Commission Decision of 5 July 2004 on the Community position on the amendment of the Appendices to Annex 6 to the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products (2004/660/EC)

ANNEXU.K.

DECISION No 4/2004 OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE FOR AGRICULTURE SET UP UNDER THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND THE SWISS CONFEDERATION ON TRADE IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTSU.K.of …U.K.concerning the amendments to the Appendices to Annex 6U.K.(…/…/…)U.K.

THE JOINT COMMITTEE FOR AGRICULTURE,U.K.

Having regard to the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products, and in particular Article 11 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)The Agreement entered into force on 1 June 2002.U.K.

(2)Annex 6 concerns seeds and propagating material of agricultural, vegetable, fruit and ornamental plant species and of vines. The said Annex 6 is supplemented by four appendices.U.K.

(3)Appendix 1, section 1, defines the legislation of both parties and recognises that the requirements laid down in those legislations have the same effects.U.K.

(4)Appendix 1, section 2, defines the legislation of both parties and mutually recognises the certificates drawn up in accordance with the legislation of the other by defined bodies.U.K.

(5)Appendix 2 lists the bodies responsible for conformity checks of seeds in the European Community as well as in Switzerland.U.K.

(6)Appendix 3 lists the derogations authorised by the European Community and by Switzerland.U.K.

(7)Appendix 4 lists the third countries recognised by both parties from which the seed may be imported. Furthermore it defines the species concerned and the scope of recognition.U.K.

(8)The above mentioned Appendices should be amended to take account of changes in legislation since the end of negotiations,U.K.

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1U.K.

The Appendices to Annex 6 to the Agreement are hereby replaced by the appendices to this Decision.

Article 2U.K.

This Decision shall enter into force on 1 July 2004.

Done at Brussels, 5 July 2004.U.K.

For the European Community U.K.

Michael Scannell

For the Swiss Confederation U.K.

Christian Häberli

For the Secretariat of the Joint Committee on Agriculture U.K.

Hans-Christian Beaumond

APÉNDICE

‘APPENDIX 1LEGISLATION

Section 1 (recognition of the conformity of legislation)U.K.

A.COMMUNITY PROVISIONS

1.Basic legislation

Council Directive 66/401/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of fodder plant seed (OJ 125, 11.7.1966, p. 2298/66), as last amended by Directive 2003/61/EC (OJ L 165, 3.7.2003, p. 23).

Council Directive 66/402/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of cereal seed (OJ 125, 11.7.1966, p. 2309/66), as last amended by Directive 2003/61/EC (OJ L 165, 3.7.2003, p. 23).

Council Directive 2002/53/EC of 13 June 2002 on the common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species (OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Official Journal L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 1).

Council Directive 2002/54/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of beet seed (OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p.12), as last amended by Directive 2003/61/EC (OJ L 165, 3.7.2003, p. 23).

Council Directive 2002/56/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of seed potatoes (OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 60), as last amended by Directive 2003/61/EC (OJ L 165, 3.7.2003, p. 23).

Council Directive 2002/57/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of seed of oil and fibre plants (OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 74), as last amended by Directive 2003/61/EC (OJ L 165, 3.7.2003, p. 23).

2.Implementing provisions

Commission Directive 74/268/EEC of 2 May 1974 laying down special conditions concerning the presence of ’Avena fatua’ in fodder plant and cereal seed (OJ L 141, 24.5.1974, p. 19), as last amended by Directive 78/511/EEC (OJ L 157, 15.6.1978, p. 34).

Commission Directive 75/502/EEC of 25 July 1975 limiting the marketing of seed of smooth-stalk meadow grass (Poa pratensis L.) to seed which has been officially certified ‘basic seed’ or ‘certified seed’ (OJ L 228, 29.8.1975, p. 26)

Commission Decision 80/755/EEC of 17 July 1980 authorising the indelible printing of prescribed information on packages of cereal seed (OJ L 207, 9.8.1980, p. 37), as last amended by Decision 81/109/EEC (OJ L 64, 11.3.1981, p. 13).

Commission Decision 81/675/EEC of 28 July 1981 establishing that particular sealing systems are ‘non-reusable systems’ within the meaning of Council Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 69/208/EEC and 70/458/EEC (OJ L 246, 29.8.1981, p. 26), as last amended by Decision 86/563/EEC (OJ L 327, 22.11.1986, p. 50).

Commission Directive 86/109/EEC of 27 February 1986 limiting the marketing of seed of certain species of fodder plants and oil and fibre plants to seed which has been officially certified as ‘basic seed’ or ‘certified seed’ (OJ L 93, 8.4.1986, p. 21), as last amended by Directive 91/376/EEC (OJ L 203, 26.7.1991, p. 108).

Commission Directive 93/17/EEC of 30 March 1993 determining Community grades of basic seed potatoes, together with the conditions and designations applicable to such grades (OJ L 106, 30.4.1993, p. 7).

Commission Decision 97/125/EC of 24 January 1997 authorising the indelible printing of prescribed information on packages of seed of oil and fibre plants and amending Decision 87/309/EEC authorising the indelible printing of prescribed information on packages of certain fodder plant species (OJ L 48, 19.2.1997, p. 35).

Council Decision 97/788/EC of 17 November 1997 on the equivalence of checks on practices for the maintenance of varieties carried out in third countries (OJ L 322, 25.11.1997, p. 39), as last amended by Commission Decision 2004/120/EC of 29 January 2004 (OJ L 36, 7.2.2004, p. 57).

Commission Decision 98/320/EC of 27 April 1998 on the organisation of a temporary experiment on seed sampling and seed testing pursuant to Council Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC and 69/208/EEC (OJ L 140, 12.5.1998, p. 14), as last amended by Decision 2002/280/EC (OJ L 99, 16.4.2002, p. 22).

Commission Regulation (EC) No 930/2000 of May 2004 establishing implementing rules as to the suitability of the denominations of varieties of agricultural plant species and vegetable species (OJ L 108, 5.5.2000, p. 3).

Council Decision 2003/17/EC of 16 December 2002 on the equivalence of field inspections carried out in third countries on seed-producing crops and on the equivalence of seed produced in third countries (OJ L 8, 14.1.2003, p. 10) as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 885/2004 (OJ L 168, 1.5.2004, p. 1).

Commission Directive 2003/90/EC of 6 October 2003 setting out implementing measures for the purposes of Article 7 of Council Directive 2002/53/EC as regards the characteristics to be covered as a minimum by the examination and the minimum conditions for examining certain varieties of agricultural plant species (OJ L 254, 8.10.2003, p. 7).

Decisión 2004/266/CE de la Comisión, de 17 de marzo de 2004, por la que se autoriza la impresión indeleble de las indicaciones requeridas en los envases de semillas de plantas forrajeras (DO L 83 de 20.3.2004, p. 23).

B.SWISS PROVISIONS(1)

Federal Law of 29 April 1998 on agriculture, as last amended on 20 June 2003 (RO 2003 4217).

Ordinance of 7 December 1998 on the production and entry into free circulation of plant propagating material, as last amended on 26 November 2003 (RO 2003 4921).

DFE Ordinance of 7 December 1998 on seeds and seedlings of species of arable crops and fodder plants, as last amended on 8 March 2002 (RO 2002 1489).

OFAG Ordinance of 7 December 1998 on the catalogue of varieties of cereals, potatoes, fodder plants, oil and fibre plants and beet, as last amended on 15 May 2003 (RO 2003 1404).

Section 2 (mutual recognition of certificates)U.K.

A.COMMUNITY PROVISIONS

1.Basic legislation

—

2.SWISS PROVISIONS

—

B.SWISS PROVISIONS

—

C.CERTIFICATES REQUIRED FOR IMPORTS

—

APPENDIX 2SEED INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION BODIES(2)

A.EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

BELGIUM

CZECH REPUBLIC

DENMARK

GERMANY

ESTONIA

GREECE

SPAIN

FRANCE

IRELAND

ITALY

CYPRUS

LATVIA

LITHUANIA

LUXEMBOURG

HUNGARY

MALTA

NETHERLANDS

AUSTRIA

POLAND

PORTUGAL

SLOVENIA

SLOVAK REPUBLIC

FINLAND

SWEDEN

UNITED KINGDOM

• England and Wales

  (a)

  Seeds other than seed potatoes

  Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

  Plant Varieties and Seeds Division

  Cambridge

  (b)

  Seed potatoes

  Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

  Plant Health Division

  York

• Scotland

  Scottish Executive

  Environment and Rural Affairs Department

  Edinburgh

• Northern Ireland

  Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

  Environmental Policy

  Belfast

B.SWITZERLAND

APPENDIX 3

DEROGATIONSCommunity derogations allowed by Switzerland

(a)dispensing certain Member States from the obligation to apply Council Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC and 2002/57/EC on the marketing of fodder plant, cereal and oil and fibre plant seed to certain species:

• Commission Decision 69/270/EEC (OJ L 220, 1.9.1969, p. 8)

• Commission Decision 69/271/EEC (OJ L 220, 1.9.1969, p. 9)

• Commission Decision 69/272/EEC (OJ L 220, 1.9.1969, p. 10)

• Commission Decision 70/47/EEC (OJ L 13, 19.1.1970, p. 26), as last amended by Decision 80/301/EEC (OJ L 68, 14.3.1980, p. 30)

• Commission Decision 70/48/EEC (OJ L 13, 19.1.1970, p. 27)

• Commission Decision 70/49/EEC (OJ L 13, 19.1.1970, p. 28)

• Commission Decision 70/93/EEC (OJ L 25, 2.2.1970, p. 16)

• Commission Decision 70/94/EEC (OJ L 25, 2.2.1970, p. 17)

• Commission Decision 70/481/CEE (OJ L 237, 28.10.1970, p. 29)

• Commission Decision 73/123/EEC (OJ L 145, 2.6.1973, p. 43)

• Commission Decision 74/5/EEC (OJ L 12, 15.1.1974, p. 13)

• Commission Decision 74/360/EEC (OJ L 196, 19.7.1974, p. 18), as last amended by Decision 2003/234/EC (OJ L 86, 3.4.2003, p. 48)

• Commission Decision 74/361/EEC (OJ L 196, 19.7.1974, p. 19)

• Commission Decision 74/362/EEC (OJ L 196, 19.7.1974, p. 20)

• Commission Decision 74/491/EEC (OJ L 267, 3.10.1974, p. 18)

• Commission Decision 74/532/EEC (OJ L 299, 7.11.1974, p. 14)

• Commission Decision 80/301/EEC (OJ L 68, 14.3.1980, p. 30)

• Commission Decision 80/512/EEC (OJ L 126, 21.5.1980, p. 15)

• Commission Decision 86/153/EEC (OJ L 115, 3.5.1986, p. 26)

• Commission Decision 89/101/EEC (OJ L 38, 10.2.1989, p. 37);

(b)authorising certain Member States to restrict the marketing of seed of certain varieties (cf. Common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species, 22nd complete edition, column 4 (OJ C 91A, 16.4.2003, p. 1);

(c)authorising certain Member States to adopt more stringent provisions concerning the presence of Avena fatua in cereal seed:

• Commission Decision 74/269/EEC (OJ L 141, 24.5.1974, p. 20), as amended by Decision 78/512/EEC (OJ L 157, 15.6.1978, p. 35)

• Commission Decision 74/531/EEC (OJ L 299, 7.11.1974, p. 13)

• Commission Decision 95/75/EC (OJ L 60, 18.3.1995, p. 30)

• Commission Decision 96/334/EC (OJ L 127, 25.5.1996, p. 39);

(d)authorising, in respect of the marketing of seed potatoes in all or part of the territory of certain Member States, more stringent measures against certain diseases than are provided for in Annexes I and II to Council Directive 2002/56/EC:

• Commission Decision 2004/3/EC (OJ L 2, 6.1.2004, p. 47);

(e)authorisation to assess the satisfaction of the varietal purity standards for seed of apomictic uniclonal varieties of Poa pratensis also on the basis of the results of seed and seedling testing

• Commission Decision 85/370/EEC (OJ L 209, 6.8.1985, p. 41).

APPENDIX 4LIST OF THIRD COUNTRIES(3)

• Argentina

• Australia

• Bulgaria

• Canada

• Chile

• Croatia

• Israel

• Morocco

• New Zealand

• Romania

• Serbia and Montenegro

• South Africa

• Turkey

• United States of America

• Uruguay’