COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1107/2008
of 7 November 2008
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 thereto to technical progress
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
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)
Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 provides that a fertiliser belonging to a type of fertiliser listed in Annex I thereto and complying with the conditions laid down in that Regulation may be designated ‘EC fertiliser’.
(2)
Ammonium sulphate and calcium nitrate (nitrate of lime) are both listed as fertiliser types in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003. However, combinations of those two fertiliser types may not be designated ‘EC fertiliser’. As combinations of ammonium sulphate and calcium nitrate (nitrate of lime) have been used successfully in two Member States, such combinations should be recognised as ‘EC fertilisers’ so that they can be made more easily available to farmers throughout the Community.
(3)
Many of the primary nutrient fertiliser types containing nitrogen that are listed in Annex I tend to release their nitrogen too rapidly for crops to benefit fully from it, and as a result the excess nitrogen may potentially cause harm to the environment.
(4)
As regards two EC fertiliser types listed in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003, the addition of dicyandiamide, one of a number of substances known as nitrification inhibitors, may prevent any such potential harm to the environment. Other types of EC fertiliser may contain nitrogen in a different form for which nitrification inhibitors are not effective. For those other types, urease inhibitors may offer a satisfactory solution.
(5)
To allow greater access to the agronomic and environmental benefits of nitrification or urease inhibitors, the use of nitrification or urease inhibitors should be allowed for most types of nitrogen fertilisers, and more types of inhibitors should be allowed.
(6)
A list of authorised nitrification and urease inhibitors should therefore be introduced in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003.
(7)
Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 provides detailed descriptions of the methods of analysis to be used to measure the nutrient content of EC fertilisers. Those descriptions, insofar as they concern iodine concentration, need to be adjusted in order to have correct analysis values.
(8)
Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(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 1
1. Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 is amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation.
2. Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 is amended in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation.
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 7 November 2008.