Control of the Red Palm Weevil (Amendment) Regulations, 2013

Suppliment tal-Gazzetta tal-Gvern ta’ Malta, Nru. 19,043, 5 ta’ Marzu, 2013 B 933

L.N. 98 of 2013

PLANT QUARANTINE ACT

(CAP. 433)

Control of the Red Palm Weevil (Amendment) Regulations, 2013

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 32 of the Plant

Quarantine Act, the Minister for Resources and Rural Affairs has

made the following regulations:-

The title of these regulations is the Control of the Red Citation.

Palm Weevil (Amendment) Regulations, 2013 and these regulations

shall be read and construed as one with the Control of the Red Palm S.L. 433.24

Weevil Regulations, hereinafter referred to as "the principal

regulations".

Regulation 3 of the principal regulations shall be amended Amends

regulation 3 of

as follows

the principal

regulations.

(a)

immediately after the definition "the Directorate"

there shall be added the following new definition

" "Member State” means a state which is a member

of the European Union;";

(b) in the definition "susceptible plants" the words "and

Washingtonia spp." shall be substituted by the words "and

Washingtonia spp;"; and

(c)

immediately after the definition "susceptible plants"

there shall be added the following new definition

" "third country" means a country which is not a

member of the European Union.".

Regulation 10 of the principal regulations shall be Amends

regulation 10 of

amended as follows

the principal

regulations.

(a)

sub-regulation (1) thereof shall be substituted by the

following

"(1) The importation of susceptible plants shall

only be allowed after the required written approval has

been issued by the Directorate at least twenty-four hours

before such importation takes place. Such importation

shall be in conformity with relevant Maltese legislation

and relative EU Directives and Commission Decision

2007/365/EC on emergency measures to prevent the

introduction into and the spread within the Community of

Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier).";

(b) sub-regulation (2) thereof shall be re-numbered as

sub-regulation (3);

(c)

immediately after sub-regulation (1) thereof, there

shall be added the following new sub-regulation

"(2) The movement of susceptible plants shall

only be allowed after the required written approval has

been issued by the Directorate at least twenty-four hours

prior to such movement, except when such movement is

made after the selling of such plants within an activity

centre, approved by, and registered in, the Malta Official

Register. In such case, the Directorate shall be informed

about any movement which occurs after such sale within

twenty-four hours from the occurrence of such movement.

The movement of susceptible plants shall be in conformity

with relevant Maltese legislation and relevant EU

Directives and Commission Decision 2007/365/EC on

emergency measures to prevent the introduction into and

the spread within the Community of Rhynchophorus

ferrugineus (Olivier)."; and

(d) immediately after sub-regulation (3) thereof, as

renumbered, there shall be added the following new sub-

regulation

"(4) Without prejudice to preceding sub-

regulations, movement of susceptible plants from local

registered nurseries and, or garden centres, and, or other

approved entities shall only be allowed if such entities are

registered with the Directorate to sell palm trees in terms

of the Act and any subsidiary legislation made thereunder,

and if

(a) the susceptible plant has been introduced

in Malta from another Member State in accordance

with the requirements in point 2 of Annex I of

Commission Decision 2007/365/EC on emergency

measures to prevent the introduction into and the

spread within the Community of Rhynchophorus

ferrugineus (Olivier), and shall be

(i) accompanied by a plant passport

prepared and issued in accordance with

Commission

Directive

92/105/EEC

establishing a degree of standardization for

plant passports to be used for the movement of

certain plants, plant products or other objects

within the Community, and establishing the

detailed procedures related to the issuing of

such plant passports and the conditions and

detailed procedures for their replacement; and

(ii) kept in a designated area of

complete physical protection of appropriate

mesh size in which these plants shall be kept

until they are sold in the local market; and

(iii) subject to any other control measure

or obligations in terms of any guidelines issued

by the Directorate, or which the Director may,

from time to time, deem necessary to issue; or

(b) the susceptible plants have been grown

locally in a place of production during a period of

two years prior to their movement during which

(i) the susceptible plants were placed

in a site with complete physical protection

against the introduction of the specified

organism or treated with appropriate preventive

chemical treatment; and

(ii) no signs of the specified organism

have been observed in official inspections

carried out at least every three months; and

(iii) the susceptible palms were tagged

as

part of a tagging scheme under the

Directorate; and

(iv) susceptible plants were subjected to

any other control measure or obligation in

terms of any guidelines issued by the

Directorate, or which the Director may, from

time to time, deem necessary to issue. The

susceptible plants shall also be accompanied by

a plant passport prepared and issued in

accordance with Commission Directive 92/105/

EEC establishing a degree of standardization

for plant passports to be used for the movement

of certain plants, plant products or other objects

within the Community, and establishing the

detailed procedures related to the issuing of

such plant passports and the conditions and

detailed procedures for their replacement; or

(c) the susceptible plants have been imported

from a third country, in accordance with

requirements of the Act and relative EU Directives

and Commission Decision 2007/365/EC on

emergency measures to prevent the introduction into,

and the spread within, the Community of

Rhynchophorus

ferrugineus

(Olivier)

and

Commission Decision 2010/467/EU as regards the

susceptible plants and the measures to be taken in

cases where Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) is

detected, and shall be grown locally since their

importation in an approved place of production

during which

(i) the susceptible plants are kept in a

designated area of complete physical protection

of appropriate mesh size for one year; and

(ii) no signs of the specified organism

have been observed in official inspections

carried out at least every three months; and

(iii) the susceptible palms are tagged as

part of a tagging scheme under the Directorate;

and

(iv) the susceptible plants are subject to

any other control measure or obligation in

terms of any guidelines issued by the

Directorate, or which the Director may, from

time to time, deem necessary to issue.".

€0.18