Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2404 of 14 September 2022 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council by laying down detailed rules for the surveys on protected zone quarantine pests and repealing Commission Directive 92/70/EEC

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 32(5), second subparagraph, and Article 34(1), second subparagraph, thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 provides for the basic rules on plant health in the Union.

(2) Article 32(4), point (b), of that Regulation establishes the obligation for Member States to include, when applying for a new protected zone, the results of surveys of at least three preceding years to demonstrate the absence of the protected zone quarantine pest (‘the pest’) in the territory concerned.

(3) Article 34(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 establishes the obligation for Member States to carry out annual surveys of each protected zone as regards the pests and to report to the Commission and the other Member States each year the results of those surveys.

(4) The rules concerning the preparation of the surveys should include requirements concerning the consideration of the biology of the pest and host plants concerned, and that the timing of the survey is appropriate for the detection of the pest. Those elements are important for the preparation of the survey to be complete and well-suited for the survey concerned.

(5) The content of the survey should include indications on maps, description of the survey area, examinations, sampling and testing, target populations, detection methods and risk factors, to ensure their completeness, effectiveness and efficiency.

(6) The surveys should also be carried out in a buffer zone surrounding the protected zone and be more intensive than the ones in the protected zone, because the pest is not prohibited in the buffer zone and no measures against it are applicable there. This is necessary to confirm the absence of the pest from the buffer zone and better preserve the pest-free status of the protected zone. This is also in line with the applicable International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures for the establishment of pest free areas (2) used correspondingly for the establishment of protected zones pursuant to Union law. Those international standards require the establishment of buffer zones for the establishment and the maintenance of pest free areas, where geographic isolation is not considered adequate to prevent introduction to or re-infestation of such areas, or where there are no other means of preventing pest movement to such areas.

(7) For the same reasons, the surveys in the inner bands of the protected zone, along the border with the protected zone, should be intensified compared with the ones in the rest of the protected zone.

(8) In order for the content of surveys to be consistent, a reporting template should be established. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1231 (3) established the format and instructions for the annual reports on the results of surveys in areas where the pests are not known to be present. In order to have a harmonised approach in the reporting of survey results within the Union, a similar format should be adopted for the reporting of survey results in protected zones, taking into account the specific elements of these surveys.

(9) Commission Directive 92/70/EEC (4) also lays down detailed rules for surveys to be carried out for the purpose of the recognition of protected zones. As it was adopted under the previous Union legal acts on plant health, that Directive is now obsolete and should be repealed,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation lays down detailed rules for:

(a) surveys for the establishment of a new protected zone pursuant to Article 32(3) or (6) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031; and

(b) the preparation and the content of annual surveys pursuant to Article 34(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(a) ‘buffer zone’ means an area surrounding a protected zone in order to minimize the probability of introduction and spread of the pest into the protected zone;

(b) ‘inner band’ means an area inside of a protected zone, of a width equivalent to the width of the buffer zone, surrounding the protected zone on the inner side along its outer border;

(c) ‘survey’ means a detection survey targeting the pest in a protected zone and, where appropriate, a buffer zone;

(d) ‘demarcated area’ means an area demarcated, following a finding of the pest in a protected zone, as described in Article 18 of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031;

(e) ‘statistically-based survey’ means a survey carried out on the basis of the European Food Safety Authority General guidelines for statistically sound and risk-based surveys for plant pests (5).

Article 3

Preparation of surveys

(a) risk-based;

(b) based on sound scientific and technical principles;

(c) carried out taking into account the biology of the pest and the presence of host species within the protected zone; and

(d) carried out at the most appropriate times for the detection of the pest.

The surveys in the buffer zones shall be more intensive than in the protected zone, with a higher number of survey activities (visual examinations, samples, traps and tests, where appropriate).

The width of the buffer zone shall be determined on the basis of the biology of the pest and its potential spread capacity.

No surveys in the buffer zone shall be required when due to the biology of the pest, the absence of host plants, the geographical location of the protected zone or the nature of its spatial isolation, there is no risk of introduction of the pest into the protected zone through the natural spread from the neighbouring areas.

The inner band shall not be established when due to the biology of the pest, the absence of host plants, the geographical location of the protected zone or the nature of its spatial isolation, there is no risk of introduction of the pest into the protected zone through the natural spread from the neighbouring areas.

The surveys in the inner bands shall be more intensive than in the rest of the protected zone, with a higher number of survey activities (visual examinations, samples, traps and tests, where appropriate).

Article 4

Content of the surveys

The surveys shall contain the following elements:

(a) a map with the geographical delimitation of the protected zone and, where appropriate, the buffer zone or the inner band, detailing the location of the survey activities carried out and indicating the survey points, the findings or outbreaks and any demarcated areas established;

(c) the list of host plants;

(d) the identification of the risk areas where the pest can be present;

(e) information about the months of the year, during which the survey is carried out;

Article 5

Reporting on the results of the surveys

Member States shall report, for each protected zone and using the template set out in Annex I, general information and the results of the surveys.

Member States shall use one of the templates set out in Annex II to this Regulation to report on the results of the surveys pursuant to:

(a) Article 32(4), point b, of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031; or

(b) Article 34(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031.

Article 6

Repeal of Directive 92/70/EEC

Directive 92/70/EEC is repealed.

Article 7

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.

It shall apply from 1 January 2023.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 14 September 2022.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 317, 23.11.2016, p. 4.

(2) ISPM 4 Requirements for the establishment of pest free areas and ISPM 26 Establishment of pest free areas for fruit flies (Tephritidae).

(3) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1231 of 27 August 2020 on the format and instructions for the annual reports on the results of the surveys and on the format of the multiannual survey programmes and the practical arrangements, respectively provided for in Articles 22 and 23 of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and the Council (OJ L 280, 28.8.2020, p. 1).

(4) Commission Directive 92/70/EEC of 30 July 1992 laying down detailed rules for surveys to be carried out for purposes of the recognition of protected zones in the Community (OJ L 250, 29.8.1992, p. 37).

(5) EFSA, General guidelines for statistically sound and risk-based surveys of plant pests, 8 September 2020, doi:10.2903/sp.efsa.2020.EN-1919.