Contingency plans for priority pests
Article 25
1. Each Member State shall draw up and keep up to date for each priority pest which is capable of entering into and becoming established in its territory, or a part thereof, a separate plan containing information concerning the decision-making processes, procedures and protocols to be followed, and the minimum resources to be made available and the procedures to make available further resources in the event of an officially confirmed or suspected presence of that pest (‘the contingency plan’). Member States shall, at an appropriate stage, consult all relevant stakeholders in the process of drawing up and keeping up to date the contingency plans. No contingency plans shall be required to be drawn up for pests for which it is unequivocally concluded that they cannot become established or spread in the Member State concerned due to its ecoclimatic conditions or to the absence of the host species. 2. Each contingency plan shall include the following: (a) the roles and responsibilities of the bodies involved in the execution of the plan in the event of an officially confirmed or suspected presence of the priority pest concerned, as well as the chain of command and procedures for the coordination of actions to be taken by competent authorities, other public authorities, delegated bodies or natural persons involved, laboratories and professional operators, including the coordination with neighbouring Member States and neighbouring third countries, where appropriate; (b) access of competent authorities to premises of professional operators, other relevant operators and natural persons; (c) access of competent authorities, where necessary, to laboratories, equipment, personnel, external expertise and resources necessary for the rapid and effective eradication or, where appropriate, containment of the priority pest concerned; (d) measures to be taken concerning the provision of information to the Commission, the other Member States, the professional operators concerned and the public as regards the presence of the priority pest concerned and the measures taken against it in the event that the presence of the pest concerned is officially confirmed or suspected; (e) arrangements for recording findings of the presence of the priority pest concerned; (f) the available assessments as set out in Article 6(2) and any assessment of the Member State as regards the risk of the priority pest concerned for its territory; (g) the risk management measures to be taken as regards the priority pest concerned, in accordance with Section 1 of Annex II, and the procedures to be followed; (h) principles for the geographical demarcation of demarcated areas; (i) protocols describing the methods of visual examinations, sampling and laboratory testing; and (j) principles concerning the training of personnel of the competent authorities and, where appropriate, the bodies, public authorities, laboratories, professional operators and other persons referred to in point (a). Where appropriate, the items referred to in points (d) to (j) of the first subparagraph shall take the form of instruction manuals. 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. 4. Within four years from the date of establishment of the list of priority pests, Member States shall establish a contingency plan for the priority pests included in that list. Within one year from the date of the inclusion of any further pest concerned in the list of priority pests, Member States shall establish a contingency plan for that priority pest. Member States shall regularly review and, where appropriate, update their contingency plans. 5. Member States shall, on request, communicate their contingency plans to the Commission and to the other Member States, and shall inform all relevant professional operators through publication on the internet.