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DRAFT REPORT (COM(2023)661 – C90391/2023 – 2023/0378(COD))

On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards multiannual survey programmes, notifications concerning the presence of regulated non-quarantine pests, temporary derogations from import prohibitions and special import requirements and establishment of procedures for granting them, temporary import requirements for high risk plants, plant products and other objects, the establishment of procedures for the listing of high risk plants, the content of phytosanitary certificates, the use of plant passports and as regards certain reporting requirements for demarcated areas and surveys of pest

AGRI-PR-758002

Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development · Rapporteur: Clara Aguilera

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The rapporteur's draft report sets out Parliament's position at first reading on a Commission proposal to amend Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 on protective measures against plant pests. It amends the proposal to add a Union Plant Health Emergency Team, to set multiannual survey programmes at five to ten years with review and update, and to extend use of the electronic notification system. It also strengthens rules on regulated non-quarantine pests, phytosanitary certificates, temporary import derogations and plant passports. The rapporteur supports the proposal's technical changes but regrets the Commission's late presentation in October 2023.

Committee position. The rapporteur supports the proposal's technical changes but proposes amendments adding a Plant Health Emergency Team, setting survey programmes at five to ten years with review, strengthening regulated non-quarantine pest rules and extending the electronic notification system.

Key points

  1. Notifications under Article 19(2) and the abolition of demarcated areas under Article 19(4) must be made through the electronic notification system of Article 103.
  2. A Union Plant Health Emergency Team of experts is created to give Member States, on request, urgent assistance on measures against new outbreaks of Union quarantine pests and pests under Article 30.
  3. The Team may also assist third countries bordering the Union or posing an imminent phytosanitary risk, on request, for outbreaks of Union quarantine pests and pests under Article 30.
  4. The Commission appoints the Team's members case by case on the basis of expertise, in consultation with the Member State or third country concerned, and sets rules on appointment, composition and financing.
  5. Member States' survey results and multiannual survey programme notifications must be submitted through the electronic notification system of Article 103.
  6. Multiannual survey programmes are established for a period of five to ten years and reviewed and updated on the basis of the applicable rules and the phytosanitary situation of the territory concerned.
  7. Measures under Article 30(1) may include prohibiting the introduction, movement, holding, multiplication or release of the pest in the Union territory and requirements on the introduction and movement of plants, plant products and other objects.
  8. Member States must notify non-compliance with Article 37(1) for plants for planting and the measures adopted, through the electronic notification and reporting system of Article 103.
  9. The Commission may adopt temporary derogations from import acts where a provisional assessment shows the risk can be reduced to an acceptable level by necessary measures.
  10. The phytosanitary certificate's Additional Declaration must state the full wording of the requirement and, for regulated non-quarantine pests, the applicable option for the category concerned.
  11. The Commission may lay down rules on submitting notifications, including those under the new Article 19a and Article 37(10).
  12. The rapporteur supports the proposed technical changes but regrets the Commission's delay until October 2023, which puts time pressure on parliamentary work.

Who is affected

  • Member States: must use the electronic notification system for pest notifications and survey programme notifications.
  • Member States and third countries: may request urgent assistance from the Union Plant Health Emergency Team.
  • Operators and importers: face rules on phytosanitary certificates, temporary import derogations and plant passports.
  • Final users, including home gardeners: the plant passport exception does not apply to distance sales.

Figures and deadlines

  • Multiannual survey programmes: five to ten years.
  • Member States report survey results by 30 April of each year.

Legal basis: Article 294(2) and Article 43(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.