# Commission Regulation (EU) No 1257/2014Show full title

Commission Regulation (EU) No 1257/2014 of 24 November 2014 amending Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 of the European Parliament            and of the Council relating to fertilisers for the purposes of adapting Annexes I and IV (Text with EEA relevance)         

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U.K.

# Commission Regulation (EU) No 1257/2014                     

# of 24 November 2014

# amending Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to fertilisers for the purposes                        of adapting Annexes I and IV                     

# (Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 relating to                           fertilisers(1), and in particular Article 31(1) and (3) thereof,                        

Whereas:

(1)Crude potassium salts are materials obtained from natural resources through mining. For such natural products, the minimum                              nutrient content requirements set out in entry 1 of Table A.3 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 were laid down in                              accordance with sound industrial practice. However, when the potassium grade in the ore is naturally declining, producers                              encounter increasing difficulties to comply with the current limits, which jeopardies the continuous supply of fertilisers                              obtained from crude potassium salts to professional farmers. Therefore, these limits should be slightly reduced by amending                              entry 1 of Table A.3 of that Annex to allow producers to continue marketing their product as ‘EC fertiliser’. This amendment                              takes into account that the revised, slightly lower limit values also allow for efficient fertilisation and can therefore                              be considered as technical progress in accordance with Article 31(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003.

(2)3,4–dimethyl-1H-pyrazole phosphate (hereinafter ‘DMPP’) is a nitrification inhibitor that is suitable for use with common                              nitrogen fertilisers (solid or fluid). DMPP reduces the risks of nitrogen losses into the soil and in the atmosphere and therefore                              enhances nitrogen use efficiency.

(3)The reaction mixture between N-butyl-thiophosphoric-triamide and N-propyl-thiophosphoric-triamide (hereinafter ‘NBPT/NPPT’)                              is a urease inhibitor. NBPT/NPPT reduces the risk of nitrogen losses in the form of ammonia emissions after the application                              of urea-containing fertilisers and therefore enhances the nitrogen use efficiency.

(4)In order to make them more widely available to farmers throughout the Union, DMPP and NBPT/NPPT should be added to the lists                              of authorised nitrification and urease inhibitors in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 in accordance with Article 31(1)                              of Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003.

(5)Solid or fluid straight urea formaldehyde fertilisers as well as solid NPK, NP and NK fertilisers containing urea formaldehyde                              are listed as fertiliser types in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003. Although urea formaldehyde condensates are stable                              in solution and in suspension, fluid NPK, NP and NK fertilisers containing urea formaldehyde are not yet listed in Annex I                              to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 as an individual product type. As there is a growing interest in marketing fluid NPK, NP and                              NK fertilisers containing a certain amount of urea formaldehyde as source of nitrogen, urea formaldehyde should be allowed                              in the preparation of fluid NPK, NP and NK fertilisers. Six new type designations should therefore be included in Table C.2                              of Annex I to that Regulation.

(6)Further to the inclusion of DMPP and NBPT/NPPT in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003, analytical methods to be applied                              for the official control of those fertilisers should be added to Annex IV to that Regulation.

(7)Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(8)In order to ensure that the method for the analysis of NBPT/NPPT, which is currently under validation, is published by the                              European Committee for Standardisation before the addition of NBPT/NPPT in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 and the                              new analytical method for that fertiliser type in its Annex IV, the application should be deferred as regards those amendments.

(9)The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 32                              of Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

## Article 1U.K.Amendments

Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 is amended as follows:

Annex I is amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation;

Annex IV is amended in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation.

## Article 2U.K.Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the *Official Journal of the European Union*.                  

Annex I, point (4), and Annex II, point (2), shall apply from 1 January 2016.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 24 November 2014.

*For the Commission*                            

*The President*                            

Jean-Claude Juncker                            

## ANNEX IU.K.

Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 is amended as follows:

in Table A.3, entry 1 in the table is replaced by the following:

Table C.2 is amended as follows:

entries C.2.2 to C.2.8 are replaced by the following:

the following entries C.2.9 to C.2.14 are added:

in Table F.1, the following entry 4 is added:

in Table F.2, the following entry 3 is added:

## ANNEX IIU.K.

In Annex IV, Section B, to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003, the following methods are added:

### ‘Method 12.6

#### **Determination of DMPP**

*EN 16328: Fertilizers — Determination of 3, 4-dimethyl-1H-pyrazole phosphate (DMPP) — Method using high-performance liquid                           chromatography (HPLC)*                  

This method of analysis has been ring-tested.                  

### Method 12.7

#### **Determination of NBPT/NPPT**

*EN 16651: Fertilizers — Determination of N-(n-Butyl)thiophosphoric acid triamide (NBPT) and N-(n-Propyl)thiophosphoric acid                           triamide (NPPT) — Method using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)*                  

This method of analysis has been ring-tested.’                  

1

OJ L 304, 21.11.2003, p. 1.