Commodity risk assessment of Vitis spp. plants from Moldova

The European Commission requests EFSA to provide scientific opinions in the field of plant health in accordance with Article 29 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002. Annex VI of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 lists plants, plant products and other objects whose introduction into the Union from certain third countries is prohibited. This Scientific Opinion covers plant health risks posed by 1- to 2-year-old grafted bare root plants without leaves of <i>Vitis</i> spp. from the Republic of Moldova, taking into account the available scientific information, including the technical information provided by Moldova. All pests associated with the commodity were evaluated for their relevance for this opinion. Eight pests (one EU quarantine pest and seven <i>Vitis</i> spp. RNQPs) that fulfilled all the criteria were selected for further evaluation. For the selected pests, the risk mitigation measures implemented in Moldova and described in the technical dossier were evaluated. For the selected pests, an expert judgement is given on the likelihood of pest freedom considering the risk mitigation measures acting on the pest, including uncertainties associated with the assessment. The degree of pest freedom varies among the pests evaluated, with grapevine fleck virus (GFkV, <i>Maculavirus vitis</i>) and '<i>Candidatus</i> Phytoplasma solani' being the pests most frequently expected on the imported plants. The Expert Knowledge Elicitation indicated with 95% certainty that 9900 or more units per 10,000 will be free from the above-mentioned pests.