Phytosanitary measures: wood packaging material

What is the definition of wood packaging material?

‘Wood packaging material’ means any wood product in the form of packing cases, boxes, crates, drums and similar packing, pallets, box pallets and other load boards, pallet collars, dunnage, whether or not actually in use in the transport of objects of all kinds; raw wood of 6 mm thickness or less, processed wood produced by glue, heat and pressure, or a combination thereof, and dunnage supporting consignments of wood, which is constructed from wood of the same type and quality as the wood in the consignment, are excluded.

What are the import requirements?

Wood packaging material, whether or not actually in use in the transport of objects of all kinds, shall only be introduced into the Union territory if it fulfills all of the following requirements:

1. it has been subject to one or more of the approved treatments and complies with the applicable requirements set out in Annex 1 to the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No 15 Regulation of Wood Packaging Material in International Trade (ISPM15);
2. it is marked with the mark referred to in Annex 2 of ISPM15 attesting that it has been subject to the treatments referred to in point (a).

What is the legal basis?

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/127 of 3 February 2021 setting the requirements for the introduction into the Union territory of wood packaging material for the transport of certain commodities originating in certain third countries and for plant health checks on such material, and repealing Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1137, Article 2 Definitions

Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament of the Council of 26 October 2016 on protective measures against pests of plants, amending Regulations (EU) No 228/2013, (EU) No 652/2014 and (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 69/464/EEC, 74/647/EEC, 93/85/EEC, 98/57/EC, 2000/29/EC, 2006/91/EC and 2007/33/EC, Article 43 Specific import conditions for the introduction into the Union territory of wood packaging material