EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

•Reasons for and objectives of the proposal

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (the Convention) entered into force on 17 May 2004. It was approved by Council Decision of 14 October 2004 concerning the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2006/507/EC) and entered into force for the European Community on 14 February 2005. The aim of the Convention is to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The Convention provides a framework, based on the precautionary principle, for elimination of production, use, import and export of POPs, their safe handling and disposal and elimination or reduction of releases of certain unintentional POPs.

Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council implements in Union law the commitments set out in the Convention and in the Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution on Persistent Organic Pollutants (the Protocol), approved by Council Decision 259/2004/EC.

Article 8(1) of the Convention stipulates that any Party may submit a proposal to the Secretariat for listing a chemical in Annexes A, B and/or C to the Convention, which will then be reviewed by the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC) following Article 8(3) and (4). The proposal shall contain the information specified in Annex D. Based on the recommendation of the POPRC, the Conference of the Parties decides whether to list a substance in Annex A (elimination), Annex B (restriction) and/or Annex C (unintentional production). The procedure for the adoption of amendments to Annexes is governed by Article 22 of the Convention.

Chlorpyrifos is prohibited to be used as active substance in plant protection products and in biocidal products in the European Union pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, respectively. In addition, chlorpyrifos is not registered for any other use in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council and, consequently, it is not allowed to be manufactured or placed on the market in the Union for such other use in quantities of one tonne or more per year per manufacturer or importer.

According to the available information and data on intrinsic properties of chlorpyrifos, which were assessed against the Annex D criteria of the Convention, it can be concluded that chlorpyrifos is persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic (PBT). In addition, chlorpyrifos is also subject to long-range environmental transport (LRT) and has been found in remote areas such as the Arctic. Given that information regarding the PBT and LRT properties of chlorpyrifos, it is suggested that chlorpyrifos meets the criteria of Annex D to the Convention and therefore should be considered as a POP. The details of the assessment are available in the scientific dossier that will accompany the proposal for listing chlorpyrifos in Annex A to the Stockholm Convention.

Since chlorpyrifos was only recently prohibited to be used as an active substance in plant protection products in the Union, it cannot be excluded that chlorpyrifos is still produced for export. Moreover, it appears that chlorpyrifos is still produced, used and emitted in other countries. Due to the potential for long-range environmental transport of this chemical, the measures taken nationally or at the Union level are not sufficient to safeguard the high level of protection of the environment and human health and wider international action is necessary.

With a view to the next POPRC meeting in September 2021, it is appropriate that the Commission submits on behalf of the Union a proposal for the listing of chlorpyrifos in Annex A to the Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention. That proposal will be reviewed in accordance with the criteria and procedures under the Convention before a decision on the listing will be taken by the Conference of the Parties.