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 Calibrachoa spp., Petunia spp. and their hybrids from Guatemala

Article 1

Definitions

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

(1) ‘specified pests’ means Bactericera cockerelli (Šulc.), Bemisia tabaci Genn., Chloridea virescens Fabricius, 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) ‘specified plants’ means unrooted cuttings intended for planting of Calibrachoa spp. and Petunia spp. and their hybrids, grown in Guatemala and derived in direct line from mother plants imported from the Union.

Article 2

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

By way of derogation from point 18 of Annex VI to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072, the introduction into the Union territory of the specified plants shall be allowed subject to compliance with the requirements set out in Article 3 of this Regulation.

Article 3

Requirements for the introduction of the specified plants into, and their movement within, the Union territory

The specified plants may be introduced into the Union only if all of the following requirements are fulfilled:

(a) prior to the start of trade, the National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) of Guatemala has communicated in writing to the Commission the list of measures intended to ensure the fulfilment of the requirements set out in point 1 of Annex I;

(b) the NPPO of Guatemala submits to the Commission by 31 December of each year, the list of production sites, with their traceability codes, that are approved to export the specified plants to the Union the following calendar year, and immediately communicates any amendment to that list;

(c) the NPPO of Guatemala submits to the Commission, by 31 March of each year, an annual report on the activities carried out during the previous calendar year, containing all the elements set out in point 2 of Annex I.

Once introduced into the Union, the specified plants may only be moved to:

(a) the premises of professional operators that, pursuant to Article 89(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031, are specifically authorised to issue plant passports for plants rooted or grown from the specified plants; or

(b) the premises of professional operators for whom the competent authorities issue the plant passports for the specified plants.

Prior to receiving the specified plants, the professional operators referred to in the first subparagraph shall inform the competent authorities of the expected date of arrival of those plants and shall keep the traceability code referred to in point 1(c)(iii) of Annex I.

In case of findings of specified pests on plants rooted or grown from the specified plants, at least all the plants rooted or grown from the same lot of specified plants shall be immediately destroyed, and if appropriate, the respective premises shall be cleaned and disinfected.

Where the NPPO of Guatemala is informed of the presence of a specified pest on specified plants or on plants rooted or grown from the specified plants, the production site from where the specified plants originate shall no longer be approved to export to the Union and the NPPO of Guatemala shall remove immediately that production site from the list of approved production sites referred to in paragraph 1, point (b), until it has been demonstrated that pest freedom has been restored.

Article 4

Amendment to Annex VI to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072

Annex VI to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 is amended in accordance with the text set out in Annex II.

Article 5

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 until 30 April 2028.

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

ANNEX I

1.The specified plants may only be introduced into the Union territory if they fulfil all of the following requirements:

(a) they have been produced in production sites which: (i) are included by the NPPO of Guatemala in a list of approved production sites recognised as free from the specified pests and allowed to export the specified plants to the Union; (ii) are identified by a unique traceability code that appears on the list referred to in point (i); (iii) are physically isolated against insects, with double doors, where the second door only opens after the first door has been completely closed, and have a system in place to ensure hygiene and disinfection procedures for the staff, equipment and all production processes; (iv) have a system to supply pest-free irrigation water, which is subject to at least two annual official inspections, including molecular testing, to ensure absence of Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum Safni et al., and Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. Emend. Safni et al.,; (v) are entirely dedicated to the production of the specified plants, or other plants fulfilling the requirements of Union legislation on plant health and are subject to a complete cleaning and disinfection before the introduction of new specified plants; (vi) have shelves to keep the pots at least 50 cm above the ground; (vii) have a system in place to keep record of all processes, including the lots produced and the procedures to control the specified pests during each production cycle; (viii) in case of findings of a specified pest, are removed from the list of production sites referred to in point (i) until the pest free situation has been restored and are only then re-approved for the production and export of this material;

(b) they have been: (i) grown in Guatemala and derived in direct line from mother plants imported from the Union; (ii) produced using growing media and pots that are either new or subject to treatments to ensure freedom from soil-borne organisms and any specified pests before being used in the production process; (iii) monitored with traps for the presence of insects by trained staff; (iv) subject to visual examinations to ensure the absence of the specified pests or their symptoms by trained staff on a weekly basis; (v) subject, when appropriate, to treatments against pests; (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 tabaci Genn. in the production site;

(c) prior to export, each lot of specified plants from each production site has been: (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; (ii) transported from the production site to the storage, cooling or packaging facilities in the places of production, in such a way as to prevent contamination with the specified pests; (iii) packed in boxes, where each box includes a label with the traceability code of the production site;

(d) they are accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate, issued by the NPPO of Guatemala, which certifies compliance with the requirements of this Regulation and includes, under the rubric Additional Declaration: (i) the name(s) of the approved production site(s) from which the plants originate; (ii) the traceability code(s) of the production site(s) from which the plants originate; (iii) the statement ‘This consignment meets the requirements laid down in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1078’.

2.The annual report on the activities of the previous calendar year shall include for each production site:

(a) the number of specified plants exported to the Union;

(b) the overview of the official inspections carried out prior to export;

(c) the findings of the presence of the specified pests;

(d) the number of plants destroyed because of a suspicion of infestation or infestation with the specified pests; and

(e) the actions taken to restore pest freedom of the production site and prevent recurrence of the specified pests.

ANNEX II

In point 18 of Annex VI to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072, the text of the column ‘Description’ is replaced by the following:

‘Plants for planting of Solanaceae other than seeds and the plants covered by entries 15, 16 or 17 ()