NOTE: SESSIONS FACE-TO-FACE WILL BE ORGANISED CONSIDERING COVID-19 OUTBREAK IS CONTROLLED, AND VACCINATION IN EU COUNTRIES REACHES THE EXPECTED % OF COVERAGE IN EU POPULATION.

BACKGROUND

Plants and plant products are an essential economic, environmental and social asset in European Union: cereals, fruit and vegetables make a vital contribution to our food supply and to our rural economy and other plant species are essential parts of the biodiversity of the countryside providing important ecosystem resources

Since the 14 of December 2019 a new Plant Health Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/2031) has replaced the Plant Health directive 2000/29 /EC, which was in force since 1977. The objectives of the new PHR are:

• Better protection of EU agriculture, horticulture and environment using more effective measures.
• Pro-active approach against new pest (surveillance, eradication measures, financing, contingency plans, simulation exercises).
• Ensuring safe trade of plants and plant products (new import and internal movement rules).
• Compliance with international plant health standards (ISPMs: International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures under International Plant Protection Convention, (IPPC).

New plant health law has a new legal status: instead of directive, which set the minimal harmonized requirements to be put into national laws, the PHR has got the format of regulation. Regulation is directly applicable in all Member States on a set date and there is no need for its national transposition, except setting the provisions on specific competent authorities and legal implementation framework. .

The Overall objective of the present course is to train staff of competent authorities of EU MS involved in Plant Health regulation and official control activities to keep them up to date with all aspects of the EU law. It will focus specially the novelties introduced by the new EU plant health regime, and the level of consistency of their implementation across the EU.

The survey programs shall be implemented under the sole responsibility of the competent authorities of the Member States. Each Member State therefore has an important role to play in ensuring that these objectives are achieved.

The project foresees the implementation the following two courses:

• Course 1: New EU plant health regime
• Course 2: EU Internal Plant Movement Regime

From 2020 to 2022 the program will offer two courses in eight different locations:

• Italy
• Germany
• Spain
• France
• The Netherlands
• Estonia
• Latvia
• Poland

PARTNERS

Agri Consulting Europe www.agriconsultingeurope.be/

PROFILE PARTICIPANTS

The selection criteria to participate in the course are:

• Officials from relevant competent authorities involved in policy making, planning and control activities (preferably at central or regional level), and field inspectors involved in control activities at the fields relevant to the 2 training courses.
• Participants shall represent staff of competent authorities of beneficiary countries involved in official control activities.
• For both training courses, participants should be able to work and make interventions in English, and compromise to disseminate the learnings gained. Guidance on how to disseminate the knowledge will be provided during the sessions, and a follow up questionnaire will be performed to participants attending.