On September 22, 2008 the Commission has presented the communication from the Commission tot he European Parliament concerning the common position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market (COM(2008) 578 final)

Background

The first proposal was transmited in July 19, 2006 from the Commision to the European Parliament and Council.

The new Regulation will replace the existing legislation on the placing on the market of plant protection products (Council Directive 91/414/EEC), thoroughly revising the procedures for the safety evaluation of active substances and plant protection products.

However, it keeps the two steps procedure of the Directive:

• – Approval of active substances at EU level
• – Authorisation of plant protection products, containing approved substances, by Member States.

For simplification, it would also repeal Council Directive 79/117/EEC prohibiting the placing on the market and use of plant protection products containing certain active substances. The main aim of the proposal is to maintain a high level of protection for humans, animals and the environment; to reduce the administrative burdens of the present approval and authorisation procedures and to achieve a higher level of harmonization.

This proposal is part of a package together with the Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides and the proposal for a Framework Directive, which fills a legal gap in the use phase of pesticides, as well as a proposal for a Regulation on the collection of statistics regarding the placing on the market and the use of plant protection products.