2454 final report.pdf - Agra CEAS Consulting

Evaluation of the Community Plant Health Regime: Final Report
DG SANCO Evaluation Framework Contract Lot 3 (Food Chain)
frequency is not necessarily a weakness as such, but it suggests that some MS may not be
prioritising inspection according to risk possibly leading to a weaker focus on risk areas.;
There is scope for improvement and strengthening Community emergency measures, in
particular with a view to reducing delays and enhancing effectiveness and efficiency;
Third countries have difficulty in understanding EU requirements through the reading of
legislation and perceived lack of uniform interpretation between MS‘ inspection services, and
there is further scope for enhancing understanding through existing initiatives including via
the BTSF training programme;
Cooperation between plant health and customs authorities needs to be enhanced, inter alia to
promote nomenclature and IT system interoperability;
Lack of sufficient traveller awareness of the phytosanitary risks or private imports poses
significant risk in the absence of any measures on passenger transport and divergent policies
and practices of MS in this area (passenger transport controls, passengers‘ personal luggage
allowance);
Often underlying the above shortcomings there is a lack of sufficient staff resources and
training for authorities at all levels, which are needed to ensure full and satisfactory
implementation.
It is also noted that the EU is the largest food importer in the world. In the context of the
significant expansion in trade volumes and change in trade patterns (new products and sources of
supply), the EU is faced both with increasing and emerging risks of introduction of HOs. These
trends, which have already been witnessed in the last decade, are occurring in the context of
reduced administrative and financial resources at MS level for inspections.
The options for the future of the import regime are explored further in section 5.2.
3.5 Intra-Community movement
This section summarises the findings of the evaluation on the CPHR performance to date, taking
into consideration EQ 8 (area D) of the ToR.
EQ8: How is the current intra-Community movement regime implemented by MS, how
effective and useful is it and what are its critical success factors?
The plant passport (PP) system was introduced with the completion of the Internal Market in
1993 and it aimed at harmonizing the phytosanitary conditions for movement between and
within MS of live plants and plant products. It is a system based on the principle of prevention at
source. The standardised PP document 127 is an official label, the purpose of which is to provide
evidence that the provisions related to plant health standards and special requirements are
satisfied (Art. 2(f) of Directive 2000/29/EC). To this end, the PP specifies that the material
127 Commission Directive 92/105/EEC of 3 December 1992 establishing a degree of standardization for plant
passports to be used for the movement of certain plants, plant products or other objects within the Community and
establishing the detailed procedures related to the issuing of such plant passports and detailed procedures for their
replacement, amended by Commission Directive 2005/17/EC.
Food Chain Evaluation Consortium 113