EPPO Council Colloquium on pest‐free areas Barcelona (ES), 1994‐09‐22

The 1994 EPPO Council colloquium was devoted to discussion of the concept of the ‘pest‐free area’ (PFA), which arises specifically in the SPS agreement of GATT as a recommended phytosanitary measure. The IPPC Secretariat of FAO has drafted an international standard on the establishment of PFAs. The colloquium provided EPPO with the opportunity to explore this concept in its own terms, in relation to established EPPO ideas, in relation to PRA, as an element in the GATT agreement, in relation to the EU concept of a ‘protected zone’, and as an operational measure used for example in North America. Discussion at the colloquium served as the basis for EPPO's reaction to the FAO proposals. The four main contributions made at the colloquium are presented here in summarized form.