Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1194 of 11 July 2022 establishing measures to eradicate and prevent the spread of Clavibacter sepedonicus (Spieckermann & Kotthoff 1914) Nouioui et al. 2018
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1194of 11 July 2022establishing measures to eradicate and prevent the spread of Clavibacter sepedonicus (Spieckermann & Kotthoff 1914) Nouioui et al. 2018THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on protective measures against pests of plants, amending Regulations (EU) No 228/2013, (EU) No 652/2014 and (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 69/464/EEC, 74/647/EEC, 93/85/EEC, 98/57/EC, 2000/29/EC, 2006/91/EC and 2007/33/ECOJ L 317, 23.11.2016, p. 4., and in particular Article 28(1), points (a) to (h) thereof,Whereas:(1)Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 provides the basis for Union legislation on protective measures against pests of plants. As that Regulation establishes a new set of rules, it repeals, with effect from 1 January 2022, several acts which were based on the previous rules in the sector.(2)One of those repealed acts is Council Directive 93/85/EECCouncil Directive 93/85/EEC of 4 October 1993 on the control of potato ring rot (OJ L 259, 18.10.1993, p. 1). which set out measures against the pest Clavibacter michiganensis (Smith) Davis et al. ssp sepedonicus (Spieckermann & Kotthoff 1914), later renamed Clavibacter sepedonicus (Spieckermann & Kotthoff 1914) Nouioui et al. 2018, ("the specified pest"), the pathogenic agent of potato ring rot.(3)Furthermore, since the adoption of that Directive, new scientific developments have taken place concerning the biology and distribution of the specified pest, while new testing methods have been developed to detect and identify it as well as methods to eradicate it, and to prevent its spread.(4)It is therefore appropriate to adopt new measures for plants of Solanum tuberosum L., other than seeds ("the specified plants"), to eradicate the specified pest in case it is found present in the Union territory, and to prevent its spread. Certain measures laid down in Directive 93/85/EEC, in particular those concerning the eradication and prevention of the spread of the specified pest, are, however, still appropriate and should therefore be provided for.(5)Member States’ competent authorities should conduct annual surveys for the presence of the specified pest on the specified plants in their territory, in order to ensure the most effective and early detection of that pest. The rules on annual surveys should be adapted to the intended use of the specified plants, to ensure that visual inspections, sampling and testing take place at the most appropriate time and under the most suitable conditions for each plant and its use.(6)In case of a suspicion of the presence of the specified pest, the competent authority of the Member State concerned should conduct testing in accordance with international standards, in order to confirm or refute that presence.(7)Where the presence of the specified pest is confirmed, the competent authority of the Member State concerned should without delay take appropriate measures for eradicating it and preventing its further spread. The first of those measures should be the establishment of a demarcated area.(8)Further eradication measures should also be provided for. Specified plants designated as infected by the specified pest should not be planted in the Union territory, and the competent authority of the Member State concerned should ensure that the infected specified plants are destroyed or disposed of otherwise, under conditions which prevent the spread of the specified pest. Specific measures should be provided for as regards testing, sampling and on-site actions, in order to ensure that there is no identifiable risk of the specified pest spreading.(9)In order to ensure the most effective protection of the Union territory from the specified pest, it is appropriate to designate certain areas in the Union as "highly infected areas". Those should be defined as areas where the number of outbreak sites identified during annual surveys during a continuous period of more than 10 years have demonstrated that the specified pest is present in multiple locations, and where it cannot be excluded that that pest is also present in production sites which are not under official supervision. For this reason, movement of the specified plants out of those areas and into, and within, the rest of the Union territory should be subject to certain conditions and accompanied by a plant passport.(10)Every five years, Member States should submit reports to the Commission and the other Member States as regards the evolution of their respective highly infected areas, in order to ensure an overview of the implementation of those measures in the Union and, as necessary, review and adapt them.(11)It is appropriate to provide for a derogation from the obligation to notify the presence of the specified pest in EUROPHYT pursuant to Article 32 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1715Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1715 of 30 September 2019 laying down rules for the functioning of the information management system for official controls and its system components ("the IMSOC Regulation") (OJ L 261, 14.10.2019, p. 37). where the specified pest is situated in a highly infected area, as it would be of little added value due to the continuous outbreaks in multiple locations.(12)This Regulation should enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union to ensure that it applies as soon as possible after the repeal of Directive 93/85/EEC.(13)The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: