2014/497/EU: Commission Implementing Decision of 23 July 2014 as regards measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Union of Xylella fastidiosa (Well and Raju) (notified under document C(2014) 5082)

• Published date: 25 July 2014
• Subject Matter: Plant health legislation
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Union, L 219, 25 July 2014

25.7.2014 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 219/56

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COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION

of 23 July 2014

as regards measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Union of Xylella fastidiosa (Well and Raju)

(notified under document C(2014) 5082)

(2014/497/EU)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Directive 2000/29/EC of 8 May 2000 on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community (1), and in particular the fourth sentence of Article 16(3), thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The Commission adopted Implementing Decision 2014/87/EU (2) as regards measures to prevent the spread within the Union of Xylella fastidiosa (Well and Raju) (hereinafter ‘the specified organism’).

(2) Since the adoption of that Decision, the Italian authorities have carried out investigations in the infected areas and the areas surrounding them concerning the presence and nature of the specified organism. Those investigations have produced preliminary results which are sufficient to allow the adoption of more precise measures.

(3) The investigations of the Italian authorities, as well as the available scientific and technical evidence, have confirmed that plants of Catharanthus G. Don, Nerium L., Olea L., Prunus L., and Vinca L. are host plants of the specified organism. Taking into account the evidence available, it is likely that plants of Malva L., Portulaca L., Quercus L. and Sorghum L. may also be host plants of that organism. Therefore, the measures should apply to plants for planting, other than seeds, of Catharanthus G. Don, Nerium L., Olea L., Prunus L., Vinca L., Malva L., Portulaca L., Quercus L. and Sorghum L. (hereinafter ‘specified plants’).

(4) It is appropriate to establish conditions for the introduction into the Union of specified plants from third countries where the specified organism is known to be present. Specific requirements should be adopted concerning the registration, supervision and status of production sites, as well as for the inspections, sampling, testing and transport of the specified plants, to ensure that plants which are introduced into the Union are free from the specified organism.

(5) Specified plants which have been grown for at least part of their life in a demarcated area, or which have been moved through such an area, are more likely than other plants to have been infected with the specified organism. Their movement should therefore be subject to specific requirements. Those requirements should be similar to the requirements for specified plants introduced from third countries where the specified organism is known to be present.

(6) Member States should carry out annual surveys for the presence of the specified organism in their territories in order to prevent its introduction and spread.

(7) In order to ensure the earliest possible action against the potential presence of the specified organism, anyone who might be aware of the presence of that organism should inform the Member States thereof. Moreover, and in order to ensure appropriate action by stakeholders, Member States should inform professional operators concerned about the potential presence of the specified organism in their territories and the measures to be taken.

(8) To eradicate the specified organism and prevent its spread, Member States should establish demarcated areas and take the necessary measures. Those demarcated areas should consist of an infected zone and a buffer zone. The width of the buffer zone should be calculated in view of the risk of the specified organism spreading to other areas.

(9) Where the establishment of a demarcated area does not seem necessary to eliminate the specified organism, the Member State concerned should have the possibility not to establish a demarcated area immediately. In that case, it should eliminate the specified organism on the plants where it was first found to be present and carry out a survey to determine whether any further plants have been infected.

(10) Specific measures should be established to ensure the eradication of the specified organism where it has been found to be present.

(11) In the interest of clarity, Implementing Decision 2014/87/EU should be repealed.

(12) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plant Health,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Definitions

For the purposes of this Decision, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) ‘specified plants’ means all plants for planting, other than seeds, of Catharanthus G. Don, Nerium L., Olea L., Prunus L., Vinca L., Malva L., Portulaca L., Quercus L. and Sorghum L.;

(b) ‘specified organism’ means Xylella fastidiosa (Well and Raju).

Article 2

Introduction into the Union of specified plants originating in third countries where the specified organism is known to be present

Specified plants originating in third countries where the specified organism is known to be present shall only be introduced into the Union if they fulfil the following conditions:

(a) they comply with the specific requirements for introduction, as set out in Section 1 of Annex I;

(b) on introduction into the Union they have been inspected by the responsible official body in accordance with Section 2 of Annex I for the presence of the specified organism;

(c) neither presence nor symptoms of the specified organism have been found when they were inspected in accordance with Section 2 of Annex I.

Article 3

Movement of specified plants within the Union

Specified plants which have been grown for at least part of their life in a demarcated area established in accordance with Article 7, or which have been moved through such an area, shall only be moved to and within areas other than infected zones, if they meet the conditions set out in Annex II.

Article 4

Surveys of the specified organism

1. Member States shall conduct annual surveys for the presence of the specified organism in their territory on the specified plants and on other possible host plants.

Those surveys shall be carried out by the responsible official body, or under the official supervision of the responsible official body. They shall consist of visual examinations and, in the case of any suspicion of infection by the specified organism, collection of samples and testing. Those surveys shall be based on sound scientific and technical principles, and shall be carried out at appropriate times with regard to the possibility to detect the specified organism.

Those surveys shall take account of the available scientific and technical evidence, the biology of the specified organism and its vectors, the presence and biology of specified plants or plants likely to be host plants of the specified organism, and any other appropriate information, concerning the presence of the specified organism.

2. Member States shall notify the results of those surveys to the Commission and the other Member States by 31 December of each year.

Article 5

Information about the specified organism

1. Where anyone becomes aware of the presence of the specified organism, or has reason to suspect such a presence, that person shall immediately inform the responsible official body.

The responsible official body shall immediately record such information.

2. Where appropriate, the responsible official body shall request the person referred to in paragraph 1 to provide that body with any other information concerning the presence of the specified organism which is in the possession of that person.

Article 6

Confirmation of presence

1. Where the responsible official body has been informed of a presence, or suspected presence, of the specified organism on the basis of the surveys referred to in Article 4(1), or in accordance with Article 5, it shall take all necessary steps to confirm that presence.

2. Where the presence of the specified organism is confirmed in an area where that presence was previously unknown, the Member State concerned shall, within five working days from the time of the confirmation, notify the Commission and the other Member States of that presence.

The same shall apply in the case of the official confirmation of the presence of the specified organism on a plant species previously not known to be a host plant. Those notifications shall be submitted in writing.

3. Member States shall ensure that professional operators whose specified plants may be affected by the specified organism, are immediately informed of the presence of the specified organism in the territory of that Member State, and become aware of the respective risks and measures to be taken.

Article 7

Demarcated areas

1. Where the results of the surveys referred to in Article 4(1) show the presence of the specified organism, or where such a presence is confirmed in accordance with Article 6(1), the Member State concerned shall without delay demarcate an area, hereinafter ‘demarcated area’.

2. The demarcated area shall consist of a zone in which the specified organism was found to be present, hereinafter ‘the infected zone’. That zone shall be defined in accordance with Section 1 of Annex III. The demarcated area shall further consist of a zone surrounding the infected zone, hereinafter ‘the buffer zone’. That zone shall...