Guatemala: EC criticises Spanish measures against Guatemalan potato moth

This was reported Wednesday by Galician MEP Lídia Senra, of the Confederal Group of the European United Left, who back in April, together with the Asturian Angela Vallina, wrote a letter to the EC in which it was alleged that the measures adopted by the State are not managing to stop this pest, which appeared in 1999 in the Canaries and later reached Galicia and Asturias.

Thus, the Commission reports that "an inspection was carried out in Spain in order to assess the status and effectiveness of official controls in the fight against the Tecia solanivora in Galicia and Asturias, and the results of the inspection show that the measures adopted will hardly succeed in eradicating the pest, but only in containing its propagation."

The EC explains that it has been monitoring the situation since 2016; "in particular, the success of the measures and the development of the pest, so depending on the results, the European Commission, in consultation with its Member States, could consider adopting EU emergency measures."

For her part, the Galician MEP criticises the "incompetence" of the Spanish Government and the Xunta to tackle the pest, given that it was detected for the first time in the Town Hall of Neda in 2015, "and has now spread to at least 31 municipalities in Galicia and 7 in Asturias.

On this point, Senra urges the European Commission "to implement measures to prevent the appearance of new pests and diseases, limiting the mass circulation of products and carrying out thorough checks on imported products."

Source: elcorreogallego.es