Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1310 of 27 June 2023 establishing a derogation from Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 concerning the introduction into the Union territory of naturally or artificially dwarfed plants for planting of Chamaecyparis Spach, Juniperus L. and certain species of Pinus L., originating in the Republic of Korea

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 Articles 40(2) and 41(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Commission Decision 2002/499/EC (2) authorised the Member States to provide for derogations from Article 4(1) of Council Directive 2000/29/EC (3), with regard to the prohibitions referred to in point 1 of Part A of Annex III to that Directive, for introduction into the Union territory of naturally or artificially dwarfed plants of Chamaecyparis Spach, Juniperus L. and Pinus L., other than fruit and seeds, originating in the Republic of Korea.

(2) On 17 January 2019, the Republic of Korea submitted a request for extension of the period of application of Decision 2002/499/EC, but that extension was not granted before the expiry of that Decision on 31 December 2020.

(3) Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 has replaced Directive 2000/29/EC, while Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 (4) has replaced Annexes I to V to that Directive.

(4) Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 establishes a list of plants, plant products and other objects whose introduction into the Union territory from certain third countries is prohibited. In accordance with point 1 of Annex VI to that Regulation, the introduction into the Union territory of plants for planting of Chamaecyparis Spach, Juniperus L. and Pinus L., other than fruit and seeds is prohibited.

(5) Until 31 December 2020, the introduction of the specified plants into the Union, subject to the requirements of Decision 2002/499/EC, as effectively applied by the Republic of Korea, has presented no phytosanitary risk for the Union territory. Moreover, since the date of application of that Decision, no scientific or technical evidence has indicated the emergence of any new risk with regard to those plants. Therefore that derogation should be granted again.

(6) The derogation should be subject to the same requirements as those that were set out in Decision 2002/499/EC. Those requirements should apply without prejudice to point 30 of Annex VII to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072, concerning the introduction into the Union territory of naturally or artificially dwarfed plants for planting other than seeds.

(7) At the same time, the list of the pests of concern should be updated in relation to the corresponding list of Decision 2002/499/EC in order to reflect recent new scientific information.

(8) Several of the pests hosted by the specified plants, and in particular the pests Coleosporium paederiae Dietel ex Hirats. f., Crisicoccus pini (Kuwana), Dendrolimus spectabilis (Butler), Dendrolimus superans Butler, and Thecodiplosis japonensis Uchida & Inouye are not yet listed as Union quarantine pests, because their phytosanitary risk has not been fully assessed. Therefore, as this Regulation addresses a particular phytosanitary risk, which is not yet fully assessed, the requirements it provides are to have a temporary character pursuant to Article 7 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072.

(9) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Definitions

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

Article 2

Derogation from the prohibition to introduce the specified plants into the Union territory

(a) for Chamaecyparis: from 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2028;

(b) for Juniperus: from 1 November to 31 March of each year until 31 December 2028;

(c) for Pinus parviflora Sieb. & Zucc. (Pinus pentaphylla Mayr) and Pinus parviflora Sieb. & Zucc., grafted on a rootstock of another Pinus species, originating in the Republic of Korea: from 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2028.

Article 3

Confirmed presence of a pest of concern during or following the post-entry detention period

Member States shall notify the Commission and the other Member States of any pest of concern, the presence of which has been confirmed during or following the post-entry detention period referred to in point 9 of the Annex.

In such case, all specified plants originating from the nursery from which the infected/infested specified plant originated shall not be allowed to be introduced into the Union territory, until the renewal of nursery registration referred to in point 11 of the Annex.

Article 4

Entry into force and period of application

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 until 31 December 2028.

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

Done at Brussels, 27 June 2023.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 317, 23.11.2016, p. 4.

(2) Commission Decision 2002/499/EC of 26 June 2002 authorising derogations from certain provisions of Council Directive 2000/29/EC in respect of naturally or artificially dwarfed plants of Chamaecyparis Spach, Juniperus L. and Pinus L., originating in the Republic of Korea (OJ L 168, 27.6.2002, p. 53).

(3) Council Directive 2000/29/EC of 8 May 2000 on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community (OJ L 169, 10.7.2000, p. 1).

(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).