Editorial

Abstract

Editorial I am writing this editorial the week after EPPO Council -the annual general meeting of our organization at which member countries receive reports of activities, approve the budget and agree the work programme. At the opening session we welcomed a representative of Georgia whose recent accession takes the number of EPPO member countries to 51. We look forward to working with their experts in our networks, including through a Panel meeting in Georgia in January 2017.A number of new and revised Standards were adopted by Council. The existing diagnostic protocol for Xylella fastidiosa has been updated and two new inspection Standards developed for the same pathogen. Consultation on the drafts of these three Standards was carried out in parallel so that common elements such as guidance on sample sizes and descriptions of symptoms could be kept aligned.One new Standard, on national regulatory control systems for Epitrix species damaging potato tubers, was subject to some discussion at Council. The key issue was whether to wait for better data to support key elements of the Standard such as the size of buffer zones around infested areas, or provide advice now to countries wanting to prepare for the possible arrival of Epitrix species on their territory. As a compromise it was agreed that the Standard would be revised as soon as possible in the light of new information. Another Standard which was adopted, on regulatory control systems for Popillia japonica, was based partly on very recent European experience. Within one or two years it will be possible to get a clearer view of the effectiveness of the measures being taken and an early revision may then be necessary for that Standard too. These and other adopted Standards are published in this issue of the Bulletin.Making recommendations in the face of uncertainties is part of EPPO's work, and a challenge shared by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). We are pleased to be working with EFSA on a workshop to be held in December 2016 on modelling in plant health; how models can support risk assessment and decision making. Models do not remove uncertainties, but they can clarify the relative importance of different sources of uncertainty. We are expecting to publish papers from this workshop in the August 2017 issue of the Bulletin.Research is one way of reducing uncertainty and international co-ordination of research helps make good use of limited budgets. The success of the Euphresco network, hosted by EPPO since 2014 and described in Giovani et al. (2015) has been recognised by the decision of Council to incorporate an allocation of funding into the main EPPO budget. This will cover about half of the costs of running the network with the rest coming from other participants in Euphresco who are not EPPO members. Congratulations to those who have worked for many years to put Euphresco onto this more sustainable basis.