The 71st meeting of the EPPO experts on global phytosanitary issues took place at the headquarters of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization in Paris, France on January 29-31, 2019. Rosselkhoznadzor representatives took part in the event.

During the meeting, the participants listened to the reports on such international events as the IPPC/FAO Regional Workshop for Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the regular Session of the EPPO Council, CPM Bureau, the meeting of the IPPC Sea Containers Task Force (SCTF), the IPPC Strategic Planning Group, the Special IPPC Working Group on standards for certain types of consignments, and the IPPC Committee on Capacity Building.

Different issues were discussed during the meeting: the implementation of the ePhyto e-certification system; arranging and carrying out activities within the International Year of Plant Health 2020; IPPC strategic goals for 2020-2030; the forthcoming meeting between the EPPO representatives and the North-American Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) in the framework of CPM-14, etc.

Taking advantage of the occasion, the EPPO director general Niko Horn thanked the Russian party for hosting IPPC/FAO Regional Workshop for Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia and the 70th meeting of the EPPO Experts on Global Phytosanitary Issues in the All-Russian Center for Plant Quarantine. The experts mentioned that convening one of the three annual meetings of the group simultaneously with a regional seminar was a very important experience and that similar arrangements should be made on a regular basis in the future.