Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2632 of 8 October 2024 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1193 as regards measures on water liable to be infected by Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith 1896) Yabuuchi et al. 1996 emend. Safni et al. 2014, measures to be taken by the professional operators and the template on the reporting of survey results

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 28(1), points (a) to (h), thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1193 (2) establishes measures to eradicate and prevent the spread of Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith 1896) Yabuuchi et al. 1996 emend. Safni et al. 2014 (‘the specified pest’) in the Union territory.

(2) In addition to water confirmed to be infected, it is necessary that the measures concerning detection and eradication of the specified pest also cover water liable to be infected by the specified pest.

(3) This is to ensure that water liable to be infected by the specified pest is also subject to those provisions with regard to confirmation of the presence of the pest, elements for the designation of items as probably infected by it, and eradication measures, and consequently ensure a higher protection, than the protection granted currently, of the Union territory from the risk posed by the specified pest.

(4) Furthermore, elements to be considered in the determination of the possible spread of the specified pest should also include water liable to be infected.

(5) Within the demarcated area, in addition to measures applicable in case of water designated as infected, water liable to be infected should also be subject to those measures.

(6) In accordance with Article 6 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1193, the competent authority is to ensure that the infected specified plants are destroyed or are disposed of in another way, in accordance with point 1 of Annex V, provided that it is established that there is no identifiable risk for of the specified pest spreading.

(7) As the competent authorities cannot easily access all of the respective locations, those measures can be carried out more practically and effectively by professional operators than by the competent authorities themselves. For this reason, the professional operators should carry out those measures under the official supervision of the competent authorities.

(8) Annex II to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1193 establishes a template for presenting survey results, concerning the specified pest, for the potato and tomato harvests of the preceding calendar year. That template should be improved for practical use and efficacy, because the reporting data on the sampling on certified tubers for planting, tubers for planting other than certified tubers, tubers other than for planting, and ware and processing potatoes, does not provide noteworthy information for the purpose of the survey.

(9) The order of certain columns of the template should be changed, on the basis of the chronology of the respective actions. In particular, the column on visual inspections of growing crops and of tubers in stores should precede the columns on the laboratory results obtained from samples collected during those visual inspections.

(10) Furthermore, it is necessary to clarify whether laboratory testing results from sampling of tubers in storage or of tubers during visual inspection of growing crops.

(11) Furthermore, it is necessary to add columns as regards the laboratory testing of water to improve the accuracy of the reporting of results.

(12) The number of positive visual inspections can only be recorded after obtaining the results from laboratory testing. Therefore, and to obtain a clearer and more consistent presentation of the results, the respective column should be transferred under the sections on laboratory tests.

(13) During visual inspections, symptomatic and asymptomatic samples are taken. Latent infections are detected on asymptomatic samples. Due to the importance of latent infection for the understanding of a possible spread of the disease, and for the measures to be taken to avoid such a spread, results from symptomatic and asymptomatic samples should be distinguished in the template.

(14) Experience has shown that reporting data on the sampling period of tubers for laboratory testing does not provide noteworthy information for the purpose of the survey.

(15) Sample size requirements are provided in point 4 of Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1193. Consequently, data required in the template on the size of the lots in tons or hectares do not provide noteworthy information for the purpose of the survey.

(16) Moreover, it is necessary to clarify in the first sentence of Annex II that the template is to present survey results from the potato harvest from the year preceding the year of reporting.

(17) Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1193 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(18) 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

Amendments to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1193

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1193 is amended as follows:

(2) in Article 6(1), the first subparagraph is replaced by the following: ‘Specified plants designated as infected by the specified pest pursuant to Article 5(2), point (d)(i), shall not be planted. The professional operators, during the production or movement of the specified plants, shall, under the official supervision of the competent authority, ensure that the infected specified plants are destroyed or are disposed of in another way, in accordance with point 1 of Annex V provided that it is established that there is no identifiable risk of the specified pest spreading.’;

(3) Annex II is replaced by the text in the Annex to this Regulation;

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, 8 October 2024.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 317, 23.11.2016, p. 4, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/2031/oj.

(2) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1193 of 11 July 2022 establishing measures to eradicate and prevent the spread of Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith 1896) Yabuuchi et al. 1996 emend. Safni et al. 2014 (OJ L 185, 12.7.2022, p. 27, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2022/1193/oj).