The tubers of Solanum tuberosum L. to be imported into the Union shall have been submitted in Egypt to an intensive control regime ensuring the absence of Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. The intensive control regime shall cover the growing conditions, field inspections, transport, packing, pre-export inspections and testing.

1. (a)

   prepared in lots, each of which shall be made up exclusively of tubers of Solanum tuberosum L. which were harvested in one single area as specified in point 1;

2. (b)

   clearly labelled on each bag which is sealed, under the control of the competent Egyptian authorities, with an indelible indication of the relevant individual official code number given in the list of pest-free areas referred to in Article 1, and of the relevant lot number;

3. (c)

   accompanied by the official phytosanitary certificate required under Article 13(1)(ii) of Directive 2000/29/EC indicating the lot number(s) under the section ‘Distinguishing marks’ of the certificate, and the official individual code number(s), referred to in point 2.2(b), under the section ‘Additional declaration’ of the certificate;

4. (d)

   exported by an officially registered exporter, the name or trademark of which shall be indicated on each consignment.

The Member States shall have notified to the Commission the points of entry authorised for the import of tubers of Solanum tuberosum L. originating in Egypt and the name and address of the responsible official body in charge of each point. The Commission shall inform the other Member States and Egypt thereof.

The responsible official body in charge of the point of entry shall have been notified in advance of the likely time of arrival of consignments of tubers of Solanum tuberosum L. originating in Egypt, as well as of the amount thereof.

At the point of entry the tubers of Solanum tuberosum L. shall be subjected to the inspections required by Article 13a(1) of Directive 2000/29/EC and such inspections shall be carried out on cut tubers of samples of at least 200 tubers each, samples being taken from each lot in a consignment, or if the lot exceeds 25 tonnes, from every 25 tonnes or part thereof in such a lot.

Each lot of the consignment shall remain under official control and may not be marketed or used until it has been established that the presence of Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. was not suspected or detected during those inspections. In addition, in cases where typical or suspect symptoms of Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. are detected in a lot, all remaining lots in the consignment and lots in other consignments which originate in the same area shall be held under official control until the presence of Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. has been confirmed or refuted in the lot concerned.

If typical or suspect symptoms of Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. are detected during the inspections, the confirmation or refutation of Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. shall be determined by testing in accordance with the test scheme laid down in Directive 98/57/EC. If the presence of Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. is confirmed, the lot from which the sample has been taken shall be subjected to either refusal or permission to send products to a destination outside the Union, or to destruction, and all remaining lots in the consignment from the same area shall be tested in accordance with point 5.

In addition to the inspections referred to in point 4, testing for latent infection shall be carried out on samples taken from each area as specified in point 1 in accordance with the test scheme laid down in Directive 98/57/EC. During the import season at least one sample from each sector or basin per area as specified in point 1 shall be taken at a rate of 200 tubers per sample from a single lot. The sample selected for latent infection shall also be subjected to an inspection of the cut tubers. For each sample tested and confirmed positive there shall be retention and appropriate conservation of any remaining potato extract.

Each lot from which the samples have been taken shall remain under official control and may not be marketed or used until it has been established that the presence of Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. was not confirmed during the testing. If the presence of Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. is confirmed, the lot from which the sample has been taken shall be subjected to either refusal or permission to send products to a destination outside the Union, or to destruction.