EU action against the spread of olive tree disease

A plant pathogen called Xylella fastidiosa has already devastated close to 30 000 hectares of olive groves in the Italian region of Apulia, with major economic and social consequences for the olive production sector. Following notification of the Xylella outbreak by the Italian authorities in October 2013, the EU has adopted a series of emergency measures, which are now to be further tightened by stringent prevention and eradication actions aimed at curbing the epidemic.