The Plant Health and Phytosanitary Conditions (Oak Processionary Moth and Plant Pests) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023 No. 247).

These Regulations amend: (a) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/829 (the “Temporary Derogations Regulation”) supplementing Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 on protective measures against pests of plants, authorising Member States to provide for temporary derogations in view of official testing, scientific or educational purposes, trials, varietal selections, or breeding; and (b)Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 (the “Phytosanitary Conditions Regulation”) establishing uniform conditions for the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and the Council as regards protective measures against pests of plants.
The Temporary Derogations Regulation is amended by Regulation 2 to require that any application made in accordance with that Regulation contain the name and address of the laboratory or institution where the material was first created. To update the standards for seed potato import and movement, Regulation 3 changes the Phytosanitary Conditions Regulation. Part 3 defines an area (the infested zone) where the GB quarantine pest Thaumetopoea processionea L. (Oak Processionary Moth) has established itself, as well as a buffer zone around that infested zone. It also forbids the movement of high-risk oak trees within the demarcated area, unless done so by qualified operators who abide by certain conditions. A plant health inspector may take official action to stop the spread of the pest if regulation 5 or 6 are not followed.