Plant Health and Plant Protection Policies

The rate of introduction and establishment of new economically or environmentally damaging plant pests and diseases has increased over the last century. Under the WTO-Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) are defined to ensure that the measures imposed to protect plant health against plant pests and diseases are used only as plant health protection instruments and not as unjustified barriers to trade. Within this international framework, the EU operates a number of legislative and regulatory measures, such as certification, but also allows plant protection products with minimal harm for environment and human health