New plant health approach in the EU

Abstract

The discipline of plant health is crucial for plant production, healthy ecosystems and biodiversity not only in the EU but globally. Due to the increasing global trade of plants and tourism, the risk of unintentionally introduced harmful organisms that were previously absent from the EU is rising. The new EU regulations (EU) 2017/625 (Control Regulation) and (EU) 2016/2031 (Plant Health Regulation) replace the previous regulatory system for plant health (Directive 2000/29/EC). The new plant health system strengthens the precautionary principle and lays down new plant health measures against the introduction and spread of harmful organisms. In this context, resources are focused in the early stages of the production and marketing chains of plants and plant products as well as during their import. The scope of the Plant Health Regulation is further extended to include more plants and plant products and affected operators, institutions and individuals compared to former rules. The public and private persons are given more responsibility due to information obligations and notification requirements. In addition, detailed plant trade traceability schemes and harmonised standards for official controls have been established to achieve the objective of improving the Union's protection against the introduction and spread of harmful organisms.