New phytosanitary import requirements to the European Union

The proposal notified in G/SPS/N/EU/196 (13 February 2017) was adopted as Commission Implementing Directive (EU) 2017/1279 of 14 July 2017 amending Annexes I to V to Council Directive 2000/29/EC on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community [OJ L 184].An addendum to this notification was published on 4 August 2017, in which the European Union informed about the adoption of the above measures. In addition, the European Union reminded trading partners the obligation to submit certain information to the European Union prior to 1 January 2018. In case the information is not provided by this date, the import into the EU territory of certain commodities will not be allowed.In G/SPS/N/EU/196/Add.1, Prunus persica (L.) Batsch was accidentally not mentioned in the 6th indent on page 1, amongst those commodities that would not be allowed to be imported into the EU territory if the requested information was not provided. Therefore, the text of notification G/SPS/N/EU/196/Add.1 should be amended and it should read as follows:NEW PROCEDURE:The European Commission invites non-EU trading countries to communicate prior to 1 January 2018, the date of the application of the above mentioned Directive, the following information:-        for the import requirements for the bacterial causative agent of the citrus canker disease, whether the country is free from the harmful organism or the pest free areas of the country recognized in accordance with the relevant International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures. In the case of the export of fruits subjected to a treatment, the details of the treatment applied need to be communicated and its efficacy documented (see the new point (16.2) and point (18.4) of Annex IV Part A Section I of Council Directive 2000/29/EC regarding the import requirements for Xanthomonas citri pv. citri and Xanthomonas citri pv. aurantifolii)-        for the import requirements for Cercospora angolensis, whether the country is free from the harmful organism or the pest free areas of the country recognized in accordance with the relevant International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (see the new point (16.3) of Annex IV Part A Section I of Council Directive 2000/29/EC);  -        for the import requirements for citrus black spot, whether the country is free from the harmful organism or the pest free areas of the country recognized in accordance with the relevant International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (see the new point (16.4) of Annex IV Part A Section I of Council Directive 2000/29/EC of Phyllosticta citricarpa)-        for the import requirements for false codling moth, the treatment applied to the fruits. In addition, the effectiveness of the mentioned treatment needs to be documented (see the new point (16.6) of Annex IV Part A Section I of Thaumatotibia leucotreta).
The requested information should be sent to the plant health contact point of the European Commission, Directorate General for Health and Food Safety:SANTE-G1-PLANT-HEALTH@ec.europa.eu.
As of 1 January 2018, the import into the EU territory of the following commodities will not be allowed, if that information is not provided.
Fruits of Citrus L., Fortunella Swingle, Poncirus Raf., Microcitrus Swingle, Naringi Adans., Swinglea Merr., and their hybrids originating in all non-EU countries;
Fruits of Capsicum (L.), Prunus persica (L.) BatschPunicagranatum L. originating in countries of the African continent, Cabo Verde, Saint Helena, Madagascar, La Réunion, Mauritius and Israel;
Plants of Microcitrus Swingle, Naringi Adans. and Swinglea Merr., other than fruits and seeds originating in all non-EU countries.

The received information will be shared by the Commission with the competent authorities of the member States of the European Union. In addition, an overview of the submitted information will be uploaded in the Commission web site (https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/plant_health_biosecurity_en).