18. 12. 93 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 317/75 COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 15 December 1993 authorizing Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal to provide for derogations from Council Directive 77/93/EEC in respect of seed potatoes originating in Canada (Only the Greek, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese texts are authentic) (93/680/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 intro- duction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community (), as last amended by Directive 93/19/EEC (3, and in particular Article 14 (3) thereof, Having regard to the requests made by Greece, Italy and Portugal, Whereas, pursuant to the provisions of Directive 77/93/EEC, seed potato tubers originating in the American continent may not, in principle, be introduced into the Community ; Whereas, however, Directive 77/93/EEC permits deroga- tions from that rule, provided that it is established that there is no risk of spreading harmful organisms; Whereas in Greece, Italy and Portugal the planting and growing of seed potatoes of certain North American varie- ties for ware potato production has been'an established practice ; whereas part of the supply of seed potatoes of these varieties has been ensured by imports from Canada ; Whereas, by Decision 89/599/EEC (), as last amended by Decision 93/33/EEC (*), the Commission approved dero- gations based on the concept of ‘area freedom’, subject to () OJ No L 26, 31. 1. 1977, p. 20. () OJ No L 96, 22. 4. 1993, p. 33. () OJ No.L 344, 25. 11. 1989, p. 31. () OF No L 16, 25. 1. 1993, p. 35. certain technical conditions to prevent the risk of harmful organisms spreading ; whereas that approval expired on 31 March 1993 ; whereas the Commission also provided that those derogations would provide for the opportunity to seek confirmation of the proper functioning of the concept of ‘area freedom’; Whereas it is known that Canada is still not completely free from potato spindle tuber viroid or from Clavibacter michiganensis ssp. sepedonicus; Whereas Canada has further developed its programme to eradicate these harmful organisms in the provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island ; whereas there are good reasons to believe that the programme to eradi- cate potato spindle tuber viroid has become fully effective in those provinces, and that the programme to eradicate Clavibacter michiganensis ssp. sepedonicus has become fully effective in certain areas of these provinces ; whereas there have been no confirmed findings of the disease on samples drawn from seed potatoes introduced pursuant to Decision 89/599/EEC; whereas it has not been esta- blished that there are sufficient elements which would militate against the propoer functioning of the aforemen- tioned concept of ‘area freedom’ and therefore against the recognition of the provisions implemented there as equi- valent to the Community provisions on combating Clavi- bacter michiganensis ssp. sepedonicus; Whereas it can therefore be established that there is no risk of the harmful organisms in question spreading, provided that the seed potatoes originate in areas declared, on scientific evidence, free from both potato spindle tuber viroid and from Clavibacter michiganensis ssp. sepedo- nicus and that certain improved special technical condi- tions are complied with ;