L 192/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 8.7.98 COMMISSION DECISION of 25 June 1998 authorising Member States temporarily to provide for derogations from certain provisions of Council Directive 77/93/EEC in respect of plants of strawberry (Fragaria L.), intended for planting, other than seeds, originating in the Republic of South Africa (notified under document number C(1998) 1751) (98/432/EC) 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 Commission Directive 98/2/EC(}), and in particular Article 14(1) thereof, Having regard to the request made by the United Kingdom, Whereas, under the provisions of Directive 77/93/EEC, plants of strawberry (Fragaria L.) intended for planting, other than seeds, originating in non-European countries, other than Mediterranean countries, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the continental States of the United States of America, may in principle not be introduced into the Community; Whereas, there is interest in the growing, in the Republic of South Africa, of plants of Fragaria L., intended for planting, other than seeds, from plants supplied by a Member State, in order to prolongate the growing season of the plants; whereas these plants could afterwards be re-exported to the Community in order to have them planted for the production of fruit; Whereas, in respect of the said imports into the Community of the said plants, on the basis of the infor- mation supplied by the relevant Member State, it appeared that the said strawberry plants could be grown under adequate health conditions in the Elliot district of the North Eastern Cape region, Republic of South Africa and whereas, on the basis of the information supplied and under such circumstances there appeared to be no risk of spreading harmful organisms affecting plants of Fragaria L., provided that certain special technical conditions were satisfied; whereas, therefore by Decision 97/488/EC (%) the Commission authorised derogations under special tech- nical conditions in respect of plants of strawberry () OJ L 26, 31. 1. 1977, p. 20. @) OJ L 15, 21. 1. 1998, p. 34. (%) OJ L 208, 2. 8. 1997, p. 49. (Fragaria L. intended for planting, other than seeds, originating in the Republic of South Africa; Whereas there have been no confirmed findings of harmful organisms in official examinations on the imports pursuant to the said Decision; Whereas also the Commission shall ensure that the Republic of South Africa continues to make available all technical information necessary to assess the phyto- sanitary status of strawberry plant production in the Republic of South Africa; Whereas the circumstances justifying the authorisation still obtain; 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. Member States are hereby authorised to provide, under the conditions laid down in paragraph 2, for a derogation from Article 4(1) of Directive 77/93/EEC, with regard to the requirements referred to in Annex ITI(A)(18) for plants of strawberry (Fragaria L., intended for planting, other than seeds, originating in the Republic of South Africa. 2. In addition to the requirements laid down in Part A of the Annexes I, II and IV to Directive 77/93/EEC, in relation to plants of strawberry, the following specific conditions shall be satisfied: (a) the plants shall be intended for fruit production within the Community and shall have been: (i) produced exclusively from mother plants, certi- fied under an approved certification scheme of a Member State and those mother plants shall have been imported from a Member State; (if) grown on land which is: — situated in the Elliot district of the North Eastern Cape Region,