Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2004:558
Date: 2004-09-23
Language of the case: Finnish
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Plant health legislation
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Finland

Summary of the Judgment Agriculture – Approximation of laws – Pesticide residues on and in products of plant origin – Directive 90/642 – Whether applicable to a product not mentioned in the annexes to the directive – Condition – Prior scientific assessment – Directive not applicable to vine leaves on account of the absence of a scientific study (Council Directive 90/642) The fact that a product is not mentioned in the annexes to Directive 90/642 on the fixing of maximum levels for pesticide residues in and on certain products of plant origin, including fruit and vegetables, does not, of itself, preclude the latter’s application to that product. In that regard, it is necessary to consider whether, in the context of the rules on maximum pesticide residue levels, the product in question can be included with a product or a group of products expressly referred to by Directive 90/642. Such an examination requires account to be taken of the general objective of that directive, which consists in reconciling the need effectively to protect plants and plant products from harmful organisms and weeds, in order to safeguard the yield from crop production and agricultural productivity in the Community, with the need to protect human or animal health as well as the environment against the harmful effects of pesticides. The inclusion of a product not mentioned in the annexes to Directive 90/642 in a group or sub-group of products listed there presupposes, therefore, that that product has previously been the subject of a scientific assessment which balances the two requirements arising from the general objective of that directive and which demonstrates, in respect of those two requirements, that it is permissible to apply to the product concerned the maximum levels for pesticide residues fixed for the group or sub-group of products in which it is envisaged to include it. It follows that Directive 90/642 is not applicable to vine leaves, which are not among the products mentioned in the annexes to the directive, since the beneficial and detrimental effects of pesticides on them have not been the subject of any scientific study to date. (see paras 22-24, 26)