These Regulations further amend the Plant Protection Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 (S.R. 1995 No. 371), as amended by S.R. 1997 No. 471, S.R. 1997 No. 507 and S.R. 2002 No. 21 (“the principal Regulations”) which implement in Northern Ireland Council Directive 91/414/EEC (O.J. No. L230, 19.8.91, p. 1 to be read with the Corrigenda published in O.J. No. L170, 25.6.92, p. 40) concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market (“the Directive”), as amended.

These Regulations amend the definition of the Directive provided in the principal Regulations in consequence of Commission Directive 2001/87/EC (O.J. No. L276, 19.10.2001, p. 17) which adds acibenzolar-s-methyl, cyclanilide, ferric phosphate, pymetrozine and pyraflufen-ethyl to Annex I of the Directive.

Transitional arrangements are included in regulation 3 to implement saving provisions included in various implementing Directives with the purpose of disapplying regulation 13(5)(a)(i) of the principal Regulations. These allow for the continuation of provisional approvals containing the two active substances from Commission Directive 2001/87/EC (acibenzolar-s-methyl and pymetrozine), the active substance flupyrsulfuron-methyl from Commission Directive 2001/49/EC (O.J. No. L176, 29.6.2001, p. 61), and the active substance fenhexamid from Commission Directive 2001/28/EC (O.J. No. L113, 24.4.2001, p. 5) until replaced by a decision made on an application for a standard approval, subject to a longstop date.

The Regulations revoke the Plant Protection Products (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 (S.R. 2002 No. 21) which are consolidated in these Regulations.