THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1,

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament2,

Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee3,

Whereas the harmful organism Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. was previously known as Pseudomonas solanacearum (Smith) Smith; whereas Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. is likely to become the generally accepted name for the organism; whereas the present Directive should take account of this scientific development;

Whereas potato and tomato production occupies an important place in Community agriculture; whereas the potato and tomato yield is constantly threatened by harmful organisms;

Whereas, through the protection of potato and tomato cultivation against such harmful organisms, not only should productive capacity be maintained but agricultural productivity should also be increased;

Whereas protective measures to prevent the introduction of harmful organisms into the territory of a Member State would have only a limited effect if such organisms were not controlled simultaneously and methodically throughout the Community and were not prevented from spreading;

Whereas one of the harmful organisms on potatoes and tomatoes is Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al., the pathogenic agent of the potato brown rot disease and of bacterial wilt in potatoes and tomatoes; whereas disease outbreaks caused by this pathogen have occurred in some parts of the Community and some limited sources of infection still exist;

Whereas there is a considerable risk to potato and tomato cultivation throughout the Community if effective measures are not taken, with respect to these crops, to locate this organism and determine its distribution, to prevent it from occurring and spreading, and, if found, to prevent its spread and to control it with the aim of eradication;

Whereas, in order to ensure this, certain measures must be taken within the Community; whereas Member States must, in addition, be able to take additional or stricter measures where necessary, provided that there is no hindrance to the movement of potatoes or tomatoes within the Community, except insofar as laid down in 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 Community4; whereas such measures must be notified to the other Member States and to the Commission;

Whereas the measures have to take into account that systematic official surveys are necessary to locate the pathogen; whereas such surveys should include inspection procedures and, where appropriate, given that under certain environmental circumstances the disease can remain latent and unobserved both in the growing crop of potatoes and in stored potato tubers, should include sampling and testing procedures; whereas spread of the pathogen within the growing crop is not the most important factor, but whereas the pathogen can spread by surface water and certain associated wild solanaceous plants, and therefore the irrigation of potato and tomato crops using contaminated water appears to pose a risk for infection of such crops; whereas also the pathogen can exist through the winter in self-sown (volunteer) potato and tomato plants and these may be a source of infection being carried from one season to the next; whereas the pathogen is spread also by the contamination of potatoes through contact with infected potatoes and through contact with planting, harvesting and handling equipment or transport and storage containers which have become contaminated with the organism by previous contact with infected potatoes;

Whereas spread of the pathogen can be reduced or prevented by decontamination of such objects; wheras any such contamination of seed potatoes poses a major risk for the spread of the pathogen; similarly the latent infection of seed potatoes poses a major risk for the spread of the pathogen and this can be prevented by the use of seed potatoes produced in an officially approved programme whereby seed potatoes have been tested and found free from infection;

Whereas the current knowledge of the biology and epidemiology of Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. under European conditions is incomplete and it is anticipated that a review of the measures proposed will be necessary within several seasons; similarly improvements to the test procedure are anticipated in the light of further research especially on the sensitivity and specificity of test methods in order to select and standardise the optimum test methods available;

Whereas, for the determination of the details of such general measures, as well as for those stricter or additional measures taken by Member States to prevent the introduction of the pathogen into their territory, it is desirable for Member States to cooperate closely with the Commission within the Standing Committee of Plant Health (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Committee’),

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: