L_2007350EN.01000101.xml
| 31.12.2007 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | L 350/1 |
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1580/2007
of 21 December 2007
laying down implementing rules of Council Regulations (EC) No 2200/96, (EC) No 2201/96 and (EC) No 1182/2007 in the fruit and vegetable sector
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 organisation of the market in fruit and vegetables (1), and in particular Article 1(3) thereof,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the markets in processed fruit and vegetable products (2), and in particular Article 1(3) thereof,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 of 26 September 2007 laying down specific rules as regards the fruit and vegetable sector amending Directives 2001/112/EC and 2001/113/EC and Regulations (EEC) No 827/68, (EC) No 2200/96, (EC) No 2201/96, (EC) No 2826/2000, (EC) No 1782/2003 and (EC) No 318/2006 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2202/96 (3), and in particular Article 42 thereof,
Whereas:
| (2) | The existing implementing rules covering the fruit and vegetables sector are contained in a large number of regulations, many of which have been amended many times. Those implementing rules need to be changed as a result of the modifications made to the fruit and vegetables regime by Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007, as well as in the light of experience. The scope of the changes makes it necessary, in the interests of clarity, to incorporate all the implementing rules in a new, separate Regulation. |
| (3) | The following Commission Regulations should therefore be repealed:
| — | Regulation (EC) No 3223/94 of 21 December 1994 on detailed rules for the application of the import arrangements for fruit and vegetables (5), |
| — | Regulation (EC) No 961/1999 of 6 May 1999 laying down detailed implementing rules concerning the extension of rules issued by producer organisations in the fruit and vegetable sector (7), |
| — | Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001 of 12 June 2001 on checks on conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables (9), |
| — | Regulation (EC) No 2590/2001 of 21 December 2001 approving operations to checks conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables carried out in Switzerland prior to import into the European Community (10), |
| — | Regulation (EC) No 1791/2002 of 9 October 2002 approving operations to check conformity with the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables carried out in Morocco prior to import into the European Community (11), |
| — | Regulation (EC) No 2103/2002 of 28 November 2002 approving operations to check conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables carried out in South Africa prior to import into the European Community (12), |
| — | Regulation (EC) No 48/2003 of 10 January 2003 laying down the rules applicable to mixes of different types of fresh fruit and vegetables in the same sales package (13), |
| — | Regulation (EC) No 606/2003 of 2 April 2003 approving operations to check conformity with the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables carried out in Israel prior to import into the Community (14), |
| — | Regulation (EC) No 761/2003 of 30 April 2003 approving operations to check conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables carried out in India prior to import into the Community (15), |
| — | Regulation (EC) No 1557/2004 of 1 September 2004 approving operations to check conformity to the marketing standards applicable to certain fresh fruit carried out in New Zealand prior to import into the Community (20), |
| — | Regulation (EC) No 179/2006 of 1 February 2006 introducing a system of import licences for apples imported from third countries (21), |
| — | Regulation (EC) No 430/2006 of 15 March 2006 approving operations to check conformity with the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables carried out in Senegal prior to import into the Community (22), |
| — | Regulation (EC) No 431/2006 of 15 March 2006 approving operations to check conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables carried out in Kenya prior to import into the Community (23), |
| — | Regulation (EC) No 1790/2006 of 5 December 2006 approving operations to check conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables carried out in Turkey prior to import into the Community (24). | |
| (5) | Marketing years should be set for fruit and vegetable products. Since there are no longer any aid schemes in the sector which follow the harvesting cycle of the products concerned, all marketing years may be harmonised to fit the calendar year. |
| (6) | Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 authorises the Commission to provide for marketing standards for fruit and vegetable products and its Article 2(7) provides that the existing individual regulations providing for such standards should continue to apply until new standards are adopted. |
| (7) | Exceptions and exemptions from the application of marketing standards should be provided in the case of certain operations which are either very marginal and/or specific, or take place at the start of the distribution chain, or in the case of products intended for processing. |
| (8) | The information particulars required by marketing standards should be clearly displayed on the packaging/label. |
| (9) | Packages containing different types of fresh fruit and vegetables are becoming more common on the market in response to demand from certain consumers. Fair trading requires that fresh fruit and vegetables sold in the same package are of uniform quality. For products for which Community standards have not been adopted this can be ensured by recourse to general provisions. Labelling requirements should be laid down for mixes of different types of fruit and vegetables in the same package. They should be less strict than those laid down by the marketing standards in order to take into account, in particular, the space available on the label. |
| (10) | Each Member State should designate the inspection bodies responsible for carrying out checks on conformity at each stage of marketing. One of those bodies should be responsible for contacts and coordination between all other designated bodies. |
| (11) | Since knowledge of traders and their main characteristics is an indispensable tool in Member States’ analysis, it is essential to set up a database on traders of fresh fruit and vegetables in each Member State. |
| (12) | Conformity checks should be carried out by sampling and should concentrate on traders most likely to have goods which do not comply with the standards. Taking into account the characteristics of their national markets, Member States should lay down rules prioritising checks on particular categories of traders. To ensure transparency, these rules should be notified to the Commission. |
| (13) | Member States should ensure that exports of fresh fruits and vegetables to third countries conform to the marketing standards and should certify conformity, in accordance with the Geneva Protocol on standardisation of fresh fruit and vegetables and dry and dried fruit concluded within the United Nations Economical Commission for Europe and the OECD scheme for the application of international standards for fruit and vegetables. |
| (14) | Imports of fresh fruit and vegetables from third countries should conform to the marketing standards or to standards equivalent to them. Checks on conformity must therefore be carried out before these goods enter Community customs territory, except in the case of small lots which the inspection authorities/bodies consider to be low risk. In certain third countries which provide satisfactory |
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