Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 is amended as follows:
(1)
in Article 18(6), the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:
‘Member States shall notify the Commission and the other Member States of the demarcated areas immediately after their establishment, together with the pests concerned and the respective measures taken. Those notifications shall be made through the electronic notification system referred to in Article 103.’
;
(2)
in Article 19, the following paragraph is added:
‘8. The finding of a presence of the pest concerned in the buffer zone referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article and the abolition of the demarcated areas referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article shall be notified through the electronic notification system referred to in Article 103.’
;
(3)
the following article is inserted:
‘Article 19a
Union Plant Health Emergency Team
1. A Union Plant Health Emergency Team (“the Team”), composed of experts, shall be created with the purpose of providing Member States, upon their request, with urgent assistance in relation to the measures to be taken pursuant to Articles 10 to 19, 27 and 28 concerning new outbreaks of Union quarantine pests and pests subject to the measures adopted pursuant to Article 30. In justified cases, the Team may also provide urgent assistance to third countries bordering the Union territory or presenting an imminent phytosanitary risk for that territory, upon the request of one or more Member States and the third country concerned, in relation to the outbreaks in their territories of Union quarantine pests and pests subject to the measures adopted pursuant to Article 30.
For each case of assistance, the Commission shall appoint specific members of the Team, on the basis of their expertise, and in consultation with the Member State or third country concerned.
That assistance may include in particular:
(a)
scientific, technical and managerial on-the-spot or remote assistance as regards the eradication of the pests concerned, the prevention of their spread and other measures, in close collaboration with the competent authorities of the Member State or third country concerned by outbreaks of pests or suspicion thereof;
(b)
specific scientific advice on the suitable diagnostic methods, as appropriate, in coordination with the relevant European Union reference laboratory referred to in Article 94 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 and other reference laboratories;
(c)
specific assistance, as appropriate, to support coordination among the competent authorities of the Member States or third countries and with those laboratories.
The content, conditions and timing of that assistance shall be determined by the Commission in agreement with the Member State or third country concerned and with the respective Member States providing the experts.
2. Member States may submit to the Commission the list of experts that they propose for designation as members of the Team and keep it updated. On that occasion, Member States shall provide all relevant information on the professional profile and the field of expertise of each expert proposed.
3. Members of the Team shall be entitled to an indemnity for their participation in the Team’s on-the-spot activities and, where applicable, for serving as team leaders or rapporteurs on a specific assistance mission.
That indemnity, and the reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs, shall be paid by the Commission in accordance with the rules for the reimbursement of travel, subsistence and other expenses for experts.’
;
(4)
in Article 22(3), the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:
‘Member States shall report to the Commission and the other Member States, by 30 April of each year, the results of the surveys referred to in paragraph 1 which were carried out in the preceding calendar year. Those reports shall include information on where the surveys were conducted, the timing of the surveys, the pests and the plants, plant products or other objects concerned, the number of inspections and samples taken, and the finding of each pest concerned. Those reports shall be submitted through the electronic notification system referred to in Article 103.’
;
(5)
Article 23 is amended as follows:
(a)
in paragraph 1, the third subparagraph is replaced by the following:
‘The multiannual survey programmes shall be established for a period of five to 10 years. Those programmes shall be reviewed and updated on the basis of the applicable rules and the phytosanitary situation of the territory concerned.’
;
(b)
paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. Member States shall, on request from the Commission, notify their multiannual survey programmes to the Commission and the other Member States. Those notifications shall be submitted through the electronic notification system referred to in Article 103.’
;
(6)
in Article 24, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. Member States shall report to the Commission and the other Member States by 30 April of each year the results of the surveys referred to in paragraph 1 which were carried out in the preceding calendar year. Those reports shall be submitted through the electronic notification system referred to in Article 103.’
;
(7)
in Article 25, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
‘3. Contingency plans may be combined for multiple priority pests with similar biology and range of host species. In those cases, the contingency plan shall consist of a general part common to all priority pests covered by it and of specific parts for each priority pest concerned. Similarly, Member States may cooperate to synchronise contingency plans for certain species, where appropriate for priority pest species of similar biology and overlapping or adjoining ranges of host species.’
;
(8)
in Article 30(1), the third subparagraph is replaced by the following:
‘Those measures shall, where appropriate, implement, specifically for each of the pests concerned, one or more of the provisions referred to in points (a) to (g) of the first subparagraph of Article 28(1). They may include the prohibition of the pest’s introduction into, movement within, or holding, multiplication or release in the Union territory and requirements concerning the introduction into, and the movement within, the Union territory of plants, plant products and other objects.’
;
(9)
in Article 34, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. Member States shall notify the Commission and the other Member States, by 30 April of each year, of the results of the surveys referred to in paragraph 1 which were carried out in the preceding calendar year. Those notifications shall be submitted through the electronic notification system referred to in Article 103.’
;
(10)
in Article 37, the following paragraph is added:
‘10. In the event that plants for planting have been introduced into, or moved within, the Union territory in non-compliance with paragraph 1 of this Article, Member States shall adopt the necessary measures and shall notify that non-compliance and those measures to the Commission and other Member States through the electronic notification system referred to in Article 103.
Member States shall also notify those measures to the third country from which the plants for planting were introduced into the Union territory.’
;
(11)
in Article 42, the following paragraph is inserted:
‘1a. The Commission is empowered to adopt a delegated act, in accordance with Article 105, supplementing this Regulation by setting out the procedure to conduct the listing of high-risk plants, plant products and other objects.
That delegated act shall provide for all of the following elements:
(a)
the preparation of the evidence for the assessment of the high-risk plants, plant products and other objects;
(b)
the actions to be taken following the receipt of that evidence;
(c)
the procedures for that assessment;
(d)
the handling of dossiers concerning confidentiality and data protection.’
;
(12)
the following article is inserted:
‘Article 42a
Temporary derogations from the prohibitions provided for in Articles 40 and 42, and from the requirements referred to in Article 41
1. By way of derogation from Article 40(1) and Article 41(1), the Commission may, by means of implementing acts, adopt temporary derogations from the prohibition provided for in Article 40(1), and from the special and equivalent requirements referred to in Article 41(2), concerning the introduction into the Union territory of specific plants, plant products and other objects originating from one or more third countries that present a phytosanitary risk which is not yet fully assessed.
Those implementing acts shall:
(a)
set out temporary measures concerning the introduction of those plants, plant products and other objects into the Union territory, in accordance with the principles set out in Section 2 of Annex II; and
(b)
amend the relevant parts of the implementing acts referred to in Article 40(2) and Article 41(2) by inserting a reference to the derogation concerning the plant, plant product or other object concerned.
2. The temporary derogations referred to in paragraph 1 may be adopted only if the following conditions have been fulfilled:
(a)
(i)
the Commission has received evidence justifying the adoption of temporary derogations with requirements equivalent to, or more stringent than, those referred to in Article 41; or
(ii)
the third country concerned has submitted to the Commission a request containing official written guarantees for the application in its territory, prior to and at the moment of making the request, of the measures which are necessary for addressing the phytosanitary risk concerned; and
(b)
an assessment has shown that those plants, plant products or other objects pose a risk that can be reduced to an acceptable level by applying the measures which are necessary to address the phytosanitary risk concerned.
3. The Commission is empowered to adopt a delegated act, in accordance with Article 105, supplementing this Regulation as regards the procedure to be followed in order to grant the temporary derogations referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. That delegated act shall provide for the following elements of the procedure:
(a)
the preparation, content and submission of the requests and dossiers by the third countries concerned;
(b)
the actions to be taken following the reception of those requests and dossiers, including, where appropriate, the consultation of scientific bodies or the consideration of scientific opinions or studies;
(c)
handling of the requests and dossiers concerning confidentiality and data protection.
4. By way of derogation from Article 42(2), the Commission may, by means of implementing acts, adopt temporary derogations from the acts referred to in Article 42(3) if all of the following conditions are fulfilled:
(a)
the phytosanitary risk of the high-risk plants, plant products or other objects concerned is not yet fully assessed;
(b)
a provisional assessment has shown that those plants, plant products or other objects pose a risk that can be reduced to an acceptable level by applying the measures which are necessary to address the phytosanitary risk concerned;
(c)
no implementing act pursuant to Article 42(4) has yet been adopted as regards the plants, plant products or other objects concerned.
Those implementing acts shall set out temporary measures which concern the introduction of those plants, plant products and other objects into the Union and are necessary to reduce the respective phytosanitary risk to an acceptable level.
5. The implementing acts referred to in paragraphs 1 and 4 shall provide for yearly reporting from the third country concerned about the application of the respective temporary measures. In the event that a report leads to the conclusion that the risk concerned is not appropriately addressed by the measures reported on, the act providing for those measures shall be immediately repealed or amended as necessary.
6. The application period of the implementing acts referred to in paragraph 1 shall not be longer than five years. However, that period may be renewed, and the derogation concerned may be subject to amended requirements, if so justified on the basis of an updated assessment.
7. The implementing acts referred to in paragraphs 1 and 4 shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 107(2).’
;
(13)
in Article 44(1), point (a) is replaced by the following:
‘(a)
the third country concerned ensures, through the application under its official control of one or more specified measures, a level of phytosanitary protection which is equivalent to the special requirements in respect of the introduction into, or movement within, the Union territory of the plants, plant products and other objects concerned from other third countries;’
;
(14)
in Article 71, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. The phytosanitary certificate shall specify under the heading “Additional Declaration” which specific requirement is fulfilled, whenever the respective implementing act adopted pursuant to Article 28(1) and (2), Article 30(1) and (3), Article 37(4), Article 41(2) and (3) and Article 54(2) and (3) allows for several different options for such requirements. That specification shall include the full wording of the relevant requirement. In the case of one or more categories of plants for planting, as referred to in Article 37(7) in relation to Union regulated non-quarantine pests, that specification shall include the full wording of the applicable option for the category concerned.’
;
(15)
in Article 81, the following paragraph is added:
‘3. The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, set out the cases where paragraph 1, point (a), of this Article does not apply to particular plants, plants products or other objects distributed by means of sales through distance contracts. Those implementing acts may specify conditions for their application. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 107(2).’
;
(16)
in Article 88, the following paragraphs are added:
‘The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, set out provisions:
(a)
determining the plants, plant products and other objects which, by way of derogation from the first paragraph, may be moved within the Union with a plant passport associated with them in a way other than that of a physical attachment, due to their size, shape or way of packaging that make that attachment impossible or very difficult; and
(b)
providing for rules to ensure that the plant passport concerned, although not attached, still refers to the respective plants, plant products and other objects.
Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 107(2).’
;
(17)
in Article 94, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. By way of derogation from the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, Member States may decide to replace a phytosanitary certificate at the point of entry of the plant, plant product or other object concerned into the Union territory by:
(a)
a certified copy of the original phytosanitary certificate; that copy shall be issued by the competent authority and shall accompany the movement of the plant, plant product or other object concerned only up to the point where the plant passport is issued; or
(b)
the information contained in the electronic notification system referred to in Article 103, provided that the electronic phytosanitary certificate or a digital copy of the phytosanitary certificate is accessible in that system and is made available, upon request of competent authorities, during the movement of the plant, plant product or other object concerned up to the point where the plant passport is issued.’
;
(18)
in Article 99, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
‘1. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 105 supplementing this Regulation by setting out the elements to be contained in official attestations specific for plants, plant products or other objects, other than wood packaging material, as form of proof of the implementation of measures adopted pursuant to Article 28(1) or (2), Article 30(1) or (3), Article 41(2) or (3), Article 44, or Article 54(2) or (3).’
;
(19)
in Article 103, the first paragraph is replaced by the following:
‘The Commission shall establish an electronic system for the submission of notifications and reports by the Member States.’
;
(20)
in Article 104, first paragraph, the introductory part is replaced by the following:
‘The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, lay down specific rules concerning the submission of notifications referred to in Article 9(1) and (2), Article 11, Article 17(3), Article 18(6), Article 19(2) and (8), Article 28(7), Article 29(3), first subparagraph, Article 30(8), Article 33(1), Article 37(10), Article 40(4), Article 41(4), Article 46(4), Article 49(6), Article 53(4), Article 54(4), Article 60(2), Article 77(2) and Article 95(5). Those rules shall concern one or more of the following elements:’
;
(21)
Article 105 is amended as follows:
(a)
in paragraph 2, the following subparagraph is added:
‘The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 42(1a) and Article 42a(3) shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 5 January 2025. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power no later than nine months before the end of the five-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period.’
;
(b)
paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
‘3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 6(2), Article 7, Article 8(5), Article 19(7), Article 21, Article 32(5), Article 34(1), Article 38, Article 42(1a), Article 42a(3), Article 43(2), Article 46(2), Article 48(5), Article 51, Article 65(4), Article 71(4), Article 76(4), Article 81(2), Article 83(6), Article 87(4), Article 89(2), Article 96(2), Article 98(1), Article 99(1), Article 100(4), Article 101(5) and Article 102(6) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.’
;
(c)
paragraph 6 is replaced by the following:
‘6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 6(2), Article 7, Article 8(5), Article 19(7), Article 21, Article 32(5), Article 34(1), Article 38, Article 42(1a), Article 42a(3), Article 43(2), Article 46(2), Article 48(5), Article 51, Article 65(4), Article 71(4), Article 76(4), Article 81(2), Article 83(6), Article 87(4), Article 89(2), Article 96(2), Article 98(1), Article 99(1), Article 100(4), Article 101(5) and Article 102(6) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.’.