Brussels, 27/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - The member states of the EU are divided over the measures to be taken to prevent the spread of xylella fastidiosa, a bacteria which is deadly to olive trees in Italy, which could also threaten vines and citruses (see EUROPE 11281).
A Commission proposal aiming to tighten up the emergency measures was presented on Friday 27 March at the standing committee on the food chain of the EU, but failed to secure a qualified majority in favour. France and Spain in particular want highly ambitious measures to prevent spread, whilst Italy favours reasonable measures and believes that it has taken the measures required. The experts will discuss these measures once again at the end of April, but it is by no means certain that an agreement can be reached then, due to the apparent scale of the differences.
The Commission's plan aims to block the spread of the disease, control around hundred varieties of plants, including vines and citruses, and to extend controls to the whole of the South West of the region afflicted. The eradication strategy is to fell affected trees and those which are suspected of being affected. The expert reports carried out so far “suggest that 10%” of the millions of olive trees in the province of Lecce are affected and require felling. In the region of Apulia, this would translate into nine million olive trees to be felled over 30,000 hectares. The Commission states that once the trees are felled, the area must not be replanted with plants which are vulnerable to the insect which carries the disease.
The Commission is also planning a ban on movements of sensitive plants from the region (controls) and to ask third countries which believe themselves to be unaffected to notify this officially. The experts make one positive observation: the affected region in Apulia is bordered by the sea, which will prevent a spread.
A number of organisations point out that it is not just xylella which affects olive trees, but also fungus. However, some experts believe that xylella attacks first and the fungus comes later (it is certainly not the other way round). The Commission has already earmarked €750,000 for the controls and €300,000 for the monitoring of this disease. (Lionel Changeur)