The European Commission has officially published the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2188, establishing a science-based methodology to monitor pollinator diversity and pollinator populations across Europe. This milestone Delegated Act supplements Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 and marks a decisive step forward in understanding, halting, and ultimately reversing the decline of pollinators.
Read the Delegated Act here.
The new methodology provides, for the first time, a harmonised framework for EU Member States to track the status, trends, and distribution of pollinators. This foundation will directly support evidence-based conservation measures under the EU Pollinators Initiative, revised in 2023 as A New Deal for Pollinators, and the Nature Restoration Regulation.
CETAF’s Key Contribution
CETAF played a critical role in the development of this Delegated Act.
Ana Casino, CETAF Executive Director, was part of the expert group responsible for designing the scientific methodology, contributing specifically to Chapter 1.5 – Taxonomic Capacity.
Her involvement ensured that the Delegated Act recognises the central importance of taxonomic expertise in monitoring pollinator diversity—expertise that is indispensable for accurate species identification, data reliability, and long-term monitoring efforts across Europe.
“This Delegated Act acknowledges something fundamental: without solid taxonomic capacity, effective pollinator monitoring is simply not possible. CETAF is committed to ensuring that Europe has the expertise, infrastructure, and scientific excellence needed to understand and protect its pollinator biodiversity.”
— Ana Casino, CETAF Executive Director
The Science Behind the Methodology
The methodology adopted in the Delegated Act is the result of years of coordinated scientific work by an international team of experts led by Professor Simon Potts.
This work took place first within the STING+ initiative and later under SIMPOLL, producing two Joint Research Centre (JRC) technical reports that underpin the methodology now endorsed by EU Member States:
- “Proposal for an EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme” (Potts et al., 2021)
- “Refined proposal for an EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme” (Potts et al., 2024)
These reports form the scientific foundation of what will become the EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (EU-PoMS).
Next Steps for EU Member States
Under the Delegated Act, EU Member States must implement the EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (EU-PoMS) no later than 16 December 2026.
This scheme will be crucial for improving Europe-wide knowledge of pollinator trends, identifying threats, guiding restoration policy, and ensuring a coordinated response to pollinator declines.
More information on EU-PoMS can be found here (link to be added).
Why CETAF’s Involvement Matters
CETAF’s participation demonstrates the essential role of taxonomy in biodiversity monitoring. Accurate pollinator identification—often involving thousands of species, many of them poorly known—requires deep scientific expertise and robust natural history collections. CETAF institutions provide both.
By contributing to this Delegated Act, CETAF ensures that:
- taxonomic capacity is explicitly recognised as a prerequisite for effective monitoring,
- European countries are supported in building and maintaining this capacity, and
- the EU’s efforts to safeguard pollinators are grounded in solid, verifiable science.