Possible EU legislation? Solved

[Terry S.]

This statement has appeared on an Email to customers from Robert Wellens in the Netherlands:

"For all our EU-customers: end of 2019 the EU export rules of plants within the EU MUST be accompanied with a certified EU-plant-passport. We are working on that and you will be informed later on about the progress of that new EU-rule and the documents we will have to include into each EU-shipment."

Has anyone got anymore details about this? If it takes place then I suspect that it will only be the larger nurseries that will be able to move plants around Europe and would have a serious effect on international plant sales such as ELK. I thought that UK leaving the EU would make things difficult for us to get plants in the future, but it now looks as though it would be just as difficult if we stayed!

[Kees]

After Brexit you won't have to worry about that.
Please let's not have a discussion of the pros and cons of Brexit here. We have had that before resulting in at least one forum member leaving the forum.
Here is a link, enjoy
https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/plant_h ... u_rules_en

BTW these rules also seem to apply to plant bits and pieces going into the EU.

[Cidermanrolls]

That link relates to plants entering the EU.
There’s nothing obvious on that page about movement within the EU.
Did I miss something?

[Jim_Mercer]

Hope this link works https://www.royalfloraholland.com/media ... lation.pdf

Expansion of plant passport obligation
The plant passport obligation is being expanded to cover all ‘plants for planting’. According to the EU definition, these are plants that can grow into mature plants and are meant to do so. These plants must be planted out, replanted or remain planted. Everything that we currently call propagating material falls under this definition (including seeds), as do all ‘consumptive’ pot, container, bedding and patio plants. There will be some exceptions, for certain seeds and for sales directly to the final user.

It seems to be directed at wholesale rather than retail sales

[Terry S.]

I had no intention of prompting any more pro or anti EU opinions. The extension of the Plant Passport scheme is almost certainly at the request of plant health professionals rather than politicians. They are extremely concerned about the spread of new pathogens and in particular Xylella fastidiosa which has decimated olive trees in parts of Italy. The problem with this particular bacterial disease is that it attacks hundred of different plant species which are essentially unrelated to each other. I don't know of any succulent plants which have yet been shown to be hosts, but it could easily happen.

There are two types of plant health documentation, Phytosanitary Certificates and Plant Passports. Phytosanitary Certificates have long been a requisite for any international movement of plants, with a few exceptions. This is what Kees is thinking about. The EU has been treated as a single unit for plant health purposes and for many years now and we have not needed Phytosanitary Certificates for moving plants within the EU. However commercial movement of designated plant species that are known to be carriers of certain diseases, mainly woody plants, has been controlled WITHIN Europe by the Plant Passport scheme. The present legislation seems to control all movement of these designated species from the production nursery (or nursery that has imported from outside the EU) up to the retailer. From what Jim has found above, it now looks as though Plant Passports will apply to all plants that are traded within the EU. We have to hope that if the system applies up to the retailer, then it will still be possible for enthusiasts to buy small numbers of plants from outside of their own country without expensive documentation.

The UK Government has already stated that if we leave the EU without a deal, there will be no immediate requirement for reintroduction of Phytosanitary Certificates to import plants from the EU. But curiously they will be required in the other direction! If Plant Passport requirements are widened within the EU, then that could effect us too.

[ragamala]

Hope this link works https://www.royalfloraholland.com/media ... lation.pdf

It seems to be directed at wholesale rather than retail sales

A reference from Horticultural Week is similar (article from April 2018 - some things may have changed since?) but says something different re seeds
"The requirement to have a plant passport will apply to all plants intended to be planted out, replanted or remain planted. Everything that we now call cultivation material falls under this definition, as well as all pot, bedding and container plants 'for consumption'. Seeds are exempt unless they are contained specifically within an implementing act whereas all plants for planting are included.

All wholesale growers (not those trading to the public) of pot, bedding and container plants will be subject to the plant passport requirement, including the trade companies that handle these products (for trade within the EU)."

As has been suggested earlier, the plant passport scheme only applies to pest control for transfers of plants within the EU.

Once outside, we shall, unless any special deal is done, as I understand it be subject as a third country to phytosanitary certificate requirements for import/export from/to the EU.

BUT there may be a requirement for a UK passport scheme (replacing or parallelling the EU version). It is not clear whether government advice talking about "current" European passport scheme will follow the EU change of scope in December.

"Moving controlled plants and plant products within the UK
Plant and plant products currently covered by EU plant passports for movements within the UK will need to be moved with a UK plant passport.
When moving controlled plants in the UK, you’ll need to:
register with the relevant UK plant health authority
be authorised to issue plant passports
replace references to ‘EU’ with ‘UK’ when issuing plant passports."

Here's the government latest advice, for what it's worth

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/importing-a ... rawal-deal

Here are relevant EU links, I start getting lost on detail there.

https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/plant_h ... slation_en

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content ... 32016R2031

[ragamala]

This statement has appeared on an Email to customers from Robert Wellens in the Netherlands:

"For all our EU-customers: end of 2019 the EU export rules of plants within the EU MUST be accompanied with a certified EU-plant-passport. We are working on that and you will be informed later on about the progress of that new EU-rule and the documents we will have to include into each EU-shipment."

Has anyone got anymore details about this? If it takes place then I suspect that it will only be the larger nurseries that will be able to move plants around Europe and would have a serious effect on international plant sales such as ELK. I thought that UK leaving the EU would make things difficult for us to get plants in the future, but it now looks as though it would be just as difficult if we stayed!

The way I read the legislation is that moving plants AT ALL within the EU (considered as one country for these purposes) comes under this regulation.

This is not an issue of inter-state "international" transfers as we might imagine them to be, but of basic commerce within the EU itself, and for sales from eg Germany to Germany.

Maybe I am wrong, but all I have read, including the recent UK government advice, leads me to this conclusion.

Perhaps some of our more clued-up members, or indeed nurserymen/nurserywomen can advise further, because this may well impact on UK internal trade.

[Kees]

That link relates to plants entering the EU.
There’s nothing obvious on that page about movement within the EU.
Did I miss something?

You're right. Looks like I missed something.

[ragamala]

An update regarding Cites

https://www.hortweek.com/no-deal-brexit ... le/1524933

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/trading-and ... rawal-deal