L1/72 Official Journal of the European Communities 4.1.2003 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 18 December 2002 relating to national provisions on limiting the importation and placement on the market of certain NK fertilisers of high nitrogen content and containing chlorine notified by France pursuant to Article 95(5) of the EC Treaty (notified under document number C(2002) 5113) (Only the French text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2003/1/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 95(6) thereof, Where as: I. FACTS 1. Community legislation 1.1. Directive 76/116/EEC relating to fertilisers Council Directive 76/116/EEC of 18 December 1975 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to fertilisers (!), as last amended by Directive 98/97[/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (%), aims to remove barriers to trade resulting from differences between Member States with regard to legislation on fertilisers. To achieve this, it has already established, at Community level, requirements that ferti- lisers must meet if they are to be placed on the market under the designation ‘EC fertiliser’ (), such as provi- sions regarding designation, definition, composition, labelling and packaging of the most important straight and compound fertilisers in the Community. Annex I to Directive 76/116/EEC defines the designation of the type of EC fertiliser and the corresponding requirements, in particular with respect to its composi- tion, that every fertiliser marked EC fertiliser must fulfil. Annex I classes EC fertilisers by category according to () O] L 24, 30.1.1976, p. 21. () O] L 18, 23.1.1999, p. 60. () The term ‘EEC fertiliser’ set out in Directive 76/116/EEC was replaced by the term ‘EC fertiliser’ by Directive 97/63/EC (O] L 335 , 6121997, p. 15). the content of the primary nutrients, i.e. nitrogen, phos- phorus and potassium, with these three elements being represented by the letters N, P and K, respectively. In particular, it distinguishes between straight fertilisers, which contain only one of the three fundamental nutri- ents, and compound fertilisers, which contain two or three. Straight primary nutrient fertilisers include, in particular: — in the list of nitrogenous fertilisers, ammonium nitrates, produced chemically, and which include as an essential component ammonium nitrate with an N-nutrient content of at least 20 %, — in the list of potassium fertilisers, potassium chloride, which is obtained from crude potassium salts and which includes as an essential component potassium chloride with a K-nutrient content, meas- ured as potassium oxide (K,0), of at least 37 %. As for compound fertilisers with primary nutrients, which are products obtained chemically or by blending without addition of organic nutrients of animal or vegetable origin, they are subdivided into four subcate- gories according to their composition: NPK, NP, NK and PK fertilisers. Thus, NPK fertilisers must have a minimum total nutrient content of 20 %, with a minimum content for each of the nutrients of 3 % of nitrogen, 5 % of phosphorus measured as phosphorus pentoxide (P,0,) and 5% of potassium measured as potassium oxide (K,0), respectively. As for NK fertilisers, they must have a minimum total nutrient content of 18 %, with a minimum content for each of the nutrients of 3% of nitrogen and 5 % of potassium measured as potassium oxide.