Member States are hereby authorised to provide for a derogation from Article 4(1) of Directive 2000/29/EC, with regard to the prohibitions referred to in point 14 of Part A of Annex III to that Directive for soil originating in Australia.
In order to qualify for the derogation, the soil shall be subject to the specific conditions provided for in the Annex, be introduced into the Community between 20 November 2004 and 31 January 2005 and be destined for ceremonial use.
The authorisation is without prejudice to any further authorisation or procedures which may be required under other legislation.
Member States which grant derogations pursuant to this Decision shall submit a report thereon to the Commission before 1 March 2005.
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
ANNEXSupplementary provisions
ANNEX
Specific conditions applying to soil originating in Australia benefiting from the derogation provided for in Article 1 of this Decision
1.
The soil shall be:
(a)
heated in hot air at not less than 121 °C for not less than two hours once the core temperature has been reached, or,
(b)
Gamma irradiated at 50 kGray (5 Mrad).
2.
The soil shall be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued in Australia in accordance with Annex VII of Directive 2000/29/EC. The certificate shall state under ‘Additional declaration’, the indication ‘This consignment meets the conditions laid down in Commission Decision 2004/…/EC’.
3.
Prior to introduction into the Community, the importer shall officially inform the responsible official bodies in the Member State of introduction of:
(a)
the quantity of soil,
(b)
the origin of the soil,
(c)
the intended date of introduction,
(d)
the destination of the soil.
4.
The soil shall be destined only for the location which has been notified in accordance with point 3(d) to the responsible official bodies.
In those cases where the destination is situated in a Member State other than the Member State where the soil enters the Community, the responsible official bodies of the Member State of entry, at the moment of receipt of the aforementioned advance notification from the importer, shall inform the responsible official bodies of the Member State of destination giving the location for which the soil is destined.
