THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Directive 2000/29/EC of 8 May 2000 on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community, and in particular the fourth sentence of Article 16(3) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Guignardia citricarpa Kiely (all strains pathogenic to Citrus), which following the approval of a new code for fungal nomenclature by the International Botanical Congress, has been referred to as Phyllosticta citricarpa (McAlpine) Van der Aa, hereinafter ‘Phyllosticta citricarpa’, is a harmful organism listed in point (c)(11) of Section I of Part A of Annex II to Directive 2000/29/EC. It is not known to occur in the Union. It is the causative agent of Citrus black spot disease and poses a significant threat to citrus cultivation in the Union.
(2)
Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/715 lays down measures in respect of fruits of Citrus L., Fortunella Swingle, Poncirus Raf., and their hybrids, other than fruits of Citrus aurantium L. and Citrus latifolia Tanaka (hereinafter: ‘the specified fruits’), originating in Brazil, South Africa or Uruguay, to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Union of Phyllosticta citricarpa.
(3)
Since the adoption of that Decision, interceptions of Phyllosticta citricarpa have recurrently been notified by Member States between May and October 2016, as a result of their import inspections of the specified fruits originating in Argentina.
(4)
The Commission has assessed those recurring interceptions and has concluded that the phytosanitary certification in Argentina did not sufficiently guarantee the absence of Phyllosticta citricarpa. Therefore, the phytosanitary safeguards currently in place in Argentina are insufficient to prevent the introduction of Phyllosticta citricarpa into the Union.
(5)
Consequently, the introduction into the Union of those fruits should be subject to certain requirements. Those requirements should be the same as the requirements for specified fruits originating in South Africa and Uruguay and should apply to specified fruits destined for other purposes than the industrial processing into juice, as well as to the specified fruits destined exclusively for industrial processing into juice.
(6)
Given that the interceptions of the specified fruits originating in Argentina have been on different species and varieties, no additional testing for latent infection is required, as it is set out in the case of specified fruits of Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck ‘Valencia’ originating in South Africa and Uruguay.
(7)
Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/715 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(8)
The measures set out in this Decision should apply from 5 June 2017 to allow the National Plant Protection Organisations, responsible official bodies and operators concerned sufficient time to adapt to the new requirements.
(9)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: