Agriculture ministers of the EU’s member states have officially adopted new rules to protect against plant pests.
At a meeting of agriculture ministers in the Council of the EU yesterday (Monday, November 18), ministers adopted the changes, which were agreed between negotiators of the council and the European Parliament earlier this year.
The plant health law is the basic legal framework for the EU’s plant health policy. It aims to prevent the entry and spread of new plant pests, and protect against pests already present in the EU. It has been in force since 2019.
The revisions of the EU plant health law will improve the way the EU fights plants pests and will ensure that plants that enter the EU are safe, the council said.
The revisions will also simplify procedures to achieve this.
One of the main elements of the updated law is the creation of a Union plant health emergency team.
This 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 will also provide neighbouring non-EU countries with “urgent assistance and expertise” in the event of pest outbreaks, with a view to preventing harmful pests from entering the EU.
Furthermore, the revised regulation reduces the administrative burden for competent authorities by increasing the duration of their multiannual survey programmes, which will now cover a period of five to 10 years rather than five to seven years.
To ensure the timely detection of pests, these survey programmes are reviewed and updated when necessary in order to respond to plant health issues.
The revisions also put a focus on increased digitalisation, which the council said will cut red tape for operators and national authorities alike.
Agriculture ministers meeting
Also at the agriculture ministers meeting yesterday, the market situation in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine was also discussed, with the Ukrainian minister for agrarian policy and food addressing the meeting.
Other items that came up for discussion included the trade tensions with China (which has resulted in a Chinese investigation into EU dairy subsidies), with ministers calling on the European Commission to defend the EU’s position; and the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement, with a number of council members calling for “fair treatment” for EU farmers.