Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/505 of 19 March 2025 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/632 as regards the prolongation of the temporary measures concerning specified fruits originating in Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Uruguay and Zimbabwe to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Union territory of the pest Phyllosticta citricarpa (McAlpine) Van der Aa

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 41(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/632 (2) lays down measures in respect of fruits of Citrus L., Fortunella Swingle, Poncirus Raf., and their hybrids other than fruits of Citrus aurantium L. and Citrus latifolia Tanaka (‘the specified fruits’) originating in Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Uruguay and Zimbabwe to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Union territory of Phyllosticta citricarpa (McAlpine) Van der Aa (‘the specified pest’). It expires on 31 March 2025.

(2) Since 2022, Member States have reported several occurrences of non-compliance due to the presence of the specified pest in imports into the Union of the specified fruits originating in Argentina, South Africa, Uruguay and Zimbabwe. Furthermore, and since that year, no imports into the Union of the specified citrus fruits originating in Brazil have taken place. Therefore, no assessment of Brazil’s level of compliance with the measures of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/632 has been possible.

(3) As a result, it is necessary to maintain the measures set out in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/632 for the specified fruits from each of those third countries, as those measures continue to be necessary to keep the respective phytosanitary risk for the Union territory at an acceptable level.

(4) The phytosanitary risk, caused by the presence of the specified pest in Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Uruguay and Zimbabwe, and by the import of the specified fruits from those third countries into the Union, varies every year with respect to each third country of origin for the specified fruits. It should thus be further assessed, on the basis of the latest technical and scientific developments on the prevention and control of the specified pest.

(5) The measures provided for in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/632 should therefore be maintained until 31 March 2028.

(6) As Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/632 expires on 31 March 2025, this Regulation should apply from 1 April 2025 to avoid any legal gaps.

(7) 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) 2022/632

In Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/632, Article 11 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 11

Date of expiration

This Regulation shall expire on 31 March 2028.’.

Article 2

Entry into force and 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 from 1 April 2025.

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

Done at Brussels, 19 March 2025.

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) 2022/632 of 13 April 2022 setting out temporary measures in respect of specified fruits originating in Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Uruguay and Zimbabwe to prevent the introduction into, and the spread within, the Union territory of the pest Phyllosticta citricarpa (McAlpine) Van der Aa (OJ L 117, 19.4.2022, p. 11, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2022/632/oj).