Pesticides Update
10 September 2008
Extension of deadlines for third and fourth phase of
pesticides review program
The European Commission (EC) has extended the deadline for
finalising the review of third and fourth list compounds under
Directive 91/4141.
Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414 directive provides for a 12-year
transitional period for the review of active substances used in
plant protection products that were on the EU market on or before
25 July 1993. This programme was launched in 1992. At that time,
more than 900 existing active substances were identified as being
on the market in the EU and around 400 of those substances where
subject to detailed scientific assessment.
As it has not proven possible to take a decision on all active
substances included in the third and fourth stage of the review
programme within the initial deadline, the EC issued several
regulations and a decision extending this deadline.
Last July a new Commission Regulation amending the time period
referred to in article 8(2) of the pesticides directive was voted
on and accepted by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and
Animal Health. This Regulation was published on 29 August 2008 and
entered into force on 5 September 2008, extending the deadline for
review to 31 December 2009.
This extension of the deadline is not meant to grant companies more
opportunities to complete their dossier or fill data gaps.
Its objectives are to allow the Commission more time to adopt the
remaining Annex I listing directives (or non-inclusion decisions),
and to ensure that Member States have a legal basis to maintain
plant protection product registrations until the end of next
year.
This extension follows a period of one year during which the
Commission, in order to meet its administrative deadlines, did not
accept new data from industry and adopted a series of non-inclusion
decisions, which resulted in many Court cases lodged by the
industry. Also, approximately one year ago the Commission adopted
two regulations aimed at encouraging companies to voluntarily
withdraw and resubmit their dossiers, with a view to accelerating
decision-making and meet the December 2008 deadline for the review
programme.
At present, the Commission allows itself more time to finish its
own decision-making for list three and four assessments, however,
without giving the industry more opportunities for discussion. This
approach is difficult to reconcile with the Commission’s earlier
position that administrative deadlines were the cornerstone of
decision-making. It remains to be assessed what will be the legal
impact of this new regulation on notifiers and ongoing Court
cases.
For further information, please contact
Claudio Mereu.
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Footnotes
1 Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991
concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market,
Official Journal, L230, 19/8/1991, 1–32