Plum pox virus (PPV) is listed as a IIAII quarantine pest in the EU (European Council Directive 2000/29/EC). It is regulated for “Plants of Prunus L. susceptible to Plum pox virus, intended for planting, other than seeds”. The European Council Directive 2000/29/EC includes specific requirements for plants for planting originating from areas where the pest is present to guarantee pest freedom of the crop (Annex IV, PART A, Section I, article 23 for plants originating outside the community and Section II, point 16 for plants originating within the Community) (Appendix III in the present PRA). Despite these requirements, infected plants are intercepted on a regular basis by member states which indicate that the current legislation cannot prevent spread of PPV (completely) within the EU. PPV originates from eastern Europe and is nowadays present in many EU-countries. PPV is naturally transmitted by aphids wich can make it difficult to implement the current EU-requirements for plants intended for planting. Also, an increased use of host plant cultivars that have some degree of tolerance to the disease increases the risk of spread of the disease by movement of infected planting material. On the other hand, the existing requirements for Prunus host plants intended for planting can have a large impact for growers since they are not allowed to trade any Prunus host plants for at least three growing seasons after the finding of an infection even if it only includes a single plant. These strict measures can be difficult to explain when the pest is already present in a country and (fairly) widespread.