EU: Union Fleurs steps up lobbying activities to support plant health import regime

The EU is currently in the process of reforming its plant health regime, which has been in place in its current form since 1977. The European Commission has proposed in May 2013 a new EU Plant Health Regulation, as well as a new legislation on official controls, which will now also include all phytosanitary controls at the EU borders. The proposals have been submitted to the European Parliament and Council for co-decision procedure, which is currently ongoing.

Despite the Commission’s proposals to introduce new tools (increased surveillance, restrictions on new high-risk trade) to prevent the introduction of new pests via imports, there have been repeated calls by some EU Member States to introduce drastic changes in the EU approach to phytosanitary controls at import, which would take the form of a closed system with only a positive list of products and origins allowed at import on the basis of a prior pest risk assessment. Such a new approach, if introduced, would radically transform the EU phytosanitary regime, which is at the moment based on an open system, whereby only forbidden plant/market combinations are not authorised for import, and would have a damaging impact on the floricultural sector, in the EU but also in origin countries worldwide, since the sector operates within increasingly global and cross-border supply-chains.

Union Fleurs has joined forces in the past months with the Fresh Produce Association (FRESHFEL), the European Seed Association (ESA) and the European Potato Trade Association (Europatat) to denounce such plans and defend the Commission proposal. The coalition calls instead for an effective and harmonised enforcement of the EU plant health rules across all EU Member States and at the EU borders, and for the development of risk-targeted measures. This should give a more appropriate response to the challenges posed by the risks of plant pests while safeguarding the operational needs of the plant-based sectors.

For more information, visit www.unionfleurs.org