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)
EPPO, and a more general EU strategy on Invasive Species (IS), following the CBD definition,
has been developed. There are therefore extensive calls for clarification of the CPHR on this
issue. The potential effects of climate change on altering patterns of alien species invasion in the
EU need also to be taken into account.
The options for the future regarding the inclusion of IAS in the CPHR are explored further in
section 5.1.2.
3.2 Classification of HOs
This section summarises the findings of the evaluation on the CPHR performance to date, taking
into consideration EQ 5 (area B) of the ToR.
EQ5. In how far does the classification of harmful organisms (HOs) in Directive
2000/29/EC reflect the different objectives of the regime and the priorities as concerns
phytosanitary risks, and in how far is reliable information available for appropriate risk
assessment / risk management (including data on pest status and scientific data for impact
and cost/benefit analysis)?
A description of the current HO classification approach and surveillance measures is provided in
Annex 1 (Theme 1).
3.2.1 Current approach for listing HOs in Directive 2000/29/EC
The CPHR defines HOs as ―any species, strain or biotype of plant, animal or pathogenic agent
injurious to plants or plant products” (Art. 2(1)(e) of Directive 2000/29/EC). The Annexes I and
II of the Directive list the HOs whose introduction into, and spread within all MS shall be
banned, either in all cases (Annex I), or only if present on certain plants and plant products
(Annex II).
Currently, the number of listed HOs amounts to 250. The need for a long list is explained by the
approach followed at EU level towards imports, which is an open system, conceptually different
from the more restrictive approach followed by other major trading partners (e.g. US, Australia,
Canada), where imports are prohibited unless an import license is issued on the basis of a PRA.
The current listing in the Directive 2000/29/EC is based on Directive 77/93, which was largely
based on work done in EPPO, as these pests were included in the original EPPO list. At the time,
there was no formal PRA process 79 , and therefore most of the original organisms on the list have
not been subjected to this process. In contrast, each HO that has been added to the list in recent
years has been submitted to a PRA and introduced into the list on this basis. However, the PRAs
that have been carried out at EU level have only concentrated on the phytosanitary/biological
aspects, not the economic issues. The PRA currently done by the EU is essentially a technical
assessment of whether an organism is injurious to plant health. The economic issues are largely
79 The beginning of PRA process dates back to early 1990s: 1992 first ISPM 2 (Framework for pest risk analysis),
which then evolved and was added with specific PRA ISPMs 11 (quarantine pests) and 21 (non quarantine pests).
EPPO standards have been developed in parallel.
Food Chain Evaluation Consortium 60