. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/EEC/226 
16 December 2003 
 (03-6623) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
NOTIFICATION  
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
 
If applicable, name of local government involved: 
2. Agency responsible:   Commission of the European Communities. Health & Consumer 
Protection Directorate-General  Directorate E – Food Safety: Plant Health, Animal Health and Welfare, International questions 
3. Products covered (provide tariff item numbe r(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where 
applicable):  Mefluidide (pesticide active substa nce) ICS: 65.100 Pesticides and other 
agrochemicals 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected , to the extent relevant or practicable:  
Member States of the European Communiti es (EC) and third countries exporting the 
products concerned to the EC.  
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:   SANCO/10650/2003 
Draft Commission Decision concerning the Non-inclusion of Mefluidide as Active Substance in Annex I to Council Direc tive 91/414/EEC and the Withdrawal of 
Authorisations for Plant Protection Products containing this Active Substance (Available in 
all EC languages, 3 pages) 
6. Description of content:  Provides that mefluidide is not included in the positive 
Community list and the member States have to withdraw authorisations for plant protection products containing mefluidide. 
7. Objective and rationale:  [ X ] food safety, [   ] animal health, [ X ] plant protection, 
[  ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease,  [   ]  protect territory from other 
damage from pests 
Directive 91/414/EEC concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market 
sets up a harmonized framework for the authorization and placing on the market of plant protection products in order to protect  human health and the environment. 
Article 8(2) of this Directive provides a pr ogramme to be carried out over a period of 
12 years for the gradual examination of the ac tive substances contained in the pesticides, 
which are on the market for the inclus ion in Annex I of the Directive. 
The current proposed Decision provides that mefluidide is not included in the positive 
Community list and that member States have to withdraw authorizations for plant protection products containing mefluidide becau se industry did not provide the necessary 
support for this substance. 
Any period of grace for disposal, storage, placi ng on the market and use of existing stocks 
of plant protection products c ontaining mefluidide allowed by member State, in accordance 
with the provisions of Article 4(6) of Direc tive 91/414/EEC, should be limited to a period 
no longer than 18 months from the date of adoption.  G/SPS/N/EEC/226 
Page 2  
 
 8. International standard, guideline or recommendation:  
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission, [   ] Office International des Epizooties, 
[   ] International Plant Protection Convention, [ X ] None  
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate 
reference and briefly identify deviations:  
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:   
European Commission Document: (SANCO/10650/2003 rev 0) available in English, 
French and Spanish.  The English version is the reference document.  When adopted, it will 
be published in the Official Jour nal which is available at:   
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/oj/index.html . 
10. Proposed date of adoption:   1 April 2004 
11. Proposed date of entry into force:   Member States have to withdraw all existing 
authorizations for plant protection products c ontaining mefluidide six months after the date 
of adoption.  Any period of grace for existi ng stocks should be limite d to 18 months from 
the date of adoption. 
12. Final date for comments:  Sixty (60) days after th e date of notification 
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [   ] National notification 
authority, [ X ] EC enquiry point, or ad dress, fax number and E-mail address (if 
available) of other body:    
13. Texts available from:  [   ] National notifica tion authority, [ X ] EC enquiry point, or 
address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body: