Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2000:476
Date: 2000-09-21
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Plant health legislation
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: United Kingdom

Summary of the Judgment 
Agriculture — Approximation of laws — Placing of plant protection products on the 
market — Directive 91/414 — Prior authorisation to place on the market — 
Assessment of an application for first authorisation — Generic product containing an 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-306/98 
active substance not listed in Annex I to the directive — Substance already on the 
national market two years after notification of the directive 
(Council Directive 91/414, Arts 4(1)(b)(i) to (v), and (c) to (f), 8(2) and (3) and 13(6) and 
Annex I) 
Article 8(3) of Directive 91/414 concerning 
the placing of plant protection products on 
the market does not apply where, pursuant 
to Article 8(2) of the directive, an applica­
tion is submitted to a Member State for 
first authorisation to place on the market a 
generic plant protection product containing 
an active substance not listed in Annex I to 
the abovementioned directive, which is 
already on the domestic market two years 
after notification of that directive, with the 
consequence that that Member State is not 
under an obligation to assess such an 
application in accordance with the require­
ments laid down in Article 4(1)(b)(i) to (v), 
and (c) to (f), of that directive. 
(see para. 45 and operative part) 
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