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Official Journal EN
of the European Union L series
2024/2931 28.11.2024
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2024/2931
of 27 November 2024
amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 as regards certain plants for planting of Prunus
avium, Prunus canescens, Prunus cerasus, Prunus pseudocerasus and Prunus spinosa originating in the
United Kingdom, and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1213 as regards the phytosanitary
measures for the introduction of those plants for planting into the Union
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on
protective measures against pests of plants, amending Regulations (EU) No 228/2013, (EU) No 652/2014 and (EU)
No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 69/464/EEC, 74/647/EEC,
93/85/EEC, 98/57/EC, 2000/29/EC, 2006/91/EC and 2007/33/EC(1), and in particular Article 42(4), third subparagraph,
thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019(2)establishes, on the basis of a preliminary risk assessment,
a list of high risk plants, plant products and other objects.
(2) Following a preliminary assessment, 34 genera and one species of plants for planting originating from third
countries were provisionally listed in the Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 as high-risk plants.
That list includes the genus Prunus L.
(3) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1213(3)sets out the phytosanitary measures for the introduction
into the Union territory of certain plants, plant products and other objects, which have been removed from the
Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019, but for which phytosanitary risks are not yet fully assessed.
This is because one or more pests hosted by those plants are not yet included in the list of Union quarantine pests
set out in Annex II to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072(4), but they may fulfil the conditions
to be included in that list following a further complete risk assessment.
(1) OJ L 317, 23.11.2016, p. 4, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/2031/oj.
(2) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 of 18 December 2018 establishing a provisional list of high risk plants, plant
products or other objects, within the meaning of Article 42 of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 and a list of plants for which phytosanitary
certificates are not required for introduction into the Union, within the meaning of Article 73 of that Regulation (OJ L 323,
19.12.2018, p. 10, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2018/2019/oj).
(3) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1213 of 21 August 2020 concerning the phytosanitary measures for the
introduction into the Union of certain plants, plant products and other objects which have been removed from the Annex to
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 (OJ L 275, 24.8.2020, p. 5, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2020/1213/oj).
(4) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 of 28 November 2019 establishing uniform conditions for the
implementation of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and the Council, as regards protective measures against
pests of plants, and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 690/2008 and amending Commission Implementing Regulation
(EU) 2018/2019 (OJ L 319, 10.12.2019, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2019/2072/oj).
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/2931/oj 1/7EN
OJ L, 28.11.2024
(4) On 31 March 2023, the United Kingdom(5)submitted to the Commission a request for export to the Union of up to
1-year-old budwood/graftwood of Prunus avium with a maximum diameter of 12 mm; up to 7-year-old plants for
planting in growing medium of Prunus avium and Prunus avium grafted on Prunus avium, Prunus canescens, Prunus
cerasus or Prunus pseudocerasus rootstocks, with a maximum diameter of 40 mm at the base of the stem; up to 7-year-
old bare-rooted plants for planting of Prunus avium and Prunus avium grafted on Prunus avium, Prunus canescens, Prunus
cerasus or Prunus pseudocerasus rootstocks, with a maximum diameter of 40 mm at the base of the stem; and up to
15-year-old plants for planting of Prunus avium in growing medium, with a maximum diameter of 80 mm at the
base of the stem (‘the plants indicated in the first request’). That request was supported by the relevant technical
dossier (technical dossier of 31 March 2023).
(5) On 23 May 2024, the European Food Safety Authority (the Authority) adopted a scientific opinion regarding the risk
assessment of the plants indicated in the first request(6)(Opinion of 23 May 2024). The Authority identified Bemisia
tabaci (European populations), Colletotrichum aenigma, Eulecanium excrescens, Scirtothrips dorsalis, Takahashia japonica,
Tobacco ringspot virus and Tomato ringspot virus as pests relevant for those plants, evaluated the risk mitigation
measures described in the technical dossier of 31 March 2023 and estimated the likelihood of freedom of the
relevant plants from those pests.
(6) On 9 June 2023, the United Kingdom submitted to the Commission a request for export to the Union of up to
1-year-old budwood/graftwood of Prunus spinosa with a maximum diameter of 12 mm; up to 7-year-old bare-
rooted plants for planting of Prunus spinosa with a maximum diameter of 40 mm at the base of the stem; and up to
7-year-old plants for planting of Prunus spinosa in growing medium, with a maximum diameter of 40 mm at the
base of the stem (‘the plants indicated in the second request’). That request was supported by the relevant technical
dossier (technical dossier of 9 June 2023).
(7) On 19 June 2024, the Authority adopted a scientific opinion regarding the risk assessment of the plants indicated in
the second request(7) (Opinion of 19 June 2024). The Authority identified Bemisia tabaci (European populations),
Eulecanium excrescens and Scirtothrips dorsalis as pests relevant for those plants, evaluated the risk mitigation measures
described in the dossier and estimated the likelihood of freedom of the relevant plants from those pests.
(8) On the basis of the Opinions of 23 May 2024 and 19 June 2024, the phytosanitary risk arising from the
introduction into the Union territory of both the plants indicated in the first request and the plants indicated in the
second request is considered to be reduced to an acceptable level, provided that appropriate measures are applied to
address the risk of pests related to those plants.
(9) For the relevant plants indicated in the first request, the Authority identified the pests known to use as hosts either
Prunus avium, Prunus canescens, Prunus cerasus or Prunus pseudocerasus. As the phytosanitary risk from the introduction
into the Union territory of large and older trees (80 mm and 15-year-old) is considered to be reduced to an
acceptable level with the application of appropriate measures, it is therefore justified to conclude that the
phytosanitary risk from the introduction of all plants for planting of Prunus avium, Prunus canescens, Prunus cerasus
and Prunus pseudocerasus, irrespective of their size, age, grafted or not, or bare-rooted or in growing medium,
originating in the United Kingdom, is reduced to an acceptable level with the application of appropriate measures.
(5) In accordance with the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European
Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 5(4) of the Windsor Framework (See Joint Declaration
No 1/2023 of the Union and the United Kingdom in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community
(OJ L 102, 17.4.2023, p. 87)) in conjunction with Annex 2 to that Framework, for the purposes of this Regulation, references to the
United Kingdom do not include Northern Ireland.
(6) EFSA PLH Panel (EFSA Panel on Plant Health), 2024. Commodity risk assessment of Prunus avium plants from United Kingdom. EFSA
Journal, 22(7), e8836. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2024.8836.
(7) EFSA PLH Panel (EFSA Panel on Plant Health), 2024. Commodity risk assessment of Prunus spinosa plants from United Kingdom. EFSA
Journal, 22(7), e8893. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2024.8893.
2/7 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/2931/ojEN
OJ L, 28.11.2024
(10) Consequently, plants for planting of Prunus avium, Prunus canescens, Prunus cerasus and Prunus pseudocerasus, up to
1-year-old budwood/graftwood of Prunus spinosa with a maximum diameter of 12 mm and up to 7-year-old non-
grafted plants for planting of Prunus spinosa with a maximum diameter of 40 mm at the base of the stem,
originating in the United Kingdom (‘the relevant plants’), should no longer be considered high-risk plants. They
should therefore be removed from the list of high-risk plants, plant products and other objects in the Annex to
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019.
(11) Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(12) The measures described by the United Kingdom in the technical dossiers of 31 March 2023 and 9 June 2023 are
considered sufficient to reduce to an acceptable level the risk arising from the introduction into the Union territory
of the relevant plants. Those measures should therefore be laid down as phytosanitary import requirements in [the
Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1213 to ensure the phytosanitary protection of the Union territory.
(13) Bemisia tabaci (European populations) is listed as a protected zone quarantine pest in Annex III to Implementing
Regulation (EU) 2019/2072, while Scirtothrips dorsalis is listed as a Union quarantine pest in Annex II to that
Implementing Regulation.
(14) Tobacco ringspot virus and Tomato ringspot virus are now listed as Union Regulated non-quarantine pests in
Annex IV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072.
(15) Takahashia japonica is not yet included in the list of Union quarantine pests in Annex II to Implementing Regulation
(EU) 2019/2072. Nevertheless, on the basis of evidence provided by the Member States indicating that the impact of
that pest on its host plants in the Union is not significant, no import requirements are necessary with respect to that
pest.
(16) Colletotrichum aenigma and Eulecanium excrescens are not yet included in the list of Union quarantine pests. A complete
pest risk assessment needs to become available, to determine whether those pests should be listed in Annex II to
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072, and whether as a consequence the relevant plants, together with the
relevant specific requirements should be listed in Annex VII to that Regulation.
(17) Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1213 should therefore be amended to include the pests Colletotrichum aenigma
and Eulecanium excrescens, and their corresponding requirements.
(18) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee for
Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
The Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 is amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation.
Article 2
The Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1213 is amended in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation.
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/2931/oj 3/7EN
OJ L, 28.11.2024
Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European
Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 27 November 2024.
For the Commission
The President
Ursula VON DER LEYEN
4/7 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/2931/ojEN
OJ L, 28.11.2024
ANNEX I
In the Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019, in point 1, in the table, in the second column entitled
‘Description’, the entry for Prunus L. is replaced by the following:
‘Prunus L., other than:
— bare-rooted, dormant, free of leaves plants for planting of Prunus domestica grafted on Prunus cerasifera rootstocks
originating in Ukraine;
— up to 2-year-old dormant, free of leaves, unrooted cuttings of Prunus persica and Prunus dulcis originating in Türkiye;
— up to 2-year-old bare-rooted, dormant, free of leaves plants for planting of Prunus persica, Prunus dulcis, Prunus armeniaca
and Prunus davidiana, originating in Türkiye;
— plants for planting of Prunus avium, Prunus canescens, Prunus cerasus and Prunus pseudocerasus originating in the United
Kingdom;
— up to 1-year-old budwood/graftwood of Prunus spinosa with a maximum diameter of 12 mm originating in the United
Kingdom; and
— up to 7-year-old non-grafted plants for planting of Prunus spinosa with a maximum diameter of 40 mm at the base of
the stem, originating in the United Kingdom.’
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/2931/oj 5/7EN
OJ L, 28.11.2024
ANNEX II
In the Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1213, in the table, the following entries are inserted between the
entry ‘Prunus persica and Prunus dulcis, up to 2-year-old dormant, free of leaves, unrooted cuttings; Prunus persica, Prunus
dulcis, Prunus armeniaca and Prunus davidiana, up to 2-year-old bare-rooted, dormant, free of leaves plants for planting.’ and
the entry ‘Quercus petraea and Quercus robur, up to fifteen-year-old plants for planting with a maximum diameter of 80 mm
at the base of the stem.’:
Third
Plants, plant products or other
CN Code countries of Measures
objects
origin
‘Prunus avium, Prunus canescens, ex 0602 10 90 United (a) Official statement that:
Prunus cerasus and Prunus Kingdom (i) the plants are free from Colletotrichum
pseudocerasus plants for planting. aenigma and Eulecanium excrescens;
ex 0602 20 20
(ii) the site of production has been found free
from Colletotrichum aenigma and Eulecanium
ex 0602 20 80
excrescens during official inspections carried
out at appropriate times, since the
ex 0602 90 45 beginning of the last growing period;
(iii) a system has been put in place to ensure that
tools and machinery have been cleaned to
ex 0602 90 46
be free from soil and plant debris, and
disinfected to be free from Colletotrichum
ex 0602 90 48
aenigma, before they have been introduced
into the site of production; and
(iv) immediately prior to export, consignments
of the plants have been subjected to an
official inspection for the presence of
Eulecanium excrescens with such a sample
size so as to enable at least the detection of
1 % level of infestation with a level of
confidence of 99 %; and to an official
inspection for the presence of Colletotrichum
aenigma including random sampling and
testing of the plants;
(b) the phytosanitary certificates for those plants
include under the heading “Additional
Declaration”:
(i) the following statement: “The consignment
complies with Commission Implementing
Regulation (EU) 2020/1213”; and
(ii) the specification of the registered sites of
production.
6/7 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/2931/ojEN
OJ L, 28.11.2024
Third
Plants, plant products or other
CN Code countries of Measures
objects
origin
Prunus spinosa, ex 0602 10 90 United (a) Official statement that:
— up to 1-year-old budwood/ Kingdom (i) the plants are free from Eulecanium
graftwood with a excrescens;
ex 0602 20 20
maximum diameter of (ii) the site of production has been found free
12 mm; from Eulecanium excrescens during official
ex 0602 20 80
— up to 7-year-old non- inspections carried out at appropriate
grafted plants for planting times, since the beginning of the last
with a maximum diameter ex 0602 90 45 growing period; and
of 40 mm at the base of the (iii) immediately prior to export, consignments
stem. of the plants have been subjected to an
ex 0602 90 46
official inspection for the presence of
Eulecanium excrescens with such a sample
ex 0602 90 48
size as to enable at least the detection of 1 %
level of infestation with a level of
confidence of 99 %;
(b) the phytosanitary certificates for those plants
include under the heading “Additional
Declaration”:
(i) the following statement: “The consignment
complies with Commission Implementing
Regulation (EU) 2020/1213”; and
(ii) the specification of the registered sites of
production.’
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/2931/oj 7/7