Inhoudsopgave van deze pagina:
Delen
Delegations will find attached written information from the Commission concerning the above item.
__________
ANNEX
W RITTEN I NFORMATION FROM C OMMISSIONER K YPRIANOU
P LANT PROTECTION P RODUCTS On 12 July 2006, the Commission adopted a proposal for a new Regulation of the European
Parliament and the Council on the placing on the market of plant protection products. The
Commission presented the new Regulation in the Agriculture Council on 18-19 September 2006.
The Commission would like to congratulate the Finnish presidency for a successful start of the
discussions in Council on the proposal. The Commission is satisfied that Member States broadly
welcome the proposal and support major parts of it.
We can expect good progress in the near future, which is important to ensure that the main
principles of the proposal can be applied soon.
The aim of the proposed Regulation is to simplify, clarify and upgrade the EU rules on plant
protection products.
The top priority remains, as always, ensuring the highest possible level of protection for human
and animal health and the environment. This, in fact, would be strengthened through a number
of provisions in the proposal:
-
-Strict new safety criteria would have to be met before an active substance could be authorised;
-
-The central role of the European Food Safety Authority in the evaluation process for active
substances is confirmed and defined, thus clearly separating risk assessment and risk management
in line with internationally agreed principles;
-
-Controls on the marketing and use of pesticides would be tightened. Farmers would have to keep
records to be made available on request to neighbours and the drinking water industry. Member
State authorities would have to tighten controls to ensure that the pesticides rules are fully and
properly implemented, and the Commission will have a role in auditing Member States' controls.
-
-New provisions to reduce the testing of plant protection products on animals have also been
included in the proposal;
-
-To promote sustainable agriculture, there are measures on the substitution of more hazardous plant
protection products with viable safer alternatives.
The proposed legislation is also consistent with the EU's core agenda of boosting competitiveness.
It aims to strengthen the internal market for plant protection products and create a more favourable
market situation for producers. It introduces a more harmonised approach to the authorisation of
plant protection products in the EU to the benefit of both industry and farmers. The authorisation
procedure for active substances would be made more efficient with the proposed Regulation.
Timelines for approvals would be shortened, enabling products to reach the market faster and
reducing the current administrative burden. National provisional authorisations can no longer be
granted. In fact, this system is no longer possible once the Regulation on setting maximum residue
levels for pesticides is in force. In addition, such system would continue to lead to repetition of
work in some Member States and a lack of harmonisation of the internal market. We can not have a
disharmonised market in plant protection products and a single market for treated crops.
Member States would no longer work in isolation when it comes to approving plant protection
products. The proposal includes an obligation on all Member States belonging to a particular zone
to mutually recognise authorisations granted by a Member State of that zone. This should reduce the
fragmentation of the EU market with regard to plant protection products and create wider
availability for farmers.
The proposed Regulation is very much in line with the overall Commission strategy on pesticides,
and will complement the proposal for a Directive on the sustainable use of pesticides, which is also
currently under discussion in the Council.
____________________
