Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1809 of 13 October 2021 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1191 on measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Union of Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV)

1 Where the presence or the suspected presence of the specified pest is officially confirmed in the territory of a Member State, the competent authority of the Member State concerned shall ensure that appropriate measures are taken to eradicate the specified pest in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031. In addition, that competent authority shall take the measures laid down in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article, unless the conditions of Article 18(4) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 are fulfilled with regards to the specified pest.

2 The competent authority shall without delay establish a demarcated area as follows: (a) in the case of the presence of the specified pest in production sites with physical protection, the demarcated area shall consist of at least the production site where the specified pest has been found; (b) in the case of the presence of the specified pest in production sites other than those referred to in point (a), the demarcated area shall consist of: (i) an infested zone including at least the production site where the presence of the specified pest has been found; (ii) a buffer zone of at least 30 m surrounding the infested zone.

3 In the demarcated area, the competent authority, or the professional operator under the official supervision of the competent authority, shall: (a) for production sites intended for the production of specified plants for planting or for the production of specified seeds: (i) immediately remove and destroy all infected lots of the specified plants for planting and, where applicable, the specified seeds originating from those lots. The removal and destruction shall be carried out in such a way that there is no risk of spreading the specified pest; (ii) apply specific hygiene measures on personnel, production site structures, tools and machinery, materials and means of transport, to prevent the spread of the specified pest to the other lots present in the production site and to the successive crops of the specified plants or to other production sites; (iii) destroy or treat the growing medium at least at the end of the cropping season such that there is no identifiable risk of spreading the specified pest; (b) for production sites intended for the production of specified fruits: (i) remove and destroy all specified plants from the production site, at least at the end of the cropping season. The removal shall be carried out in such a way that there is no identifiable risk of spreading the specified pest; (ii) apply specific hygiene measures on personnel, production site structures, tools and machinery, materials and means of packing and transport of the fruits, to prevent the spread of the specified pest to successive crops of the specified plants or to other production sites; (iii) destroy or treat the growing medium at least at the end of the cropping season such that there is no identifiable risk of spreading the specified pest.

4 The competent authorities may abolish a demarcated area and terminate the respective eradication measures, where following sampling and testing of the specified plants of a successive crop, the site has been found free from the specified pest for a period of at least 6 months after the planting of those plants.’;

No less than 20 % of the consignments of specified seeds and specified plants for planting shall be sampled and tested by the competent authority at the border control posts of first arrival into the Union, or at a control point as referred to in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2123 , as set out in the Annex to this Regulation. For consignments of specified seeds and specified plants for planting originating in Israel that sampling and testing rate shall be 50 % and for consignments of specified seeds originating in China it shall be 100 %.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.