. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/N/EEC/36
1 October 2003
(03-5169)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:  English
NOTIFICATION
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6.
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):           
2. Agency responsible:   European Commission
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, e-mail and web-site
addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:
European Commission,
EC-TBT Enquiry Point,Fax: 003222998043,
E-mail: ec-tbt@cec.eu.int
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [ X], 2.10.1 [    ], 5.6.2 [    ], 5.7.1 [    ], other:           
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):   Plant protection products
containing certain active substances
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   Draft Commission
Decision concerning the non-inclusion of certain active substances in Annex I to Council
Directive 91/414/EEC and the withdrawal of authorisations for plant protection products
containing these substances
6. Description of content:   The proposal provides for the withdrawal of authorisations for
plant protection products containing certain active substances
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:
Directive 91/414/EEC concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market
sets up a harmonised framework for the authorisation 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 programme to be carried out over a period of
12 years for the gradual examination of active substances contained in pesticides.
Stages 1, 2 and 3 of the review programme are ongoing. For the 4th stage, the Commission
adopted on 20 June 2002 Regulation (EC) No 1112/2002, providing that industry had to
notify which substances it intended to provide the required information to demonstrate
acceptable uses.G/TBT/N/EEC/36
Page 2
The current proposed Decision provides, as already announced in the progress report and in
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1112/2002 the withdrawal from the market of all active
substances of stage 4 not further defended by industry. In total about 100 substances will
have to be withdrawn from the market by Member States at the latest on 31.12.2003 with a
phase-out period for sale and further use at the latest on 31.12.2004 (one additional growingseason).
The same applies for 15 substances from stages 2 and 3, for which the necessary dossier has
not been submitted, or for which the notifiers have withdrawn their further support.
For a reduced number of these active substances, the Commission would allow a further 4
years of authorization and use for a limited number of Member States and for a restricted
number of crops.
8. Relevant documents:   Doc. SANCO/10300/2003 rev 5
9. Proposed date of adoption:  1 December 2003
Proposed date of entry into force: MS have to withdraw all existing authorizations for
plant protection products containing active
substances listed in Annex I to the draft Decision
by 31 December 2003. Any period of grace for
existing stocks should be limited to 31 December
2004.
For a limited number of active substances the
authorizations for specified crops in specifiedMember States, the authorizations have to be
withdrawn only by 30 June 2007, with a period of
grace for existing stocks expiring on
31 December 2007 at the latest.
10. Final date for comments:   60 days from date of notification
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [     ] or address, telephone and fax
numbers, e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body:
European Commission,
EC-TBT Enquiry Point,Fax : 0032 2 299 80 43,
E-mail: ec-tbt@cec.eu.int