Article 17
1. Where reference is made to the procedure laid down in this Article, the Commission shall be assisted by a Committee, referred to as the Standing Committee for Propagating Material of Ornamental Plants, chaired by a representative of the Commission. 2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Standing Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Standing Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148(2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote. 3. (a) The Commission shall adopt measures which shall apply immediately. (b) However, if these measures are not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, they shall be communicated by the Commission to the Council forthwith.In that event:- the Commission may defer application of the measures which it has decided for a period of not more than one month from the date of such communication; - the Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a different decision within the time referred to in the first indent. 4. The Committee, at the request of the chairman or one of the Member States, may examine any questions relevant to the subject matter of this Directive.