Commission Regulation (EC) No 2076/2002Show full title

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2076/2002

of 20 November 2002

extending the time period referred to in Article 8(2) of Council Directive 91/414/EEC and concerning the non-inclusion of certain active substances in Annex I to that Directive and the withdrawal of authorisations for plant protection products containing these substances

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market(1), as last amended by Commission Directive 2002/81/EC(2), and in particular Article 8(2) thereof,

Having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 451/2000 of 28 February 2000 laying down the detailed rules for the implementation of the second and third stages of the work programme referred to in Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC(3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1490/2002(4), and in particular Article 6(7) and Article 11(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC provides that a Member State may, during a period of 12 years following the notification of that Directive, authorise the placing on the market of plant protection products containing active substances not listed in Annex I that are already on the market two years after the date of notification, except where a decision has been taken not to include a substance in Annex I.

(2) Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3600/92(5), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2266/2000(6), Regulation (EC) No 451/2000 and Regulation (EC) No 1490/2002 lay down the detailed rules for the implementation of the first, second and third stages of the programme of work referred to in Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC. This programme is ongoing and it has not been possible yet to complete decision making on a number of active substances. The notification procedure for the active substances covered by Regulation (EC) No 1112/2002(7) has not yet been finalised either and therefore for certain of these active substances the time period will also need to be extended.

(3) The Commission presented its progress report on 26 July 2001(8). It concluded that progress has not been as good as was originally anticipated and therefore the deadline should be extended for those substances still under review or for which industry has notified a commitment to further prepare the necessary dossiers within the time limits.

(4) For the active substances covered by the first stage the Commission will ensure that as many decisions as possible are taken before July 2003, acknowledging however that for a number of active substances a decision can not be taken before 2005. Additional time is needed to evaluate the further data required by the Commission before it can be decided whether these active substances satisfy the safety requirements of Directive 91/414/EEC and the Commission will ensure that the extension of the time period will be as short as possible.

(5) Active substances for which a commitment to further prepare the necessary dossier has not been notified, should not be included in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC and Member States should withdraw all authorisations for plant protection products containing such active substances.

(6) For uses for which additional technical evidence has been provided demonstrating the essential need for further use of the active substance and the absence of an efficient alternative, temporary measures should be provided to enable the development of alternatives. For a number of uses such information has been presented and evaluated by the Commission with Member State experts. Derogations should be given only for cases, which appear justified and as not giving rise to concern, and should be restricted to the control of harmful organisms, for which no efficient alternatives exist.

(7) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

(1)

OJ L 230, 19.8.1991, p. 1.

(2)

OJ L 276, 12.10.2002, p. 28.

(3)

OJ L 55, 29.2.2000, p. 25.

(4)

OJ L 224, 21.8.2002, p. 23.

(5)

OJ L 366, 15.12.1992, p. 10.

(6)

OJ L 259, 13.10.2000, p. 27.

(7)

OJ L 168, 27.6.2002, p. 14.

(8)

COM(2001) 444 final.