Brussels, 18/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 16 November, the European Commission announced that €19 million would be earmarked to co-finance programmes in seven member states in order to combat organisms harmful to plants and prevent them from spreading further in the Union.
During a meeting of the Standing Committee on Plant Health (SCPH), member states approved two Commission proposals providing co-funding of measures already undertaken in the past or planned for next year. The proposals are for €15 million and €4 million respectively.
The amount endorsed represents the largest yearly budget contribution by the Union for such purposes since the entry into force of the plant health co-financing system (1997). Funds will be distributed to Cyprus, Germany, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, as these are the member states that requested Union support.
Pinewood nematode. Most of the funding (€6 million) will be devoted to controlling the 2011 outbreaks in Portugal of pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), a microscopic worm that attacks conifers. European coniferous species are highly susceptible and the pest could devastate European pine forests. Funding will help Portugal to contain pinewood nematode within the existing demarcated zone, which, in turn, will help to safeguard the territory of the other member states and protect EU trade interests in relation to third countries. An additional €4 million will further assist Portugal to face the huge expenditure incurred in 2006-2007 for the creation of a “clear cut belt”, i.e. a zone free of trees infected by pinewood nematode. The zone was established to prevent the pest from spreading further. Spain will also receive funding in the context of successful measures for eradication taken against two single isolated outbreaks of pinewood nematode, in Extremadura and Galicia.
Other pests. Spain will receive €1.1 million to control the island apple snail (Pomacea insularum), which attacks rice crops and can also have a devastating effect on natural wetlands. The size of the potentially endangered rice area in the EU is 420,000 hectares. To date, there has only been one known outbreak in the EU, in the Ebro Delta (Catalonia). Funds will also be earmarked to help combat two kinds of beetle - the Asian longhorn beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) and the Chinese longhorn beetle (Anoplophora chinensis) - in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Both insects attack a large variety of woody plant species and are mainly present in Asia. Funds will also be made available to control the red palm weevil (Rynchophorus ferrugineus), which attacks palm trees, in Cyprus and Malta. (LC/transl.jl)