L 77/20 Official Journal of the European Communities 28.3.2000 COMMISSION DECISION of 15 March 2000 authorising Member States temporarily to provide for derogations from certain provisions of Council Directive 77[/93/EEC in respect of potatoes, other than potatoes intended for planting, originating in Cuba (notified under document number C(2000) 692) (2000/246/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Directive 77/93/EEC of 21 December 1976 on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community ('), as last amended by Directive 1999/53/EC (3), and in particular Article 14(1) thereof, Having regard to the requests made by the Netherlands Whereas: (1) Under the provisions of Directive 77/93/EEC, potato tubers other than those officially certified as seed pota- toes pursuant to other Community provisions, origin- ating in Cuba may in principle not be introduced into the Community because of the risk of introducing exotic potato harmful organisms which would present a plant health risk to the Community. (2)  The early growing in Cuba of potatoes, other than pota- toes intended for planting, from seed potatoes supplied by Member States has become an established practice. Part of the early supply of potatoes in the Community has been ensured by imports of such material from Cuba. (3) By Decisions 87/306/EEC (), 88/223/EEC (), 89| 152/EEC (%), 91/593/EEC (%), 93/36/EEC (), 95/96/EC () and 96/157/EC (°), the Commission authorised deroga- tions under special technical conditions in respect of potatoes for human consumption originating in Cuba, in the 1987-1996 seasons, and by Decision 97/186/EC (') and 1999/222[EC (') in respect of potatoes other than potatoes intended for planting originating in Cuba in the 1997-1999 season. (4)  There have never been confirmed findings of harmful organisms on samples drawn from imports pursuant to the said Decisions. 26, 31.1.1977, p. 20. 142, 5.6.1999, p. 29. 153, 13.6.1987, p. 41. 100, 19.4.1988, p. 44. 59, 2.3.1989, p. 29. 316, 16.11.1991, p. 47. 16, 25.1.1993, p. 40. 75, 4.4.1995, p. 22. 36, 14.2.1996, p. 38. L 77, 19.3.1997, p. 32. L 82, 26.3.1999, p. 47. ST a7 =3 PN/ NN/ N [salienll enll enll el il 0 0 ) 00000000000 e R R N T R o s llltlollueselo N —~—— (5)  Information supplied by Cuba and collected in that country during a mission carried out in July 1999 by the Food and Veterinary Office, has shown that the pota- toes, other than potatoes intended for planting, produced in the province Pinar del Rio fulfilled the provisions established in Decision 1999/222/EC. (6)  The circumstances justifying the authorisation still obtain. (7  The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plant Health, HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: Article 1 1. The Member States are hereby authorised to provide, under the conditions laid down in paragraph 2, for exceptions to Article 4(1) with regard to the prohibitions referred to in Part A, point 12 of Annex III to Directive 77/93/EEC, for potatoes other than potatoes intended for planting, originating in Cuba. 2. In addition to the requirements laid down in Annexes I, II and IV to Directive 77/93/EEC in relation to potatoes, the following specific conditions shall be satisfied: (a) the potatoes shall be other than potatoes intended for planting; (b) they shall either be immature potatoes, i.e. unsuberised potatoes with loose skin, or they shall have been treated for the suppression of their faculty of germination; (c) they shall have been grown in the province Pinar del Rio’ in areas where Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. is known not to occur; (d) they shall belong to varieties the seed potatoes of which were imported into Cuba only from Member States or from any other country for which the entry into the Community of potatoes intended for planting is not prohibited pursuant to Annex III of Directive 77/93/EEC;