16. 11. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 316/4S COMMISSION DECISION of 5 November 1991 amending Commission Decision 89/599/EEC approving derogations provided for by Greece, Italy and Portugal from certain provisions of Council Directive 77/93/EEC in respect of seed potatoes originating in Canada (Only the Greek, Italian and Portuguese texts are authentic) (91/592/EEC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Having regard to Council Directive 77/93/EEC of 21 December 1976 on protective measures against the intro- duction into the Member States of organisms harmful to plants or plant products (), as last amended by Directive 91/27/EEC (3, and in particular Article 14 (2) and Annex IV, part A (24), thereof, Whereas, pursuant to Directive 77/93/EEC, potato tubers originating in the American continent may not, in prin- ciple, be brought into the Community unless their faculty of germination has been suppressed, in view of the risk of the introduction of potato spindle tuber viroid, and unless — if they originate in a country where Corynebacterium sepedonicum is known to occur — provisions recognized as equivalent to the Community provisions on combating this harmful organism have been complied with in the country of origin ; Whereas, nevertheless, Article 14 (1) (c) (iii) of the above- mentioned Directive permits Member States to provide for derogations with regard to the rule relating to the suppression of the faculty of germination, provided that there is no risk of harmful organisms spreading ; whereas these derogations are subject to approval, under certain conditions, in accordance with Article 14 @ and must also comply with the conditions laid down in Annex IV, part A (24); Whereas in Greece, Italy and Portugal the growing of potatoes of certain North American varieties has been an established practice ; whereas part of the supply of seed potatoes of these varieties has been ensured by imports from Canada; () OJ No L 26, 31. 1. 1977, p. 20. () OJ No L 16, 22. 1. 1991, p. 29. Whereas, by Decisions 86/120/EEC (), 87/154/EEC (*) as amended by Decision 87/311/EEC (), 88/176/EEC (¢) as amended by Decision 88/496/EEC ("), 83/32/EEC (*) and 89/599/EEC (°), the Commission approved derogations based on the concept of ‘areal freedom’, subject to certain technical conditions to prevent the risk of harmful orga- nisms spreading ; whereas that approval expired on 31 March 1989 ; whereas the Commission also provided that those derogations would provide for the opportunity to seek confirmation of the proper funcnomng of the concept of ‘areal freedom’; Whereas Greece, Italy and Portugal have stated that they intend to provide for derogations for the next seed-potato marketing season ; Whereas it is known that Canada is still not free from potato spindle tuber viroid or from Corynebacterium sepe- donicum ; 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 Corynebacterium sepedonicum has become fully effective in certain areas of these provinces; whereas there have been no findings of the disease on samples drawn from seed potatoes imported pursuant to Decision 89/599/EEC ; whereas, as a precaution, the areas in which the seed potatoes used for the production of the relevant lots were produced, and those in which the relevant lots themselves were produced, should no longer be qualified as areas declared free from Corynebacterium sepedo- nicum ; whereas it has not been established that there are sufficient elements which would militate against the proper functioning of the aforementioned concept of ‘areal freedom’ and therefore against the recognition of the provisions implemented there as equivalent to the Community provisions on combating Corynebacterium sepedonicum; ' () OJ No L 99, 15. 4. 1986, p. 31. () OJ No L 65, 10. 3. 1987, p. 12. % OJ No L 159, 19. 6. 1987, p. 19. () OJ No L 80, 25. 3. 1988, p. 48. () OJ No L 266, 27. 9. 1988, p. 39. () OJ No L 15, 19. 1. 1989, p. 21. () OJ No L 344, 25. 11. 1989, p. 31.