Commission Decision
of 23 August 2005
determining the quantities of methyl bromide permitted to be used for critical uses in the European Community from 1 January to 31 December 2005 pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council on substances that deplete the ozone layer
(notified under document number C(2005) 468)
(Only the Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish texts are authentic)
(2005/625/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Whereas:
Articles 3(2)(i)(d) and 4(2)(i)(d) of Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 prohibit the production and import respectively of methyl bromide for all uses after 31 December 2004 except, among others, for critical uses in accordance with Article 3(2)(ii) and the criteria set out in Decision IX/6 of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol. Exemptions for critical uses are intended to be limited derogations to allow a short period of time for the adoption of alternatives.
Decision IX/6 states that methyl bromide should qualify as ‘critical’ only if the applicant determines that the lack of availability of methyl bromide for that specific use would result in a significant market disruption; and that there are no technically and economically feasible alternatives or substitutes available to the user that are acceptable from the standpoint of environment and health and are suitable to the crops and circumstances of the nomination. Furthermore, the production and consumption, if any, of methyl bromide for critical uses should be permitted only if all technically and economically feasible steps have been taken to minimise the critical use and any associated emission of methyl bromide. An applicant should also demonstrate that an appropriate effort is being made to evaluate, commercialise and secure national regulatory approval of alternatives and substitutes; and that research programmes are in place to develop and deploy alternatives and substitutes.
The Commission received 84 proposals for critical uses of methyl bromide from 10 Member States including Belgium (60 825 kg), France (467 135 kg), Germany (45 250 kg), Greece (227 280 kg), Italy (2 298 225 kg), Poland (44 100 kg), Portugal (130 000 kg), Spain (1 059 000 kg), the Netherlands (120 kg) and the United Kingdom (140 408 kg). A total of 4 472 343 kg was requested, comprising 4 111 640 kg (92 %) for pre-harvest uses and 360 703 kg (8 %) for post-harvest uses of methyl bromide.
Article 3(2)(ii) of Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 requires the Commission to also determine which users may take advantage of the critical use exemption. As Article 17(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 requires Member States to define the minimum qualification requirements for personnel involved in the application of methyl bromide, and as fumigation is the only use, the Commission determined that methyl bromide fumigators are the only users proposed by the Member State and authorised by the Commission to use methyl bromide for critical uses. Fumigators are qualified to apply it safely, rather than for example farmers or mill owners that are generally not qualified to apply methyl bromide but who own properties on which it will be applied.
Decision IX/6 states that production and consumption of methyl bromide for critical uses should be permitted only if methyl bromide is not available from existing stocks of banked or recycled methyl bromide. Article 3(2)(ii) of Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 states that production and importation of methyl bromide shall be allowed only if no recycled or reclaimed methyl bromide is available from any of the Parties. In accordance with Decision IX/6 and Article 3(2)(ii) of Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000, the Commission determined that 205 926 kg of stocks are available for critical uses. The European Commission has put in place licensing procedures to ensure stocks are used before methyl bromide is authorised for importation or production.
As critical uses of methyl bromide apply from 1 January 2005, and for the purpose of ensuring that interested companies and operators may benefit from the licensing system, it is appropriate that this present decision shall apply from that date.
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The Kingdom of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic, the Kingdom of The Netherlands, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland shall be permitted to use a total of 2 777 333 kg of methyl bromide for critical uses from 1 January to 31 December 2005 for the specific quantities and categories of use described in Annexes I to X.
Article 2
Stocks declared available for critical uses by the competent authority of each Member State shall be deducted from the amount that can be imported or produced to satisfy critical uses in that Member State.
Article 3
This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic, Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Article 4
This Decision shall apply from 1 January 2005 and shall expire on 31 December 2005.
Done at Brussels, 23 August 2005.
For the Commission
Stavros Dimas
Member of the Commission
ANNEX IKINGDOM OF BELGIUM
Categories of permitted critical uses | Kg |
|---|---|
Greenhouse soil-bound lettuce cultivation | 23 000 |
Endive cultivation | 2 190 |
Greenhouse soil-bound tomato cultivation | 4 846 |
Greenhouse soil-bound pepper and eggplant cultivation | 3 000 |
Greenhouse soil-bound cucumber cultivation | 549 |
Open-field white asparagus cultivation | 225 |
Strawberry runner cultivation | 2 306 |
Berryfruit (all except strawberry, replant) | 1 350 |
Open-field, soil-bound leek and onion seeding fields only | 660 |
Cut-flowers protected (except rose and chrysanthemum) | 2 794 |
Protected, cut-flower chrysanthemum cultivation | 896 |
Open-field, soil-bound nursery stock cultivation | 630 |
Open-field, soil-bound tree nursery | 230 |
Flour mills (17 mills) | 4 264 |
Immovable antique structures and furniture (Axel Vervoort; Gemeentebestuur Bonheiden) | 199 |
Old buildings (classified monuments and private houses) | 438 |
Structures and objects (churches, houses, food processing structures) excluding moveable objects | 307 |
Old buildings (ancient objects, roof structures and fixed furniture in historical constructions — Prohygiena enterprise) | 282 |
Woodworking premises (six premises) | 101 |
Food processing premises (21 facilities) | 300 |
Mills (25 mills) | 200 |
Flour mill (Bloemmolens Diksmuide) | 72 |
Food storage (dry), structure (17 facilities) | 120 |
Sensitive electronic equipment | 50 |
Empty silos (owned by 37 enterprises) | 43 |
Food processing premises (one mill — Molens Vandenbempt) | 15 |
Churches, monuments and ships’ quarters (Bugbusters) | 59 |
Total | 49 126 |
Stocks of methyl bromide available for critical uses in the Member State = 2 848 kg.
ANNEX IIFRENCH REPUBLIC
Categories of permitted critical uses | Kg |
|---|---|
Tomato and eggplant (protected and open field) | 33 250 |
Cucumber (protected and open field) | 21 140 |
Specialist sandy-soil carrots (grown in Brittany, harvested by hand and susceptible to Fusarium solani and Rhizoctonia violacea) | 8 000 |
Strawberry runners | 37 600 |
Strawberry fruit produced for the Perigord label | 34 000 |
Ranunculus, anemone, paeonia and lily-of-the-valley open-field | 21 785 |
Replant in apple, pear, peach, nectarine, apricot, plum and raspberry | 10 000 |
Forest tree nursery — Douglas fir trees for truffle production | 2 000 |
Orchard nursery | 2 000 |
Seeds sold by PLAN-SPG company | 135 |
Mills | 21 440 |
Rice end-of-line rapid disinfestation | 1 400 |
Chestnuts | 2 000 |
Total | 194 750 |
Stocks of methyl bromide available for critical uses in the Member State = 14 280 kg.
ANNEX IIIFEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY
Categories of permitted critical uses | Kg |
|---|---|
Food processing structures, especially mills, with fumigation sites larger than 10 000 m3 | 19 350 |
Artefacts (Disinfestation of Serpula lacrimans dry-rot fungus in churches) | 250 |
Total | 19 600 |
Stocks of methyl bromide available for critical uses in the Member State = 7 000 kg.
ANNEX IVHELLENIC REPUBLIC
Categories of permitted critical uses | Kg |
|---|---|
Tomato (protected) | 92 000 |
Cucumber (protected including tunnels added after treatment, permanent glasshouses and open-ended polyhouses) | 24 000 |
Carnation, rose and gypsophila cut-flowers (open-field and protected) | 8 000 |
Mills, food processing structures, processors | 16 000 |
Raisin and dried figs | 3 081 |
Total | 143 081 |
Stocks of methyl bromide available for critical uses in the Member State = 0 kg.
ANNEX VITALIAN REPUBLIC
Categories of permitted critical uses | Kg |
|---|---|
Tomato (protected) | 671 000 |
Cut-flowers (protected) | 162 000 |
Strawberry fruit (protected) | 130 000 |
Melon (protected) | 112 000 |
Pepper (protected) | 111 000 |
Eggplant (protected) | 96 000 |
Strawberry runners | 78 000 |
Mills and processors | 89 600 |
Museum artefacts | 4 180 |
Total | 1 453 780 |
Stocks of methyl bromide available for critical uses in the Member State = 167 474 kg.
ANNEX VIREPUBLIC OF POLAND
Categories of permitted critical uses | Kg |
|---|---|
Medicinal herbs and dried mushrooms as dry commodities | 3 500 |
Strawberry runners | 34 600 |
Total | 38 100 |
Stocks of methyl bromide available for critical uses in the Member State = 210 kg.
ANNEX VIIPORTUGUESE REPUBLIC
Categories of permitted critical uses | Kg |
|---|---|
Cut-flowers (protected and open-field) | 35 000 |
Total | 35 000 |
Stocks of methyl bromide available for this critical use in the Member State = 0 kg.
ANNEX VIIIKINGDOM OF SPAIN
Categories of permitted critical uses | Kg |
|---|---|
Strawberry runners (in Castilla y León) | 230 000 |
Strawberry fruit (protected, in Huelva) | 330 000 |
Peppers (protected, in Murcia and south of Comunidad Valenciana) | 150 000 |
Cut-flowers (protected, in Cadiz and Sevilla) | 47 700 |
Cut-flowers in Cataluña | 18 000 |
Total | 775 700 |
Stocks of methyl bromide available for critical uses in the Member State = 8 309 kg.
ANNEX IXKINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS
Categories of permitted critical uses | Kg |
|---|---|
Post-harvest disinfestation of strawberry runners | 120 |
Total | 120 |
Stocks of methyl bromide available for this critical use in the Member State = 250 kg.
ANNEX XUNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
Categories of permitted critical uses | Kg |
|---|---|
Strawberry fruit and raspberry (open field) | 35 700 |
Ornamental tree production for control of Verticillium wilt | 5 000 |
Mills (46); and wheat, maize and rice buildings operated by Quaker Oats, Kelloggs, Weetabix Ltd, Ryecroft and EOM | 18 326 |
Dried commodities (nuts, dried fruit, rice, beans, cereal grains, edible seeds) for Whitworths Ltd | 1 571 |
Mill, associated biscuit food processing, finished product and storage areas operated by Ryvita Company Ltd (Dorset) | 1 787 |
Structures — facilities and equipment, processing and storage operated by Whitworths Ltd | 880 |
Structures — spices building operated by Newly Weds Foods Ltd | 1 125 |
Processing plants operated by Warehouse and Spice Grinding Facility (Pataks Foods Ltd) | 1 000 |
Processing plants associated with herbs and spices operated by British Pepper and Spice Ltd, Lion Foods, and East Anglian Food Ingredients | 1 080 |
Specialised cheese stores | 1 561 |
Occasionally-infested spice products (including pappadams) processed by McCormick (UK) Ltd, British Pepper and Spice Ltd, East Anglian Food Ingredients and Pataks Foods Ltd | 46 |
Total | 68 076 |
Stocks of methyl bromide available for critical uses in the Member State = 6 554 kg.