Commodity risk assessment of Acer campestre plants from the UK

The European Commission requested the EFSA Panel on Plant Health to prepare and deliver risk assessments for commodities listed in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 as 'High risk plants, plant products and other objects'. This Scientific Opinion covers plant health risks posed by plants of Acer campestre imported from the UK as: (a) 1- to 7-year-old bare root plants for planting, (b) 1- to 15-year-old plants in pots and (c) bundles of 1- to 2-year-old whips and seedlings, taking into account the available scientific information, including the technical information provided by the UK. All pests associated with the commodity were evaluated against specific criteria for their relevance for this opinion. Six EU quarantine pests and four pests not regulated in the EU fulfilled all relevant criteria and were selected for further evaluation. For the selected pests, the risk mitigation measures implemented in the technical dossier from the UK were evaluated taking into account the possible limiting factors. For these pests, an expert judgement is given on the likelihood of pest freedom taking into consideration the risk mitigation measures acting on the pest, including uncertainties associated with the assessment. In the assessment of risk, the age of the plants was considered, reasoning that older trees are more likely to be infested mainly due to longer exposure time and larger size. The degree of pest freedom varies among the pests evaluated, with Phytophthora ramorum being the pest most frequently expected on the imported plants. The expert knowledge elicitation indicated with 95% certainty that 9,757 or more 1- to 15-year-old plants in pots per 10,000 will be free from P. ramorum.