Date: 2026-02-10Category: Not ApplicableState: Union GovernmentCountry: Europe
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/294 of 9 February 2026 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1078 as regards the inclusion of Potato virus X (non-EU isolates) to the list of specified pests for the introduction into the Union territory of unrooted cuttings for planting of Calibrachoa spp., Petunia spp. and their hybrids from Guatemala
Issued by European Commission
· Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety
**Executive Summary**
This is a summary of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/294, published on 10 February 2026. The regulation amends Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1078 to include Potato virus X (non-EU isolates) as a specified pest concerning the import of unrooted cuttings of Calibrachoa spp., Petunia spp., and their hybrids from Guatemala. The regulation enters into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Amendment to List of Specified Pests:**
* Potato virus X (non-EU isolates) is added to the list of "specified pests" in Article 1, point (1) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1078.
* **Amended Inspection Procedures:**
* Plants directly rooted or grown from specified plants must be separated from other susceptible plants.
* Official inspections, including sampling and molecular testing, must now also include testing for Potato virus X (non-EU isolates) in case of suspicion of infection.
* **Amendment to Annex I:**
* **Point 1(b)(vi):** Molecular testing is now required for the detection of Potato virus X (non-EU isolates).
* **Point 1(c)(i):** Official inspections must include molecular testing for Potato virus X (non-EU isolates) in case of suspicion of infection, in accordance with ISPM 31.
**Impact Analysis**
**Guatemalan Producers and Exporters of Unrooted Cuttings (Calibrachoa spp., Petunia spp., and their hybrids):**
* **Impact:** The new regulation imposes additional testing requirements for Potato virus X (non-EU isolates) for unrooted cuttings intended for export to the European Union.
* **Action Required:** Producers and exporters must ensure compliance with the updated sampling, molecular testing, and inspection protocols to detect Potato virus X (non-EU isolates) and ensure that unrooted cuttings meet EU phytosanitary standards.
**EU Member States/Plant Health Authorities:**
* **Impact:** Stricter control of the import and spread of Potato virus X (non-EU isolates) in the European Union.
* **Action Required:** Need to implement the amended inspection and testing procedures at entry points of the EU for the specified plants from Guatemala.
**Professional Operators within the EU:**
* **Impact:** Increased cost to ensure compliance, particularly during inspection and testing.
* **Action Required:** Ensure plants that are directly rooted or grown from specified plants are kept separated from other plants susceptible to specified pests.
Key Entities Referenced
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1078: Implementing regulation that this document amends concerning the introduction into the Union territory of unrooted cuttings for planting of Calibrachoa spp., Petunia spp. and their hybrids from Guatemala.
Potato virus X (non-EU isolates): A plant pest whose inclusion on the list of specified pests is the primary subject of the amendment.
Regulation (EU) 2016/2031: Regulation on protective measures against pests of plants, which this implementing regulation supports.
Guatemala: The country of origin for the plants in question (Calibrachoa spp., Petunia spp., and their hybrids).
Official Journal EN
of the European Union L series
2026/294 10.2.2026
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION(EU) 2026/294
of 9 February 2026
amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1078 as regards the inclusion of Potato virus X
(non-EU isolates) to the list of specified pests for the introduction into the Union territory of
unrooted cuttings for planting of Calibrachoaspp., Petuniaspp. and their hybrids from Guatemala
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 42a(1) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1078(2)establishes a derogation from Commission Implementing
Regulation (EU) 2019/2072(3)concerning the introduction into the Union territory of unrooted cuttings for planting
of Calibrachoaspp., Petuniaspp. and their hybrids from Guatemala.
(2) On 9 October 2025, the European Food Safety Authority (‘the Authority’) published an addendum to its scientific
opinion regarding the risk assessment of unrooted Petunia spp. and Calibrachoa spp. plants from Guatemala(4), as
new evidence confirmed the presence of Potato virus X (non-EU isolates) in Guatemala. Based on this, it included
that virus as a pest relevant for the unrooted cuttings for planting of Petuniaspp., Calibrachoaspp. and their hybrids
produced in Guatemala.
(3) Non-EU isolates of Potato virus X should be thus included in the definition of the specified pests in Article 1, point
(1), of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1078.
(4) For reasons of phytosanitary protection of the Union territory, the respective provisions of Implementing Regulation
(EU) 2025/1078 concerning sampling, molecular testing and inspections of the specified plants should be amended
accordingly to also address the risk of that virus.
(1) OJ L 317, 23.11.2016, p. 4, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/2031/oj.
(2) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1078 of 2 June 2025 establishing a derogation from Implementing Regulation
(EU) 2019/2072 concerning the introduction into the Union territory of unrooted cuttings for planting of Calibrachoaspp., Petunia
spp. and their hybrids from Guatemala (OJ L, 2025/1078, 3.6.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2025/1078/oj).
(3) 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).
(4) EFSA PLH Panel (EFSA Panel on Plant Health), 2024, Commodity risk assessment of Petuniaspp. and Calibrachoaspp. unrooted cuttings
from Guatemala, EFSA Journal, 2024; 22:e8544, https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2024.8544.
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2026/294/oj 1/3EN
OJ L, 10.2.2026
(5) Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1078 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(6) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the of the Standing Committee
on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Amendment of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1078
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1078 is amended as follows:
(1) in Article 1, point (1) is replaced by the following:
‘(1) ‘specified pests’ means Bactericera cockerelli(Šulc.), Bemisia tabaciGenn., Chloridea virescensFabricius, Eotetranychus
lewisi (McGregor), Epitrix cucumeris (Harris), Epitrix subcrinita (Lec.), Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), Liriomyza
huidobrensis (Blanchard), Liriomyza sativae Blanchard, Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess), Pepper golden mosaic virus,
Pepper huasteco yellow vein virus, Potato virus X (non-EU isolates), Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum Safni et al.,
Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. Emend. Safni et al., Spodoptera ornithogalli Guenée, Squash leaf
curl virus and Tomato severe leaf curl virus;’;
(2) in Article 3(4), the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:
‘Plants that are directly rooted or grown from the specified plants shall be kept separated from any other plant
susceptible to the specified pests. They shall be subjected to official inspections at least once before they are moved
for the first time out of the premises of the professional operator concerned and as close as possible to the time of
their movement. Those inspections shall include, in case of suspicion of infection, sampling and molecular testing
for Pepper golden mosaic virus, Pepper huasteco yellow vein virus, Potato virus X (non-EU isolates), Squash leaf curl
virus and Tomato severe leaf curl virus.’;
(3) Annex I is amended as follows:
(a) point 1(b)(vi) is replaced by the following:
‘(vi) subject to molecular testing for the detection of Pepper golden mosaic virus, Pepper huasteco yellow vein
virus, Potato virus X (non-EU isolates), Squash leaf curl virus and Tomato severe leaf curl virus at least
once before the first batch of unrooted cuttings is exported to the Union during that production cycle or
after any finding of Bemisia tabaciGenn. in the production site;’;
(b) point 1(c)(i) is replaced by the following:
‘(i) subject to an official inspection for the presence of the specified pests, by means of a sampling method
allowing to detect at least a level of infestation of 1 %, with a level of confidence of 99 % in accordance
with the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures ISPM 31, including molecular testing for
Pepper golden mosaic virus, Pepper huasteco yellow vein virus, Potato virus X (non-EU isolates), Squash
leaf curl virus and Tomato severe leaf curl virus in case of suspicion of infection;’.
2/3 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2026/294/ojEN
OJ L, 10.2.2026
Article 2
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth 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, 9 February 2026.
For the Commission
The President
Ursula VON DER LEYEN
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2026/294/oj 3/3