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Following a request from the European Commission, the Panel on Plant Health was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on 30 pest risk assessments made by France on organisms which are considered by France as harmful in four French overseas departments, i.e. French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion. In particular, the Panel was asked whether these organisms can be considered as harmful organisms for the endangered area of the above departments, in the meaning of the definition mentioned in Article 2.1.(e) of Directive 2000/29/EC and thus potentially eligible for addition to the list of harmful organisms in Directive 2000/29/EC.This document presents the opinion of the Panel on Plant Health on the simplified[2]Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion considered as endangered area. pest risk assessment conducted by France on Erionota thrax L. with French Guiana,Erionota thrax (L.) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae), the palm redeye, banana skipper or banana leafroller, is a pest of bananas, Musa textilis, and some other Zingiberales. Larvae feed on leaves of cultivated and wild banana plants. In its native areas, the defoliation of banana plants is usually very low, but in non-native areas it can be serious during outbreaks and favourable weather conditions. Complete defoliation has been reported sporadically.The Panel examined the risk assessment in detail, and considered the accuracy and quality of the information provided and methods applied for pest risk assessment purposes. It came to the conclusion that the information material provided in the document could be considerably improved. The review was based on the principles of the International Standard on Phytosanitary Measures ISPM No. 11[3]: Pest risk analysis for quarantine pests including analysis of environmental risks and living modified organisms (2004) by the International Plant Protection Convention (FAO, 2007b).The Panel concluded that it is not possible to conduct a risk assessment on E. thrax alone because of uncertainties with its taxonomy and the general confusion in the literature about Erionota spp. The document is therefore, in effect, not a risk assessment just for E. thrax but also for three other closely related Erionota spp. (E. torus, E. hiraca, and E. surprisa). The judgements made by the Panel – if not specified otherwise – thus refer to all four of these closely related Erionota spp.On this basis, the Panel, in general, accepts the conclusions in the French document. The Panel agrees that Erionota spp. have a low probability of entry for the French Guiana, Guadeloupe and Martinique due to the long distance from its current area of distribution and the existing phytosanitary legislation. However, the probability of Erionota spp. gaining entry to French Guiana, Guadeloupe and Martinique would be moderate if the current regulations governing imports of banana material were lifted. The probability of entry for Réunion is higher due to its proximity to Mauritius where Erionota spp. are present. The probability of Erionota sppthe areas where the 4 species currently occur. . establishing in the PRA area[4] after entry is high, since host plants are grown in the PRA area and the climatic conditions are similar toThe Erionota spp. can have severe impacts on banana in certain situations. However, the conclusion of the French document that the economic impact would be "extremely high" for Guadeloupe and Martinique and "fairly high" for French Guiana and Réunion cannot be supported by the Panel on the basis of the information provided in the pest risk assessment or from the information available in the scientific literature. Based on the information available, the Panel concludes that the impact of Erionota spp. would be low for French Guiana and Réunion and moderate for the Guadeloupe and Martinique. However, without additional information on the pest and the impacts it causes in Mauritius, the risk posed to Réunion and the other French overseas departments cannot be reliably clarified.The Panel concludes that (a) the probability of entry is low for French Guiana, Guadeloupe and Martinique, and higher for Réunion, (b) the probability of establishment is high for all the French overseas departments, and (c) the potential for economic damage is low for French Guiana and Réunion and moderate for Guadeloupe and Martinique.The Panel, based on the information provided in the document and on additional literature consulted, concludes that E. thrax and the three other closely related Erionota spp. are appropriate for evaluation of pest risk management options for the endangered areas of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion and thus potentially eligible for addition to the list of harmful organisms in Directive 2000/29/EC.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) requested the Panel on Plant Health to develop a methodology for assessing the environmental risks posed by harmful organisms that may enter, establish and spread in the European Union. To do so, the Panel first reviewed the methods for assessing the environmental risks of plant pests that have previously been used in pest risk assessment. The limitations identified by the review led the Panel to define the new methodology for environmental risk assessment which is described in this guidance document. The guidance is primarily addressed to the EFSA PLH Panel and has been conceived as an enhancement of the relevant parts of the "Guidance on a harmonised framework for pest risk assessment and the identification and evaluation of pest risk management options by EFSA". Emphasizing the importance of assessing the consequences on both the structural (biodiversity) and the functional (ecosystem services) aspects of the environment, this new approach includes methods for assessing both aspects for the first time in a pest risk assessment scheme. A list of questions has been developed for the assessor to evaluate the consequences for structural biodiversity and for ecosystem services in the current area of invasion and in the risk assessment area. To ensure the consistency and transparency of the assessment, a rating system has also been developed based on a probabilistic approach with an evaluation of the degree of uncertainty. Finally, an overview of the available risk reduction options for pests in natural environments is presented, minimum data requirements are described, and a glossary to support the common understanding of the principles of this opinion is provided.