The European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) is an international organization responsible for cooperation and harmonization in plant protection within the European and Mediterranean region. Under the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC, Article IX), EPPO is the Regional Plant Protection Organization (RPPO) for the Euro-Mediterranean region. The Convention for the establishment of EPPO was signed on the 18th of April 1951 in Paris and is deposited at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It has since been amended several times by the EPPO Council. The last amendments were agreed in September 1999, and had the principal aim of taking due account of the last revisions made to the IPPC.