27.2.1999 Official Journal of the European Communities L 52/55 COMMISSION DECISION of 16 February 1999 authorising the Member States exceptionally to provide for derogations from certain provisions of Council Directive 77/93/EEC in respect of plants of Vitis L., other than fruits, originating in Croatia (notified under document number C(1999) 328) (1999/158/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 Directive 98/2/ EC (3, and in particular Article 14(1) thereof, Having regard to the request made by Italy, in respect of plants of Vitis L., other than fruits, originating in Croatia, Whereas, under the provisions of Directive 77/93/EEC, plants of Viris L., other than fruits, originating in third countries, may in principle not be introduced into the Community; Whereas by Decisions 97/78/EC (*) and 98/86/EC (*) the Commission authorised Member States to provide for derogations in respect of plants of JV7iris L., other than fruits, originating in Croatia under specified conditions in the 1997 and 1998 seasons; Whereas there have been no confirmed findings of harmful organisms during the inspections on the plants introduced pursuant to Decision 98/86/EC; Whereas the circumstances justifying the authorisation for Croatia still obtain; Whereas therefore a derogation should be authorised for a limited period, provided that it includes specific condi- tions and without prejudice to Council Directive 68/ 193/EEC (°), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, and any implementing measures made thereunder; Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plant Health, () OJ L 26, 31. 1. 1977, p. 20. () OJ L 15, 21. 1. 1998, p. 34. () OJ L 22, 24. 1. 1997, p. 35. () OJ L 17, 22. 1. 1998, p. 25. () OJ L 93, 17. 4. 1968, p. 15. 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 15 of Annex III thereto for plants of Vitis L., other than fruits, originating in Croatia. 2. In addition to the requirements laid down in Annex I and II of Directive 77/93/EEC in relation to plants of Vitis L., the following specific conditions shall be satis- fied: (a) the plants shall be propagating material in the form of dormant bud material of the following varieties: — Babic, — Plavac Mali, — Plavina, — Debit, — Kug, — Marastina; (b) the buds shall be intended to be grafted in the Community at premises referred to in (h), onto root- stocks produced in the Community; (c) the buds intended for the Community shall be: — harvested in stock nurseries, which are officially registered. The lists of the registered nurseries shall be made available to the Member States making use of the derogation and to the Commis- sion, at the latest by 15 February 1999. These lists shall include the name(s) of the varieties, the number of rows planted with these varieties, the number of plants per row for each of these nurseries, as far as they are deemed suitable for dispatch to the Community in 1999, under the conditions laid down in this Decision,