THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Directive 2000/29/EC of 8 May 2000 on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community(1), and in particular Article 16(4) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) The notifications of the presence of harmful organisms as referred to in Article 16(1) of Directive 2000/29/EC or of the actual or suspected appearance of harmful organisms as referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 16(2) of that Directive should include all information that would allow the Commission and other Member States to plan and implement the most effective possible action at Union or regional level as appropriate. This is important to ensure comprehensive protection of the Union territory against all possible sources of phytosanitary risk.
(2) In order to allow for a quick reaction, certain elements of those notifications should be submitted within eight working days after the confirmation of the presence or appearance of harmful organisms, in view of their importance and the feasibility of their swift submission, and all required elements should be submitted no later than thirty days after that confirmation.
(3) In order to ensure that the Commission and the other Member States are kept informed of any changes, the notifying Member State shall update those notifications as soon as possible in case any new relevant information is made available to it or in case it takes any new relevant measures after it has submitted the required information.
(4) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: