Commission Regulation (EC) No 1466/2003 of 19 August 2003 laying down the marketing standard for artichokes and amending Regulation (EC) No 963/98

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⁾, as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 47/2003⁽²⁾, and in particular Article 2(2) and Article 3(3)(c) thereof,

Whereas:

1. Artichokes are among the products listed in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 for which standards must be adopted. Commission Regulation (EC) No 963/98 of 7 May 1998 laying down marketing standards applicable to cauliflowers and artichokes⁽³⁾, as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 46/2003⁽⁴⁾, should be amended with respect to the definition of ‘Poivrade’ and ‘Bouquet’ type artichokes.

2. In the interest of clarity, the standards applicable to artichokes should be laid down in a separate Regulation and Regulation (EC) No 963/98 should be amended accordingly. To that end, and in the interest of preserving transparency on the world market, account should be taken of the standard for artichokes recommended by the Working Party on Standardisation of Perishable Produce and Quality Development of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE).

3. Application of the new standards should remove products of unsatisfactory quality from the market, bring production into line with consumer requirements and facilitate trade based on fair competition, thereby helping to improve profitability.

4. The standards are applicable at all marketing stages. Long-distance transport, storage over a certain period and the various processes the products undergo may cause some degree of deterioration owing to the biological development of the products or their perishable nature. Account should be taken of such deterioration when applying the standard at the marketing stages following dispatch. As products in the ‘Extra’ class have to be particularly carefully sorted and packaged, only lack of freshness and turgidity should be taken into account in their case.

5. Certain varieties of artichoke produced in the Italian regions of Sicilia, Puglia, Sardegna, Campania, Lazio and Toscana are traditionally sold in the region of production in bunches surrounded by leaves and with stems longer than 10 centimetres. At the request of Italy, this marketing practice was authorised by Commission Regulation (EC) No 448/97 of 7 March 1997 derogating, for certain regions in Italy, from the trading standards set to artichokes⁽⁵⁾. In order to clarify and simplify Community rules, that derogation should be integrated into this Regulation and Regulation No 448/97 should be repealed.

6. The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: