6.12.2001 Official Journal of the European Communities L 321/15 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2379/2001 of 5 December 2001 amending Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001 on checks on conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, (5)  Where necessary, approval of checking operations Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the market in fruit and vegetables ('), as last amended by Commission Regu- lation (EC) No 911/2001 (3, and in particular Article 10 thereof, Whereas: (1)  Article 7 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001 of 12 June 2001 on checks on conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and veget- ables () lays down the conditions under which the Commission may approve the checking operations performed by certain third countries for products exported to the Community. (2)  Under the second subparagraph of Article 7(3) of Regu- lation (EC) No 1148/2001, third country inspection bodies awarded such approval are to issue certificates of conformity of products that the Community customs authorities may accept for the purposes of releasing those products for free circulation. Common characteris- tics should therefore be laid down for the certificates issued by different third countries, relating in particular to the original and copies of such certificates, their format, printing, method of completion, numbering and archiving, and the signatures and stamps to be included thereon. (3)  Atticle 7(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001 provides for a system of sampling checks by Member States on certificates issued by third countries. However, such checks should be carried out a posteriori where there are clear doubts about the authenticity of the certificates or the accuracy of the data they contain. (4)  To implement Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1148/ 2001, a system of administrative cooperation must be established between the Community and each of the third countries concerned so that all the required infor- mation can be made available to the competent authori- ties in the Community. The substance and modus oper- andi of this administrative cooperation must be speci- fied. 0] L 297, 21.11.1996, p. 1. () O] L 129, 11.5.2001, p. 3. 0] L 156, 13.6.2001, p. 9. carried out by some third countries may require the organisation of on-the-spot visits to assess their export inspection systems. In such cases, provision should be made for the possibility of using the special corps of inspectors in the fruit and vegetable sector set up under Article 40 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96. (6)  The specimen in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1148/ 2001 should also be completed. (7)  As a result, Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001 should be amended. (8)  The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Regulation (EC) No 11482001 is amended as follows: 1. Article 7 is amended as follows. (@) The fourth subparagraph of paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘For the purposes of the approval referred to in para- graph 1, the Commission may use the special corps of inspectors in the fruit and vegetable sector set up under Article 40 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 to make on-the-spot visits to check that the inspection opera- tions carried out in the third country concerned comply with the provisions of this Article and, where appro- priate, make recommendations for improving the degree of conformity of goods exported to the Community by that third country.’ (b) The following subparagraphs are added to paragraph 3: ‘The standard forms on which the certificates provided for in the second subparagraph of this paragraph are drawn up shall be established within the framework of the approval referred to in paragraph 1. The certificate shall bear the word “original”. Where additional copies are required, they should be stamped with the word “copy”. The competent authorities in the Community shall accept as valid only the original of the certificate.