Article 15

On a Commission proposal the Council, acting by qualified majority, shall determine whether material for the vegetative propagation of the vine produced in a third country offers, as regards the conditions for its acceptance and the measures taken to ensure its production with a view to its marketing, the same guarantees as material produced in the Community and meets the requirements of this Directive.

Furthermore, the Council shall determine the types of material and the categories of material for the vegetative propagation of the vine that may be admitted to marketing within the territory of the Community under point (a).

Until the Council has taken a decision pursuant to point (a) and without prejudice to Council Directive 2000/29/EC of 8 May 2000 on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community ^f1 , the Member States may be authorised to take such decisions in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17(2). When doing so, they shall ensure that the material to be imported offers guarantees equivalent in every respect to those offered by material for the vegetative propagation of the vine produced in the Community in accordance with this Directive. Such imported material shall in particular be accompanied by a document setting out the particulars prescribed in Article 11(2).