Article 2
1
Member States shall ensure that authorisations for plant protection products containing the active substances listed in Annex I to this Decision are withdrawn by 31 March 2004 at the latest.
2
By derogation from paragraph 1, Member States listed in column B of Annex II may maintain authorisations for plant protection products containing substances listed in column A of that Annex for uses listed in column C of that Annex until 30 June 2007 at the latest, to permit the development of an efficient alternative for the substance concerned.
Member States making use of the derogation provided for in the first subparagraph shall ensure that the following conditions are complied with:
a
the continued use is only accepted so far as it has no harmful effect on human or animal health and no unacceptable influence on the environment;
b
such plant protection products remaining on the market after 31 March 2004 are relabelled in order to match the restricted use conditions;
c
all appropriate risk mitigation measures are imposed to reduce any possible risks;
d
alternatives for such uses are being seriously sought.
3
The Member State concerned shall inform the Commission about the measures taken in application of paragraph 2, and in particular about the actions taken pursuant to points (a) to (d), by 31 December 2004 at the latest.