Prohibition of introduction of plants, plant products and other objects into protected zones
Article 53
1. Certain plants, plant products or other objects originating from third countries or within the Union territory shall not be introduced into certain protected zones. 2. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, adopt a list containing the plants, plant products and other objects referred to in paragraph 1 which are prohibited from being introduced into certain protected zones. The first of those implementing acts shall include the plants, plant products and other objects and their respective protected zones and, where applicable, their country of origin as listed in Part B of Annex III to Directive 2000/29/EC. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 107(2) of this Regulation. In the list established by those implementing acts, the plants, plant products and other objects shall also be identified by their respective CN code where that code is available. Other codes laid down by Union legislation shall, in addition, be referred to where they specify further the applicable CN code for a specific plant, plant product or other object. 3. Where a plant, plant product or other object coming from outside a protected zone poses a pest risk of an unacceptable level by its likelihood of hosting the respective protected zone quarantine pest and that risk cannot be reduced to an acceptable level by applying one or more of the measures set out in points 2 and 3 of Section 1 of Annex II, the Commission shall amend the implementing act referred to in paragraph 2 accordingly to include in it that plant, plant product or other object and the protected zone or zones concerned. Where a plant, plant product or other object included in that implementing act does not pose a pest risk of an unacceptable level, or it poses such a risk but that risk can be reduced to an acceptable level by applying one or more of the measures set out in points 2 and 3 of Section 1 of Annex II, the Commission shall amend that implementing act accordingly. Those amendments shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 107(2). The acceptability of the level of that pest risk shall be assessed in accordance with the principles set out in Section 2 of Annex II. On duly justified imperative grounds of urgency to address a serious pest risk, the Commission shall adopt immediately applicable implementing acts in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 107(3). 4. Member States shall notify, through the electronic notification system referred to in Article 103, the Commission and other Member States of any cases where plants, plant products or other objects have been introduced into, or moved within, the protected zone concerned in violation of the prohibitions adopted pursuant to this Article. Where applicable, the Member States or the Commission shall notify the third country from which the plants, plant products or other objects were introduced into the protected zone concerned.