The Council of the European Union has adopted a targeted revision of the EU plant health law to simplify procedures.

The plan involves the creation of an EU plant health emergency team. The team will be made up of experts specialized in plant health who can provide assistance in the event of new outbreaks of pests in the EU. The team can also provide neighbouring non-EU countries with urgent assistance and expertise in the case of outbreaks, with a view to preventing harmful plant pests from entering the EU.

The revised regulation reduces the administrative burden for competent authorities by increasing the duration of their multiannual survey programs. These will now cover a period of five to 10 years, instead of the current five to seven years. To ensure the timely detection of pests, these programs are reviewed and updated when necessary, in order to respond efficiently to the phytosanitary situation.

Increased digitalization is also intended to cut red tape for operators and national authorities alike.

Next steps
The formal adoption marks the final step in the ordinary legislative procedure. The regulation will now be signed and published in the Official Journal of the EU. It will enter into force on the 20th day following its publication.

Background
The plant health law (regulation 2016/2031) is the basic legal framework for the EU’s plant health policy. It aims to prevent the entry and spread of new plant pests (so-called ‘Union quarantine pests’) and protect against pests already present in the EU (‘regulated non-quarantine pests’). It entered into application on 14 December 2019.

The Commission submitted its proposal for revising the existing rules on 17 October 2023, taking into account the experience gained by operators in the implementation of the plant health law.
The two co legislators, the Council and the European Parliament, reached an agreement on the final wording of the revised regulation on 5 March 2024.