The EU Council adopted a revision of the EU plant health law Monday, to improve the way the EU fights plant pests and ensure that the plants that enter the EU are safe.
“This regulation will ensure a continued high level of plant health protection throughout the EU and protect us from phytosanitary threats,” said Hungary’s agriculture minister Istvan Nagy, for the EU presidency. “The revision also cuts red tape and streamlines the existing rules, which will benefit national authorities, as well as operators in the sector.”
The plant health law aims to prevent the entry and spread of new plant pests (so-called ‘Union quarantine pests’) and protect against pests already present in the EU (‘regulated non-quarantine pests’).
One of the ways in which the revision improves the existing framework and better protects the health of plants is through the creation of a Union plant health emergency team. The team will be made up of experts specialised in plant health who can provide assistance in the event of new outbreaks of pests in the EU. The team can also provide neighbouring non-EU countries with urgent assistance and expertise in the case of outbreaks, with a view to preventing harmful plant pests from entering the EU.
The revised regulation also reduces the administrative burden for competent authorities by increasing the duration of their multiannual survey programmes. These will now cover a period of five to ten years, instead of the current five to seven years. To ensure the timely detection of pests, these programmes are reviewed and updated when necessary, in order to respond efficiently to the phytosanitary situation.
Increased digitalisation will also cut red tape for operators and national authorities alike.
The formal adoption marks the final step in the ordinary legislative procedure. The regulation will now be signed and published in the Official Journal of the EU. It will enter into force on the 20th day following its publication.
