Europese Commissie verzoekt Tsjechië om richtlijn over testen schadelijke organismen te implementeren (en)

BRUSSELS, 27 October 2011 - Today the European Commission has formally requested the Czech Republic to notify national measures implementing Directive 2009/143/EC as regards the delegation of the tasks of laboratory testing on organisms harmful to plants. Full implementation of the Directive by Member States is essential to ensure that the European environment is safe.

The Directive provides that the performance of laboratory tests for the detection of pests on plants - a task generally reserved for accredited national laboratories - may be delegated to universities, research institutes or private laboratories. By widening the scope of organizations which are allowed to carry out such tests, the Directive ultimately aims at improving the EU's ability to achieve early detection of pests which may affect plants..

Member States were expected to implement the Directive before 1 January 2011. To date the Czech Republic has not communicated to the Commission the relevant implementing measures.

Earlier this year the Commission initiated infringement proceedings - as foreseen by Article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) - by sending a letter of formal notice to the Czech Republic.

Today's request has the form of a "reasoned opinion". In so doing, the Commission is asking the Czech Republic to ensure full compliance with the Directive within a period of two months. Subsequently, the Commission may decide to refer the Czech Republic to the EU's Court of Justice in case non-compliance persists.

For more information on the infringement procedure, please see:

MEMO/11/739

For more information on the harmful organisms to plants legislation, please visit:

http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/organisms/index_en.htm