1. A plant, plant product or other object originating in a third country and which is not listed in accordance with Article 40 or not sufficiently covered by the requirements referred to in Article 41 or not subject to the temporary measures of Article 49 and which, on the basis of a preliminary assessment, presents a pest risk of an unacceptable level for the Union territory is a ‘high-risk plant’, ‘high-risk plant product’ or ‘high-risk other object’ (‘high-risk plants, plant products or other objects’).
That preliminary assessment shall take into account, as appropriate for the plant, plant product or other object concerned, the criteria set out in Annex III.
2. High-risk plants, plant products or other objects listed in the implementing act provided for in paragraph 3 shall not be introduced into the Union territory from the third countries, groups of third countries or specific areas of third countries of origin concerned by that listing.
3. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts provisionally listing at the appropriate taxonomic level, pending the risk assessment referred to in paragraph 4, the high-risk plants, plant products or other objects referred to in paragraph 1 and, where appropriate, the third countries, groups of third countries or specific areas of third countries concerned.
The first of those implementing acts shall be adopted by 14 December 2018.
In the list established by those implementing acts, those plants, plant products and other objects, where applicable, shall also be identified by their respective CN code where that code is available. Other codes laid down by Union legislation shall, in addition, be referred to where they specify further the applicable CN code for a specific plant, plant product or other object.
4. If it is concluded, on the basis of a risk assessment, that the plant, plant product or other object originating in the third country, group of third countries or specific area of the third country concerned referred to in paragraph 2, on the taxonomic level as listed in the implementing act provided for in paragraph 3 or below that level, does not pose a risk of an unacceptable level by its likelihood to host a Union quarantine pest, the Commission shall adopt an implementing act removing that plant, plant product or other object from the list referred to in that paragraph for the third countries concerned.
If it is concluded, on the basis of a risk assessment, that the plant, plant product or other object originating in the third country, group of third countries or specific area of the third country concerned referred to in paragraph 2 poses an unacceptable risk due to the likelihood that it hosts a Union quarantine pest, and that that pest risk cannot be reduced to an acceptable level by applying one or more of the measures set out in points 2 and 3 of Section 1 of Annex II, the Commission shall adopt an implementing act removing that plant, plant product or other object and the third countries concerned from the list referred to in paragraph 2 and add it to the list referred to in Article 40.
If it is concluded, on the basis of a risk assessment, that the plant, plant product or other object originating in the third country, group of third countries or specific area of the third country concerned referred to in paragraph 2 poses an unacceptable risk, but that that risk can be reduced to an acceptable level by applying one or more of the measures set out in points 2 and 3 of Section 1 of Annex II, the Commission shall adopt an implementing act removing that plant, plant product or other object and the third country, group of third countries or specific area of the third country concerned from the list referred to in paragraph 2 and add it to the list referred to in Article 41.
5. Provided that demand for import of plants, plant products or other objects listed in the implementing act provided for in paragraph 3 is identified, the risk assessment referred to in paragraph 4 shall be carried out within an appropriate and reasonable period of time.
Where appropriate, that assessment may be limited to plants, plant products or other objects of a particular third country of origin or dispatch, or a group of third countries of origin or dispatch.
6. The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, lay down specific rules concerning the procedure to be followed in order to carry out the risk assessment referred to in paragraph 4.
7. The implementing acts referred to in paragraphs 3, 4 and 6 shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 107(2).