The European Union made a further step towards the objective of protecting European biodiversity by tackling invasive alien species (IAS).
On 17 July 2025, the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1422 added 26 invasive alien species — 18 animals and 8 plants — to the Union list, as part of the EU implementation of Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 in collaboration with Member States Competent Authorities.
The regulation, in force since 1 January 2015, aims at prevention, early detection, rapid eradication, and management of IAS that pose a threat to European biodiversity.
The Union list is updated based on proposals from Member States. New additions undergo a rigorous selection process through horizon scanning risk assessments, and a thorough evaluation by DG Environment, assisted by the Scientific Forum and the IAS Committee, which include experts and representatives from national Competent Authorities.
Stakeholders, through the IAS Working Group, also contribute to the listing process by submitting evidence and supporting information, ensuring a transparent and informed decision-making.
The listing of the 26 species, identified as posing significant ecological risks, is a result of a joint coordinated collaboration at EU-level.
Worth highlighting that attention was given to the rising problem of land planarians, with the addition of Bipalium kewense (Moseley, 1868), Obama nungara (Carbayo, Álvarez-Presas, Jones & Riutort, 2016) and Platydemus manokwari (de Beauchamp, 1963) and to small but dangerous organisms such as ants Brachyponera chinensis (Emery, 1895), a new species added.
With this update, the Union list now includes 114 IAS, of which 49 are plants and 65 are animals, occupying terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments.
EASIN, as the official information system, supports Member States by gathering and making available scientific and spatial data, and preparing updated distribution maps of IAS of Union concern, used as Baseline. The new regulation also revised the names of some species. EASIN has therefore updated its catalogue and added them to the early detection reporting system NOTSYS.
For more information:
How an alien species become of Union concern
DG Environment webpage on invasive alien species
Get involved! Help us to monitor IAS of Union concern
Picture: Obama nungara - @Pierre Gros CC BY 4.0, 10.7717/peerj.8385