Parliament endorses EU emergency team to combat the entry of crop-damaging pests

5 months ago 21

On 24 April, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted in favour of an amendment to the Plant Health Regulation, providing for the establishment of a European emergency team to prevent and contain the arrival of crop-damaging pests.

The text, adopted with 551 votes in favour, 24 against, and 15 abstentions, strengthens the EU plant health legislation.

“We now need to improve the way the regulation works to maintain a high level of plant health protection throughout the EU,” explained MEP (S&D) Clara Aguilera, and rapporteur for the text before the vote.

With the intensification of trade and climate change, the circulation of plant pests is increasing.

Xylella fastidiosa, a plant bacterium capable of infecting over 650 plant species and damaging valuable ones such as olive trees and vines is an example.

Once confined in the Americas, in 2013 Xylella fastidiosa was detected in the EU for the first time in Apulia, southern Italy.

After 10 years, according to the latest data released by the EU-financed research project BeXyl at the Xylella fastidiosa EFSA conference in Lyon, the spread of the bacterium in Apulia is slowing down.

But in the meantime, the pathogen has infected more than 21 million olive trees in Apulia on more than 8 thousand square kilometres of territory, equal to 40% of the region, Italian media report.

According to the estimations of the Joint Research Center of the European Commission, Xylella fastidiosa’s full spread could cost the EU up to €5.5 billion per year.

In recent years, another imported pathogen, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus causing the ash dieback disease, decimated ash trees in Poland.

Given the scale of the economic and environmental damage, the Commission proposed to amend the rules in 2023, to step up prevention and respond effectively to emergencies when a pest is identified.

Emergency team

The MEPs added to the Commission’s proposal the idea of creating an EU plant health emergency team.

According to the new legislation, the emergency team will be composed of experts in various specialities, appointed by the European Commission on the proposal of the member states, to support the EU and neighbouring countries in finding solutions in the event of outbreaks of harmful organisms.

This concerns so-called ‘quarantine organisms’, i.e. those not present in the EU, but also those already present and under close surveillance (‘non-quarantine regulated organisms’).

“We considered this team to be crucial,” Aguilera told the MEPs, pointing out that this already exists for animal health. “Anything that improves plant health is good for our future food supply,” she added.

In addition, the text requires states to declare the safety measures taken in a phytosanitary certificate and to carry out regular risk surveys to improve the detection of harmful organisms over time.

The regulation must now also be approved by the Council.

MEPs call for the creation of task force to combat pests

As part of the revision of plant health legislation voted through the European Parliament on Tuesday (13 February), MEPs are proposing the creation of an EU plant health emergency team to help Member States or third countries prevent the emergence of organisms harmful to plants.

[Edited by Angelo Di Mambro and Rajnish SIngh]