The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development adopted the report by Clara AGUILERA (S&D, ES) 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.
As a reminder, Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 on protective measures against plant pests is applicable in its entirety since December 2019. The Commission proposes to improve different implementation measures of the EU phytosanitary policy, related to the need for:
1) Declarations in the phytosanitary certificate for regulated non-quarantine pests,
2) Notifications of non-compliance with the rules applicable to regulated non-quarantine pests in the electronic notification system (official controls information management system, SGICO),
3) Procedural rules for the submission and examination of requests for temporary exceptions to import bans submitted by non-EU countries,
4) Procedures to determine and list high-risk plants,
5) Rationalisation of the obligation to place a phytosanitary passport on certain plants.
The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the proposal as follows:
Members consider it appropriate to take advantage of this proposal for amendment to Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 to introduce some additional changes, or reinforce those proposed, such as:
- inclusion of a new article on Plant Health Emergency Team, similar to what already exists in the field of animal health, in order to provide assistance to the Member State or the third country that requests it in the case of pest within the scope of this Regulation. The members of the Team should be appointed by the Commission in consultation with the Member States or third countries concerned, from experts proposed by the Member States, and those experts should possess different specialities related to plant health;
- establishment of a period of five to ten years for multi-year prospecting programmes, subject to review and updating based on the phytosanitary situation of the territory concerned;
- the possibility for the Commission, where appropriate, to coordinate EU-level simulation exercises concerning the implementation of contingency plans for priority pests. The Commission should make available a report on the results of the EU-level simulation exercises to the Parliament;
- strengthen the provisions relating to regulated non-quarantine pests (RNQPs) in the additional declaration to the phytosanitary certificate by adding the obligation to mention the specific category concerned by the prohibition;
- a provision according to which the plant passport should be issued no later than when the plant, plant product or other object concerned is moved for the first time by the importer within the Union to another operator. The importer of the plant, plant product or other object concerned should be able to provide on request of the competent authority the result of the relevant official control using the Information Management System for Official Controls (IMSOC/TRACES) by the time the plant passport is issued;
- the setting up by the Commission of an electronic system for the submission of notifications and reports by the Member States.