC (OJ L 140, 12.5.1998, p. 14), as last amended by Decision 2002/280/EC (OJ L 99, 16.4.2002, p. 22).

Commission Regulation (EC) No 930/2000 of May 2004 establishing implementing rules as to the suitability of the denominations of varieties of agricultural plant species and vegetable species (OJ L 108, 5.5.2000, p. 3).

Council Decision 2003/17/EC of 16 December 2002 on the equivalence of field inspections carried out in third countries on seed-producing crops and on the equivalence of seed produced in third countries (OJ L 8, 14.1.2003, p. 10) as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 885/2004 (OJ L 168, 1.5.2004, p. 1).

Commission Directive 2003/90/EC of 6 October 2003 setting out implementing measures for the purposes of Article 7 of Council Directive 2002/53/EC as regards the characteristics to be covered as a minimum by the examination and the minimum conditions for examining certain varieties of agricultural plant species (OJ L 254, 8.10.2003, p. 7).

Decisión 2004/266/CE de la Comisión, de 17 de marzo de 2004 , por la que se autoriza la impresión indeleble de las indicaciones requeridas en los envases de semillas de plantas forrajeras (DO L 83 de 20.3.2004, p. 23).

B. SWISS PROVISIONS(1)

Federal Law of 29 April 1998 on agriculture, as last amended on 20 June 2003 (RO 2003 4217).

Ordinance of 7 December 1998 on the production and entry into free circulation of plant propagating material, as last amended on 26 November 2003 (RO 2003 4921).

DFE Ordinance of 7 December 1998 on seeds and seedlings of species of arable crops and fodder plants, as last amended on 8 March 2002 (RO 2002 1489).

OFAG Ordinance of 7 December 1998 on the catalogue of varieties of cereals, potatoes, fodder plants, oil and fibre plants and beet, as last amended on 15 May 2003 (RO 2003 1404).

Section 2 (mutual recognition of certificates)

A. COMMUNITY PROVISIONS

1. Basic legislation

-

2. SWISS PROVISIONS

-

B. SWISS PROVISIONS

-

C. CERTIFICATES REQUIRED FOR IMPORTS

-

(1) Local varieties authorised for marketing in Switzerland are not covered.

APPENDIX 2

SEED INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION BODIES(1)

A. EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

BELGIUM

1. Ministerie van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap

Administratie Kwaliteit Landbouwproductie (AKL)

Dienst Normering en Controle Plantaardige Productie (NCPP)

WTC III - 12de verd.

Simon Bolivarlaan, 30

B-1000 Brussels

2. Ministère de la Région Wallonne

Direction Générale de l'Agriculture

Division de la Recherche, du Développement et de la qualité

Direction de la Qualité des Produits

Bloc B

Rue des Moulins de Meuse 4

B-5000 Beez

CZECH REPUBLIC

Úst>ISO_2>ø>ISO_1>ední kontrolní a zku¹ební ústav zem>ISO_2>ì>ISO_1>d>ISO_2>ì>ISO_1>lský (Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture)

Odbor osiv a sadby (Division of Seed Materials and Planting Stock)

Za Opravnou 4

CZ-150 06 Praha 5 - Motol

DENMARK

Ministeriet for Fødevarer, Landbrug og Fiskeri

Plantedirektoratet

Skovbrynet 20

DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby

GERMANY

>TABLE>

ESTONIA

Taimetoodangu Inspektsioon (Estonian Plant Production Inspectorate (PPI))

Vabaduse plats 4

EE-71020 Viljandi

1. Seed Certification Department (seeds other than potato)

2. Plant Health Department (only potato)

GREECE

Ministry of Rural Development and Food

Directorate General of Plant Production

Directorate of Inputs of Crop Production

2 Acharnon Street

GR-101 76 Athens

SPAIN

Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación

Oficina española de variedades vegetales Madrid

Generalitat de Catalunya

Dirección General de la Producción Agraria Barcelona

Comunidad Autónoma de País Vasco

Dirección de Agricultura Vitoria-Álava

Junta de Galicia

Dirección General de Producción Agropecuaria Santiago de Compostela

Gobierno de Cantabria

Dirección General de Agricultura Santander

Principado de Asturias

Dirección General de Agroalimentación Oviedo

Junta de Andalucía

Dirección General de la Producción Agraria Sevilla

Comunidad Autónoma de Murcia

Dirección General de Agricultura e Industrias Agrarias Murcia

Diputacion General de Aragón

Dirección General de Tecnología Agraria Zaragoza

Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha

Dirección General de la Producción Agraria Toledo

Generalitat Valenciana

Dirección General de Innovación Agraria y Ganadería Valencia

Gobierno de La Rioja

Dirección General de Desarrollo Rural Logroño

Junta de Extremadura

Dirección General de Producción, Investigación y Formación Agraria Mérida

Gobierno de Canarias

Dirección General de Desarrollo Agrícola Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Junta de Castilla y León

Dirección General de Producción Agropecuaria Valladolid

Gobierno Balear

Dirección General de Agricultura Palma de Mallorca

Comunidad de Madrid

Dirección General de Agricultura Madrid

Comunidad Foral de Navarra

Dirección General de Agricultura y Ganadería Pamplona

FRANCE

Ministère de l'Agriculture, de l'Alimentation, de la Pêche et des Affaires Rurales

Service Officiel de Contrôle et de Certification (SOC)

Paris

IRELAND

The Department of Agriculture and Food

Agriculture House

Kildare Street

Dublin 2

ITALY

Ente Nazionale Sementi Elette (ENSE)

Milan

CYPRUS

Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment

Department of Agriculture

1412, Nicosia

LATVIA

Valsts Augu Aizsardz>ISO_4>ï>ISO_1>bas dienests (State Plant Protection Service)

Republikas lauk. 2

LV-1981 R>ISO_4>ï>ISO_1>ga

LITHUANIA

Valstybin>ISO_4>ì>ISO_1> s>ISO_4>ì>ISO_1>kl>ISO_4>ù>ISO_1> ir gr>ISO_4>þ>ISO_1>d>ISO_4>ù>ISO_1> tarnyba prie ®em>ISO_4>ì>ISO_1>s >ISO_4>þ>ISO_1>kio ministerijos (State Seed and Grain Service under the Ministry of Agriculture)

V. Kudirkos 18

LT-2600 Vilnius

LUXEMBOURG

L'Administration des Services Techniques de l'Agriculture (ASTA)

Service de la Production Végétale

L-1470 Luxembourg

HUNGARY

Országos Mez>ISO_2>õ>ISO_1>gazdasági Min>ISO_2>õ>ISO_1>sít>ISO_2>õ>ISO_1> Intézet (National Institute for Agricultural Quality Control)

Keleti Károly u. 24.

Pf. 30, 93

H-1525 Budapest 114.

MALTA

Agricultural Services Laboratories,

Agricultural Services & Rural Development Division,

Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment

Ghammieri

Marsa

NETHERLANDS

Nederlandse Algemene Keuringsdienst voor zaaizaad en pootgoed van landbouwgewassen (NAK)

Emmeloord

AUSTRIA

Bundesamt für Ernährungssicherheit

Spargelfeldstrasse 191, PO Box 400

A-1226 Vienna

POLAND

Pa>ISO_2>ñ>ISO_1>stwowa Inspekcja Ochrony Ro>ISO_2>¶>ISO_1>lin i Nasiennictwa (State Plant Health and Seed Inspection Service)

Ul. Wspólna 30

PL-00-930 Warszawa

PORTUGAL

Ministério da Agricultura, Desenvolvimento Rural e Pescas

Direcçãon Geral de Protecção das Culturas

Edificio I

Tapada da Ajuda

P-1349-018 Lisboa

SLOVENIA

Kmetijski in¹titut Slovenije (Agricultural institute of Slovenia)

Hacquetova 17

SI-1000 Ljubljana

SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Ústredný kontrolný a skú¹obný ústav po>ISO_2>µ>ISO_1>nohospodársky (Central Controlling and Testing Institute in Agriculture)

Odbor osív a sadív (Department of Seeds and Planting Material)

Matú¹kova 21

SL-833 16 Bratislava

FINLAND

Kasvintuotannon tarkastuskeskus (KTTK)/Kontrollcentralen för växtproduktion

Siementarkastusosasto/Frökontrollavdelningen

BO Box 111

FI-32201 Loimaa

SWEDEN

(a) Seeds other than seed potatoes

Statens utsädeskontroll (SUK) (Swedish Seed Testing and Certification Institute)

Svalöv

Frökontrollen Mellansverige AB

Örebro

(b) Seed potatoes

Statens utsädeskontroll (SUK) (Swedish Seed Testing and Certification Institute)

Svalöv

UNITED KINGDOM

England and Wales

(a) Seeds other than seed potatoes

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Plant Varieties and Seeds Division

Cambridge

(b) Seed potatoes

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Plant Health Division

York

Scotland

Scottish Executive

Environment and Rural Affairs Department

Edinburgh

Northern Ireland

Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

Environmental Policy

Belfast

B. SWITZERLAND

Office fédéral de l'agriculture

Service des semences et plants

CH-3003 Berne

Tel. (41-31) 322 25 50

Fax (41-31) 322 26 34

(1) Seeds of the species covered by the legislation under Appendix 1, section 1.

APPENDIX 3

DEROGATIONS

Community derogations allowed by Switzerland

(a) dispensing certain Member States from the obligation to apply Council Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC and 2002/57/EC on the marketing of fodder plant, cereal and oil and fibre plant seed to certain species:

Commission Decision 69/270/EEC (OJ L 220, 1.9.1969, p. 8)

Commission Decision 69/271/EEC (OJ L 220, 1.9.1969, p. 9)

Commission Decision 69/272/EEC (OJ L 220, 1.9.1969, p. 10)

Commission Decision 70/47/EEC (OJ L 13, 19.1.1970, p. 26), as last amended by Decision 80/301/EEC (OJ L 68, 14.3.1980, p. 30)

Commission Decision 70/48/EEC (OJ L 13, 19.1.1970, p. 27)

Commission Decision 70/49/EEC (OJ L 13, 19.1.1970, p. 28)

Commission Decision 70/93/EEC (OJ L 25, 2.2.1970, p. 16)

Commission Decision 70/94/EEC (OJ L 25, 2.2.1970, p. 17)

Commission Decision 70/481/CEE (OJ L 237, 28.10.1970, p. 29)

Commission Decision 73/123/EEC (OJ L 145, 2.6.1973, p. 43)

Commission Decision 74/5/EEC (OJ L 12, 15.1.1974, p. 13)

Commission Decision 74/360/EEC (OJ L 196, 19.7.1974, p. 18), as last amended by Decision 2003/234/EC (OJ L 86, 3.4.2003, p. 48)

Commission Decision 74/361/EEC (OJ L 196, 19.7.1974, p. 19)

Commission Decision 74/362/EEC (OJ L 196, 19.7.1974, p. 20)

Commission Decision 74/491/EEC (OJ L 267, 3.10.1974, p. 18)

Commission Decision 74/532/EEC (OJ L 299, 7.11.1974, p. 14)

Commission Decision 80/301/EEC (OJ L 68, 14.3.1980, p. 30)

Commission Decision 80/512/EEC (OJ L 126, 21.5.1980, p. 15)

Commission Decision 86/153/EEC (OJ L 115, 3.5.1986, p. 26)

Commission Decision 89/101/EEC (OJ L 38, 10.2.1989, p. 37);

(b) authorising certain Member States to restrict the marketing of seed of certain varieties (cf. Common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species, 22nd complete edition, column 4 (OJ C 91A, 16.4.2003, p. 1);

(c) authorising certain Member States to adopt more stringent provisions concerning the presence of Avena fatua in cereal seed:

Commission Decision 74/269/EEC (OJ L 141, 24.5.1974, p. 20), as amended by Decision 78/512/EEC (OJ L 157, 15.6.1978, p. 35)

Commission Decision 74/531/EEC (OJ L 299, 7.11.1974, p. 13)

Commission Decision 95/75/EC (OJ L 60, 18.3.1995, p. 30)

Commission Decision 96/334/EC (OJ L 127, 25.5.1996, p. 39);

(d) authorising, in respect of the marketing of seed potatoes in all or part of the territory of certain Member States, more stringent measures against certain diseases than are provided for in Annexes I and II to Council Directive 2002/56/EC:

Commission Decision 2004/3/EC (OJ L 2, 6.1.2004, p. 47);

(e) authorisation to assess the satisfaction of the varietal purity standards for seed of apomictic uniclonal varieties of Poa pratensis also on the basis of the results of seed and seedling testing

Commission Decision 85/370/EEC (OJ L 209, 6.8.1985, p. 41).

APPENDIX 4

LIST OF THIRD COUNTRIES(1)

Argentina

Australia

Bulgaria

Canada

Chile

Croatia

Israel

Morocco

New Zealand

Romania

Serbia and Montenegro

South Africa

Turkey

United States of America

Uruguay

(1) Recognition is based on Council Decision 2003/17/EC (OJ L 8, 14.1.2003, p. 10), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 885/2004 (OJ L 168, 1.5.2004, p. 1) for field inspections of seed-producing crops and seeds produced, and on Council Decision 97/788/EC (OJ L 322, 25.11.1998, p. 39), as last amended by Commission Decision 2004/120/EC of 29 January 2004 (OJ L 36, 7.2.2004, p. 57) for checks on practices for the maintenance of varieties. The Agreement on the European Economic Area applies in the case of Norway.