G/SPS/GEN/1365  
 
8 October 2014  
(14-5722)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
 PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON DEFINING CRITERIA FOR IDENTIFYING ENDOCRINE 
DISRUPTORS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE IMPL EMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION'S 
PLANT PROTECTION PRODUCT REGULATION AND BIOCIDAL PRODUCTS REGULATION 
SUBMISSION BY THE EUROPEAN UNION 
The following communication, dated 6 October 2014, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of the European Union. 
 
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1.  The European Union (EU) would like to inform all Members about a public consultation on 
defining criteria for identifying endocrine disrupto rs in the context of the implementation of the 
EU's plant protection product regulation
1 and biocidal products regulation.2 This consultation, 
launched on 26 September 2014, is part of the impact assessment process and should provide 
information relevant to the impact assessment. All interested stakeholders are invited to participate. 
2.  All the necessary information, including instructions on how to submit contributions, is available 
on the European Commission's (Commission) website under the following link: 
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/dgs_con sultations/food/consultation_20150116_endocri
ne-disruptors_en.htm . 
3.  The public consultation will last until 16 January 2015. The usual consultation period of 
12 weeks has been extended to allow all stakeholders sufficient time to provide input. Contributions can be provided in any official EU language. Contributions in one of the 
Commission's working languages (preferably English,  or French or German) would be welcome to 
enable to process answers more swiftly. 
4.  All contributions and contributors' identities  will be published on the Commission's website, 
unless a contributor objects to his or her personal  data being published on the grounds that such 
publication would harm his or her legitimate interests. In this case, the contribution may be published anonymously, or the contribution will not be published and, in principle, its content will 
not be taken into account. Where responses are provided with a request for confidential treatment, 
they will in any case be subject to the rules on access to documents.
3 The privacy statement linked 
to this consultation and available on the Commission's website explains in detail how personal data and contributions will be dealt with. 
5.  Once the consultation is closed a feedback report assessing all contributions will be issued. 
Such a factual, quantitative report shall not prejudge or constitute the announcement of any position on the part of the Commission on the issu es covered by the consultation. It will feed into 
further EU legislative work as appropriate. 
                                               
1 Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 
concerning the placing of plant protection products on  the market and repealing Council Directives 79/117/EEC 
and 91/414/EEC (EC). 
2 Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2012 
concerning the making available on the market and use of biocidal products. 
3 As stipulated in Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. G/SPS/GEN/1365 
 
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  6.  Any questions can be addressed to: mailto:EC-consultation-endocrine-
disruptors@ec.europa.eu . 
Background 
7.  EU legislation on biocidal and plant protection products requires the Commission to "specify 
scientific criteria for the determination of endocrin e-disrupting properties" of chemical substances. 
Pending adoption of these criteria, interim criteria for identifying endocrine disrupting chemicals apply. 
8.  In this context, the Commission has decided to carry out an impact assessment according to its 
standard procedures. More information about the context of this initiative is published in the roadmap from mid-June 2014 which sets out the scope of the impact assessment and presents the policy options that are being assessed. 
9.  This roadmap is available on the European Commission's website: http://ec.europa.eu/smart-
regulation/impact/planned_ia/docs/2014_env_009_endocrine_disruptors_en.pdf . 
 
 
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