4. 2. 98 Official Journal of the European Communities L 28/43 COMMISSION DECISION of 27 January 1998 authorising the Member States to provide for derogations from certain provisions of Council Directive 77/93/EEC in respect of potatoes other than potatoes intended for planting originating in the Republic of Slovenia (98/112/EQ) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Directive 77/93/EEC of 21 December 1976 on protective measures against the intro- duction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community ('), as last amended by Directive 97/14/EC (%), and in particular Article 14(1) thereof, Having regard to the request made by Luxembourg, Whereas, under the provisions of Directive 77/93/EEC, potatoes other than potatoes intended for planting origin- ating in the Republic of Slovenia may in principle not be introduced into the Community because of the risk of introducing potato diseases unknown in the Community; Whereas by Decisions 96/114/EC (%) and 97/3/EC (¥ the Commission authorised certain Member States to provide for derogations in respect of potatoes other than potatoes intended for planting originating in the Republic of Slovenia, under specified conditions in the 1996 and 1997 seasons; Whereas, in relation to the requirements laid down in point 25.3 of Annex IV, part A, section I to Directive 77/93/EEC and on the basis of information provided by the Republic of Slovenia, and of international scientific technical literature, it is apparent that the Republic of Slovenia is not a country where potato spindle tuber viroid is known to occur; Whereas, due to technical reasons there were no imports pursuant to Decision 96/114/EC; whereas there have been no confirmed findings of harmful organisms on samples drawn from potatoes introduced pursuant to Decision 97/3/EG; Whereas the circumstances justifying the authorisation still obtain; 1. 1. 1977, p. 20. . 4.1997, p. 17. . 2. 1996, p. 33. = N oo N NN W N W Whereas the Commission will ensure that the Republic of Slovenia makes available all technical information neces- sary to assess the phytosanitary status of the production of potatoes in Slovenia; Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plant Health, HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: Article 1 1.  The Member States are hereby authorised to provide, under the conditions laid down in paragraph 2, for excep- tions from Article 4(1) of Directive 77/93/EEC, with regard to the prohibitions referred to in Part A, point 12 of Annex III thereto for potatoes other than potatoes intended for planting originating in the Republic of Slovenia. 2. In addition to the requirements laid down in Annexes I and II to Directive 77/93/EEC in relation to potatoes the following specific conditions shall be satis- fied: (a) the potatoes shall be other than potatoes intended for planting; (b) they shall have been grown from seed potatoes certi- fied in the seed potato certification scheme of the Republic of Slovenia or from seed potatoes certified in one of the Member States or from seed potatoes certified in any other country for which the entry into the Community of potatoes intended for plant- ing is permitted pursuant to Directive 77/93/EEC; (c) they shall have been grown in areas known to be free from  Synchytrium  endobioticum  (Schilbersky) Percival, and no symptoms of Synchytrium endobio- ticum (Schilbersky) Percival have been observed either at the place of production or in its immediate vicinity since the beginning of an adequate period; (d) they shall have been grown in areas where Pseudo- monas solanacearum (Smith) Smith is not known to occur;