The EPPO Conference on plum pox organized at Bordeaux (FR) in 1993–10 included a round‐table session at which scientists from research and plant protection services of EPPO Member Governments reviewed the current national status of the disease. These reports have been summarized and compared here. They show that plum pox is the most serious disease of stone fruit in Europe and that nearly all countries which produce stone fruits are affected to a greater or lesser extent. Broadly, Europe can be divided into three zones: (1) the central and eastern countries in which plum pox spread relatively early and levels are generally high; (2) the northern and western countries in which plum pox levels are very heterogeneous (sometimes fairly widespread as in Germany, sometimes very restricted as in France, sometimes absent as in Netherlands); (3) Mediterranean countries in which spread is relatively recent and there is high risk of further spread.

Emerging plant pests and diseases are a threat to biodiversity, food security and sustainability. In Europe, recent plant health emergencies include European ash dieback (due to the ascomycete Hymenoscyphus fraxineus), the outbreak of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa on olive trees in Apulia, Italy and the invasion by the vinegar cherry fly Drosophila suzukii. The main drivers of new plant health threats are increased long-distance plant trade, climate changes and the adoption of new crops (e.g. biofuels). This overview provides an update on available literature on tools and approaches to assess the risk posed by emerging plant health threats in Europe. In the European Union (EU), as well as in other regions, plant health risk assessment (carried out since 2006 by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)) is clearly separated from risk management decisions (taken by the European Commission and Council through the Standing Committee on Plant Health). The role of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) is very important as an independent plant health risk assessment body covering the whole of Europe, not just the EU, thus liaising with neighbouring regions such as the Maghreb, Asia Minor and Russia. The main activities and projects of EPPO and EFSA in the domain of emerging plant health risks are summarized. The ongoing revision of the EU plant health regulations is an opportunity to improve biosecurity in the face of both the massive increase in trade of plant commodities and climate change. However, improving regulations (e.g. integrating new tools from evolutionary ecology and network theory) is not a panacea: there is also the need to increase public awareness and engagement, to facilitate interdisciplinary careers related to plant health, as well as to ensure long-term funding for research on emerging risks to plant health.

The situation of Lymantria dispar in Europe and Russia was reviewed at an EPPO meeting held in Poznan (PL) in 1995‐03. The introduction of an Asian form of L. dispar, with flying females and a wider host range, from the Far East of Russia across the Pacific Ocean into North America had led to concerns that such a form might be present elsewhere in the EPPO region and might be introduced into North America across the Atlantic Ocean. Outbreaks of L. dispar were observed in many parts of Western Europe in the early 1990s, but were not considered exceptional compared with earlier outbreaks. Flying females were, however, seen in Germany. Preliminary results obtained with DNA markers suggested that the ‘Asian genes’ which they identify occur at low density in Western Europe, and that there is a progressive eastwards increase in their frequency. It is concluded that the presence of ‘Asian genes’ and of flying females, at low density, is a normal feature of European populations of L. dispar, and that European countries do not need to take special measures against the introduction of an ‘Asian form’.

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EPPO member countries requested that a study be conducted to identify and better address the risks presented by the trade of plants for planting, which has led to numerous introductions of pests into the EPPO region in recent years. Concerns were raised about the efficacy of the current plant health systems in place in the EPPO region to deal with the risks presented by plants for planting. The EPPO Study on the Risk of Imports of Plants for Planting was launched by the EPPO Council in 2010. The first part of the Study was completed in spring 2012. It was published as EPPO Technical Document 1061 (http://www.eppo.int/QUARANTINE/EPPO_Study_on_Plants_for_planting.pdf). Examples of pest outbreaks in the EPPO region suspected to be caused by international trade of plants for planting were analyzed. This analysis identified characteristics of the pest/crop/trade patterns associated with the risks of importing pests. These characteristics are described as criteria that are intended to be used in a screening process to enable identification of commodities that require an assessment prior to import in the EPPO region. The further elaboration of the screening process is briefly outlined.