17. 6. 97 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 158/21 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1093/97 of 16 June 1997 laying down marketing standards applicable to melons and watermelons THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 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 organization of the market in fruit and vegetables ('), and in particular Article 2 (2) thereof, Whereas Regulation (EC) No 2200/96, in Annex I, lists the products for which standards must be adopted; whereas, of the products listed in that Annex, no Community standards have yet been laid down for melons and watermelons; whereas it is therefore necessary to lay down marketing standards for those products; whereas, to that end, for the sake of transparency on the world market, account should be taken of the standards recommended for those products by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe; Whereas application of those standards should have the effect of keeping products of unsatisfactory quality off the market, directing production to meet consumers’ require- ments and facilitating trade under fair competitive condi- tions, thereby helping to improve the profitability of production; Whereas those standards are applicable to all marketing stages; whereas transport over large distances, storage for more than a certain duration and the amount of handling to which products are subject can result in some degree of deterioration owing to the biological development of the product or its perishable nature; whereas such deteriora- tion should be taken into account in the application of the standards to the marketing stages following consign- ment; Whereas 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. The marketing standards applicable to: — melons falling within CN code 0807 19 00, — watermelons falling within CN code 0807 11 00, shall be as set out in Annexes I and II respectively. 2. The standards shall apply to all marketing stages under the conditions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2200/96. However, at stages following consignment the following tolerances shall be allowed: (a) a slight loss of freshness and turgidity; (b) for products other than the ‘Extra’ class, slight deteri- oration due to biological development and perish- ability. Article 2 This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 July 1997. This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 16 June 1997. () OJ No L 297, 21. 11. 1996, p. 1. For the Commission Franz FISCHLER Member of the Commission