Niveau juridique : Union européenne
Question écrite à la Commission E-003596/2019 de Franc Bogovič, Milan Brglez, Ljudmila Novak – Propogation de Xylella fastidiosa dans les régions oléicoles de l’UE
Texte de la question :
« Xylella fastidiosa bacteria were first detected in Europe in 2013 when more than 230 000 hectares of olive trees in Puglia, Italy, began to die off. The financial consequences have been devastating: according to estimates, in six years there has been a 60 % decline in crop yields and EUR 1.2 billion of damage. Recently, this deadly disease has also been discovered in France, Germany, and Spain. The latter is the world’s leading olive producer, with approximately 2.7 million hectares of olive trees, 55 % of its cultivated area. Even though its production figures are lower in comparison to other EU countries on the Mediterranean, Slovenia is also an important olive oil producer, especially of high-quality olive oil.
There is still no known cure for this bacteria which is deadly to olive trees, and the disease poses a risk to plants and crops throughout Europe. Climate change is expected to create conditions that are especially favourable for the development and spread of the bacteria.
In order to prevent potentially devastating losses, which could considerably harm the economies of countries affected, is the Commission planning any programmes to support projects related to research, or preventive and containment measures, perhaps in the framework of measures following Horizon 2020? »
Réponse donnée par Mr Wojciechowski au nom de la Commission européenne le 24 janvier 2020
« The Commission supports research on Xylella fastidiosa with two dedicated research projects, XF-Actors and POnTE (finished on 31 Oct 2019, factsheet with the main results), under Horizon 2020, receiving funding of around EUR 10 million to improve the knowledge on the biology of the pest and to develop tools to prevent, detect and control the effects of this pest.
Moreover, the Commission supports with a budget of over EUR 2.2 million three projects dealing directly with Xylella fastidiosa under the Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). One investigated different types of plants susceptible to the bacterium, one will look for transmission dynamics of the bacterium and one builds capacity and raises awareness in Europe and third countries on how to cope with Xylella fastidiosa.
In the current work programme of 2018-2020 of Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 2, the Commission supports research on emerging risks to plant health with a dedicated topic published on a regular basis with a funding of EUR 7 million earmarked for each year. This topic allows applicants to target in their proposals emerging plant pests that are causing, or likely to cause, significant (socio) economic or environmental losses to European agriculture or forestry.
Lastly, as far as control measures are concerned, Decision (EU) 2015/789 lays down emergency measures aiming at preventing further introduction into and spread within the Union territory of Xylella fastidiosa. Among other measures, that Decision also foresees the annual monitoring of the pest by all Member States. In this respect, EU co-financing possibilities exist to support Member States with the implementation of monitoring programmes. »
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