The European Commission published a draft regulation adding new municipalities to the Apulia containment zone for Xylella fastidiosa.
Within the containment zones, EU member states can apply measures that are less stringent than the measures for eradication but are required to step up surveys and preventive actions in the outer part of those areas—so-called buffer zones—to prevent the spread of Xylella fastidiosa to the rest of the Union territory.
The regulation follows Italy’s notification that the eradication of the plant pathogen in the municipalities of Alberobello, Castellana Grotte, Monopoli, Polignano a Mare and Putignano in the province of Bari and in the municipality of Fasano in the province of Taranto is no longer possible.
EU countries discussed the text at the Plant Health Committee on 22 and 23 April. After the regulation is approved, the municipalities mentioned will be added to the respective list of infected zones under containment concerning the provinces of Taranto and Bari.
