The emerald ash borer, a destructive beetle native to eastern Asia, has been detected in the European Union for the first time, with adult specimens found in both Hungary and Slovakia. The pest threatens ash trees across the continent.
In Hungary, two adult beetles were trapped in the Beregsurany forest near the Ukrainian border in late June. Shortly after, 18 adults were captured in the Slovak village of Streda nad Bodrogom, roughly 60 kilometres from the Hungarian site and also near the Ukrainian frontier. The discovery has triggered EU quarantine emergency measures.
Hungarian Agriculture Minister Szabolcs Bona said authorities are working to prevent the pest from becoming established, and Hungary has raised the issue at the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council. Austria has activated its own emergency monitoring plan, deploying additional pheromone traps.