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Plants - Protected zones
The EU’s policy on protected zones allows a Member State to obtain special plant health protection for all or part of its territory against certain quarantine pests that are present somewhere in the EU but are not present in that specific territory and are not listed as Union quarantine pests in Annex II of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072. The aim is to preserve pest-free areas within the Union through stricter entry and movement rules.
Once an area is recognised as a protected zone, the relevant protected-zone quarantine pest may not be introduced into, moved within, held, multiplied, or released in that zone. The general rules on recognition, obligations and survey requirements are set out in Articles 32 to 35 of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031.
In practical terms, the regime is implemented through several annexes to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072: Annex III lists protected-zone quarantine pests; Annex IX lists plants, plant products and other objects prohibited from entering protected zones; Annex X sets special requirements for introduction or movement within protected zones; Annex XII identifies items that require a phytosanitary certificate for entry into certain protected zones; and Annex XIII identifies items that require a plant passport marked “PZ” for introduction into certain protected zones. Detailed survey rules are further set out in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2404.
Overall, the protected-zones policy is a targeted internal biosecurity mechanism within the EU plant health system. It allows stricter controls to be applied in vulnerable or pest-free areas, with the goal of preventing the establishment and spread of specific pests even when those pests already exist elsewhere in the Union.
Once an area is recognised as a protected zone, the relevant protected-zone quarantine pest may not be introduced into, moved within, held, multiplied, or released in that zone. The general rules on recognition, obligations and survey requirements are set out in Articles 32 to 35 of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031.
In practical terms, the regime is implemented through several annexes to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072: Annex III lists protected-zone quarantine pests; Annex IX lists plants, plant products and other objects prohibited from entering protected zones; Annex X sets special requirements for introduction or movement within protected zones; Annex XII identifies items that require a phytosanitary certificate for entry into certain protected zones; and Annex XIII identifies items that require a plant passport marked “PZ” for introduction into certain protected zones. Detailed survey rules are further set out in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2404.
Overall, the protected-zones policy is a targeted internal biosecurity mechanism within the EU plant health system. It allows stricter controls to be applied in vulnerable or pest-free areas, with the goal of preventing the establishment and spread of specific pests even when those pests already exist elsewhere in the Union.
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