The European Council adopts a revision of the EU plant health law

Regulation 2016/2031 of the European Parliament of the Council of 26 October 2016 on protective measures against pests of plants ("Regulation 2016/2031") entered into force on 14 December 2019. Regulation 2016/2031 is the basic legal framework for the EU's plant health policy. Its purpose is to prevent the spread of new plant pests in the EU and to protect against pests already present in this territory.

On 17 October 2023, the Commission proposed to revise Regulation 2016/2031 and on 5 March 2024 both the Council and the European Parliament reached an agreement on its final wording.

More recently, on 18 November 2024, the Council has finally adopted a new regulation amending Regulation 2016/2031 (Regulation 2024/3115, of 27 November). The main aspects of this revised text are the following:

• Creation of an EU plant health emergency team, integrated by experts specialized in plant health. The purpose of this team is to assist if there are new outbreaks of pests in the EU. Also, this team can provide urgent assistance for neighboring non-EU countries in case of outbreaks in their territories.
• Increased digitalization with the purpose of reducing administrative burdens for operators and national authorities of the Member States.
• Increased duration of multiannual survey programmes, which will cover a period of five to ten years instead of the current five to seven years.

This new regulation was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) last 16 December 2024.