Foodlaw-Reading
Dr David Jukes, The University of Reading, UK
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Commission Consultation, 12 December 2017
The Commission has prepared a draft delegated regulation for consultation. The following is the start of the Explanatory Memorandum. The consultation closes on the 9 January 2018.
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Draft delegated regulation: COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/... supplementing Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing European Union reference laboratories for pests of plants A copy of the document is available on the Commission's 'Have your say' website (click on image). |
For more details, see: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/initiatives/ares-2017-6077956_en
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1. Context of the Delegated Act
Article 92(4) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and the Council on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products (Official Controls Regulation)1, sets out that the Commission shall supplement that Regulation by adopting the decision to establish European Union reference laboratories by means of a delegated act in accordance with its Article 144.
Effectiveness of official controls and other official activities is of primary importance for the competent authorities to take adequate and timely measures against quarantine pests of plants within the meaning of Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 on protective measures against pests of plants2, as well as against pests which are not included in the list of Union quarantine pests but which may, in accordance with Article 30(1) of that Regulation, fulfil the conditions for inclusion in that list. This effectiveness depends also on quality, uniformity and reliability of the methods of analysis, test or diagnosis used by official laboratories and of the results thereof. The methods used must moreover remain updated and, where necessary, be improved to achieve the above-mentioned objective.
European Union reference laboratories (EURLs) should thus be established to contribute to the improvement of the methods of analysis, test or diagnosis for pests, to the development of validated methods, to co-ordinate and provide assistance to official laboratories and to promote uniform practices in the development or use of those methods.
In order to ensure the appropriate specialisation, EURLs should be established for specific categories of pests. Those categories should take into account the nature and biology of the pests, as well as their categorisation as set out in Annex I, Part A and Annex II, Part A to Directive 2000/29/EC3. In this view, EURLs should be established for the following pest categories: insects, nematodes, bacteria, fungi, and viruses, viroids and phytoplasmas (which is an updated term for 'mycoplasms', as referred to in that Directive).
