Invasive alien species: Tackling the threat to our biodiversity

One of the worst threats to Europe's biodiversity and ecosystems is plant and animals species coming from other countries and continents, which frequently cause the near extinction of native species. On 16 April MEPs vote on new rules to manage these so-called invasive alien species and most importantly to stop others from being introduced into Europe.

Globalization and the increased use of international transport have made it easier for species to spread to other areas. Some of these are harmless, but others prove detrimental to local animal and plant life and unbalance the ecosystem. The Parliament votes on 16 April on new legislation to deal with this issue. Pavel Poc, a Czech member of the S&D group, is responsible for steering the new rules through Parliament. He commented: "The new measures should prevent new invasive alien species from entering the EU and to deal more effectively with the ones that are already established in Europe.”
Under the proposal a list of invasive alien species that could prove damaging would be established and those species should not be introduced, transported, placed on the market, offered, kept, grown or released into the environment. “Efforts to minimise the impact of the invasive alien species will be coherent in the member states, cover all of the EU and will be better co-ordinated, which means that their overall effectiveness will be improved,” Poc said.

Some of these species can also prove a threat to human health, as they can cause health problems such asthma or allergies and are potential carriers of various diseasesa like the Dengue fever propagated by the Asian tiger mosquito, which first emerged in Europe in 1979 through a shipment of goods from China.
"Invasive alien species are estimated to cost the European Union at least €12 billion per year and the damage costs continue to increase,” added Poc.