To support EU preparedness in addressing plant health risks and to respond to a specific request from the European Commission (EC), EFSA performs horizon scanning activities with the aim of retrieving information on new, emerging or recurring pests that may be of concern for the EU territory.

In cooperation with the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), that has developed and hosts the MEDISYS public health surveillance system, and with EU Member States risk assessment bodies, EFSA screens the media and the scientific literature daily  and publishes Monthly Newsletters, highlighting the most relevant news on plant pests worldwide. The new or emerging non-regulated pests identified through the monitoring activity are ranked depending on the risk they pose and subsequently submitted to the EC and Member States for decision on possible preventive measures.

In addition to the Newsletters, the latest articles found by the system are also available on the EFSA Plant Health page of MEDISYS