(1)

Competent authorities are required to take adequate and timely measures against quarantine pests within the meaning of Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 (2) of the European Parliament and of the Council, as well as against pests which are not included in the list of Union quarantine pests but which may, in accordance with Article 30(1) of that Regulation, fulfil the conditions for inclusion in that list. The effectiveness of official controls and other official activities ensuring compliance with Union legislation is of primary importance in this regard.

(2)

That effectiveness depends on the quality, uniformity and reliability of the methods of analysis, test or diagnosis employed by the official laboratories designated in accordance with Article 37(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, and of the results of the analyses, tests and diagnoses performed by those official laboratories.

(3)

Those methods are to remain updated and, where necessary, improved in order to ensure the quality, uniformity and reliability of analytical, testing and diagnostic data generated by them.

(4)

The measures taken for previous infestations indicate that official laboratories designated in accordance with Article 37 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 would benefit from coordination and assistance to improve and promote uniform practices in the development or use of the methods of analysis, test or diagnosis employed by those official laboratories, and in the interpretation of results.

(5)

European Union reference laboratories should therefore be established to contribute to the improvement and harmonisation of the methods of analysis, test or diagnosis, the development of validated methods and the coordinated assistance to those official laboratories.

(6)

In order to ensure the appropriate specialisation, one specific European Union reference laboratory should be established for each of the specific categories of pests. Those categories should take into account the nature and biology of the pests, as reflected in their categorisation set out in Annex I, Part A and Annex II, Part A to Council Directive 2000/29/EC (3). In this view, European Union reference laboratories should be established for the following categories of pests: insects and mites, nematodes, bacteria, fungi and oomycetes, and viruses, viroids and phytoplasmas (which is an updated term for ‘mycoplasms’, as referred to in that Directive),

(a)

a European Union reference laboratory for insects and mites;

(b)

a European Union reference laboratory for nematodes;

(c)

a European Union reference laboratory for bacteria;

(d)

a European Union reference laboratory for fungi and oomycetes;

(e)

a European Union reference laboratory for viruses, viroids, and phytoplasmas.