ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(76)444
Vol.1976/0136

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(76)444final.
\ il
Brussels,29July1976.
\,
.i
Proposalfora
COUNCILDIRECTIVE
prohibitingtheplacingonthemarketandtheuseofplant
protectionproductscontainingcertainactivesubstances
(submittedtotheCouncil "bytheCommission)
COM(76)444final,
V

♦
Proposal for aCouncil Directive prohibiting theplacing onthemarket
anduseofplant proteotion products containing pertain active substances#
Explanatory Memorandum
I.General Introduction
The fol "owing proposal foraDirective concerns prohibition ofthe
marketing and use ofcertain plant protection products containing
active substances whose use ishazardous tohuman oranimal health
orisunduly harmful tothe environment .
Itessentially complements theparallel proposal foraCouncil
Directive concerning theplacing ofEEC-accepted plant protection
products onthemarket *Thelatter envisages thecreation ofthe
type ofan"EEC-accepted "plant protection product which may be
placed freely onthemarket throughout theCommunity *Under its
provisions ,however .Member States would remain free toregulate
and ,inparticular ,prohibit themarketing andusewithin their
ownterritory ofplant protection products ,other than EEC-aocepted
products ,inaccordance with national provisions *
Such prohibitions introduced byMember States *ften differ and ,
where these differences arenotduetospecial lecal conditional
inparticular different ecological ceaditiena ,they constitute
obstacles totrade *

-II
Onthe other hand ,thelack ofcertain prohibitions may expose
theCommunity asawhole torisks tohuman oranimal health
.or tothe environment *
Itisnecessary therefore toprovide ,through this Directive ,
the means whereby such national prohibitions and restrictions
may beharmonised atCommunity level *Inafirst stage ,it
covers plant protection products containing certain mercury
ororgano-chlorine active substances *These substances have
been thesubject ofextensive study inrecent years (1),their
use isnowgenerally recognised tobeundesirable inagricul­
ture andhas already been prohibited ,orotherwise discontinued ,
insome Member States *
This proposal also represents acontribution tothe Communities'
environmental policy asenvisaged intheProgramme ofAction of
theEuropean Communities ontheEnvironment (2)*
XI*Notes onindividual Articles
Article 1
This Article defines -thescope oftheDirective which concerns
prohibition oftheplacing onthemarket anduseofcertain
plant protection products *
Article 2
This Article defines certain terms used intheDirective *
notably that of"plant protection product ",which isthesame
asthat used inthecomplementary proposal concerning "EEC-
acceptance ".
Article 3
. .. ■
This Article requires Member states toensure that plant
protection products containing one ormore ofthe active
substances listed intheAnnex (column 1)mayneither beplaced
onthe market nor used *
Article
This Article grants Member States alimited right ,either for
afixed period orforaperiod presently not y<jt fixed ,to
permit ,byway ofderogation ,themarketing oruseofotherwise '
prohibited products forspecific uses (column 2oftheAnnex ),
particularly where such uses areindispensable onecological
grounds *
^ ' •/♦
(1)See ,forexample "The useofmercury andalternative compounds
asseed dressings "published byTAOandWHO ,197 **and "Consequences
ecologiques del1application destechniques modernes deproduction
enagrioulture ",Informations internes sur1*agriculture .« 137 »
November 197^i published bytheCommission oftheEuropean Communi­
ties •,
(2)OJN#C112 |20/12/1973

-III -
Itmust beemphasised that Member States may avail themselves of
these limited derogations but arenot obliged todoso.
Further ,itisintended that allthese derogations will bosubject
tofrequent review with aview tophasing them out assoon asless
hazardous replacement treatments become available *
Article 5
This Article excludes plant protection products intended for
research oranalytical purposes orforexport tothird countries ,
since thelatter generally have their ownregulations .
\Article 6
Under theprovisions ofthis Article ,amendments totheAnnex
made necessary bythedevelopment ofscientific andtechnical
knowledge are tobeadopted through theprocedure oftheStanding
Committee onPlant Health .Italso establishes the criteria for
inclusion offurther active substances inthe Annex ,i.e. hazard
tohuman oranimal health orunreasonable adverse influence on
the environment .
Article 7
This isasp<sciil derogation authorising Member States temporarily
topermit themarketing anduse ofcertain prohibited plant pro­
tection products when faced with anunpredictable threat tocrop
production ,which cannot becontained byother means .Atypical
case would beaserious attack ofanovel pest resistant toother
plant protection products .
Article 8
This Article lays down theprocedure oftheStanding Committee
onPlaint Health inthe context ofthis Directive .Itcorresponds
toearlier Commission proposals iasimilar cases .
III .Consultation ofInterested Parties
1 ' '' 11 ■■ S
This Proposal for aDirective has been drawn upwith theassistance
v. ofgovernment experts onagriculture ,public health and the envi­
ronment ,and after consultation ofthe industrial and consumer
organisations concerned .Inpreparing itaccount has also been
talcen ofexisting international recommendations inthis field .
IV*Consultation ofthe European Parliament and the Economic and Social
Commit tee
The European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee must
beconsulted inaccordance with Article 100oftheTreaty ,since
the implementation ofthis Directive involves the amendment of
legislation inone ormore Member States *

ProposalforaCounoilDireotiveprohibitingtheplacingontherarket
anduseofplantproteotionproductscontainingcertainaotivesub­
stances*
THECOUNCILOFTHEEUROPEANCOMMUNITIES ,
HavingregardtotheTreatyestablishing theEuropeanEconomic
Community,andinparticularArticle100thereof|
HavingregardtotheproposalfromtheCommission |
HavingregardtotheOpinionoftheEuropeanParliament f
HavingregardtotheOpinionoftheEconomicandSocialCommittee J
WhereasplantproductionhasaveryimportantplaceintheEuropean •
Communities f
Wheroastheyieldfromthatproductioniscontinually beingaffected
byharmfulorganismsandweedsandwhereasitisabsolutelyeoccntiaJL
boprotectplantsagainsttheseriskstopreventafallinyieldsand
therebyhelptoassuretheavailability ofsupplies|
Whereasoneofthemostimportantmethodsofprotectingplantsand
plantproductsandofincreasingtheproductivity ofagricultureis
touseplantprotectionproducts ;
Whereastheeffectsoftheseplantprotectionproductsmaynotbe
whollyfavourableforplantproduction andtheirusenayinvolverisks
formanandtheenvironment since,inthemain,theyaretoxicsub­
stancesorpreparations havingdangerouseffects;
Whereasinthecaseofcertainplantprotectionproductstheserisks
aresogreatthattheirusecannolongerbewhollyorpartially
tolerated i
t
WhereasanumberofMemberStateshavethereforenotonlyregulated
themarketingofplantprotectionproductsbuthavealsointroduced|
forcertainplantprotectionproducts,restrictions erprohibitions
ofusecoveringalsotheirmarketing|
WhereastheseprovisionsdifferinthevariousMemberStatesandresult
inobstaclestotradewhichdirectlyaffecttheestablishment and
functioning ofthecommonmarket|
Whereasitisthereforedesirabletoeliminatetheseobstaclesbyali­
gningtherelevantprovisionslaiddownintheMemberStatesbylaw,
regulationoradministrative provision }

-2-
Whereas ittherefore seems justified ,asabasic principle tto
introduce prohibitions oftheuse ofallplant protection products
containing active substances which ,even when properly applied for
thepurpose intended ,give rise todanger tohuman oranimal ,health
ortounreasonable adverse influence onthe environment |
Whereas for some ofthese plant protection products national
derogations may ,however ,bepermitted toalimited extent for those
uses where ,forecological reasons ,there isaparticular need and
vhere there exists alesser risk than inthe case oftheir other
previous uses *
Whereas even these derogations should bephased out assoon aslees
hazardous treatawntasi become available }whereas time limita are therefore
set forsome ofthederogations ;
Whereas ,onthe other hand ,itisnecessary togrant Member States
alimited right tosuspend temporarily ,ontheir own authority ,prohi -
'bitions ofuse inthe event ofanunpredictable danger which threatens
plant production and cannot becontained byother means (
Whereas the Directive excludes plant protection products intended for
research and analytical purposes |is
Whereas ^moreover ,it/notappropriate toapply Community provisions to
plant proteotion products ,intended for export tothird countries ,
because ingeneral these countries have their ownregulations )
Whereas theimplementation ofthis Directive and theadaptation ofits
Annex tothedevelopment oftechnical andacientific knowledge neces­
sitates aclose cooperation between theCommission andMember States |
whereas theprocedure oftheStanding Committee onPlant Health offers
.asuitable basis for this |
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE I
Article 1
This Directive concerns prohibition oftheplaoing onthemarket and
use ofplant proteotion products containing oertain active substance «•
Article 2
For thepurposes ofthis Directive the following definitions shall
apply t
1*Plant protection products
.Active subn*r>nces andpreparations containing oneormore active
substance :funded I
1.1 todestroy organisms harmful toplants orplant products orto
protect them from such organisms ,insofarassuch substances
trpreparations arenotdefined inthefollowing provisional
1*2toinfluence thelife processes ofplants ,other than as*
nutrient .

1*3topreserveplantproducts,insofarastheyarenotsubject
tespecialCouncilorCommissionprovisions onpreservatives ,
l»iftodestroyundesiredplants,or
1*5todestroypartsofplantsortopreventundesiredgrowthof
plants.
2*Substances
Chemicalelementsandtheircompounds,astheyoccurnaturallyor
bymanufacture .
3.Preparations
Mixturesorsolutionscomposedoftwoormoresubstancea ,o-of
mioro-organismsorvirusesusedasplantprotectionproducts *
4»Activesubstances
Substances ,micro-organisms andviruses,havinggeneralorspecific
action -
*f.lagainstharmfulorganisms,or
k*2onplants,partsofplantsorplantproducts*
5*Plant6
Liveplantsandlivepartsofplantsfincludingfreshfruitand
seed.
6*Plantproducts
Products,intheunprocessedstateorhavingundergonoonlysimple
preparation suchasmilling,drying,orpressing,derivedfrom
plants,butexcludingplantsthemselvesasdefinedin5*
»7«Harmfulorganisms
Pestsofplantsorofplantproducts *belongingtotheanimalor
plantkingdoms,andviruses*
8*Animals
Animalsbelongingtospeciesnormallynourishedandkeptorconsumed
byman*
9*Placingonthemarket
Anyhandingover,whetherinreturnforpaymentorfreeofcharge*
Article3
MemberStatesshallensurethatplantprotectionproductscontaining
oneormoreoftheactivesubstanceslistedintheAnnexmayneitherbe
placedonthemarketnorused*
Article *»•
(1)BywayofderogationfromArticle3,MemberStatesareauthorised
topermittheplacingonthemarketorusewithintheirterritory
ofcertainplantprotectionproductscontainingoneormoreofthe
aotivesubstanceslistedintheAnnexintheoasessetoutin

-L.
column2oftheAnnex,providedthatthetimelimitslaiddown
incolumn3areobserved *
(2)MemberStatesshallinformtheotherMemberStatesandthe
Commissionofanyimplementation ofparagraph1*
Article5
TheDirectiveshallnotapplytoplantprotectionproducts
intendedfor
a)purposesofresearchoranalysis,er
b)exporttothirdcountries.
Article6
(1)AmendmentstotheAnnexmadenecessarybythedevelopment of
scientific andtechnicalknowledgeshallbeadoptedinaccordance
.withtheprocedurelaiddowninArticle8*
(2)AnactivesubstanceshallbeincludedintheAnnexiffevenwhen
properlyappliedforthepurposeintended,itsusegivesriseto
a)dangertohumanoranimalhealth,or
b)unreasonable adverseinfluenceontheenvironment *
Article7
(1)Ifitappearsnecessarybecauseofanunpredictable danger
threateningplantproduction ,whichcannotbecontainedbyother
means,touseinaMemberStateaplantprotectionproductcon­
tainingoneormoreoftheactivesubstanceslistedintheAnnex,
theMemberStateinquestionmaytemporarily permittheplacing
onthemarketanduseofsuchproductforamaximumperiodof
60daysandshallimmediately informtheotherMemberStatesand
theCommission thereof *
(2)Itshallbeestablishedwithoutdelayinaccordancewiththe
procedurelaiddowninArticle8whetherand,ifso,underwhatcon­
ditionstheactiontakenbytheMemberStatepursuanttoparagraph
(1)maybecontinuedorrepeated*
Article8
(1)WheretheprocedurelaiddowninthisArticleistobefollowed,
mattersshallbereferredwithoutdelaybytheChairman,either
onhisowninitiativeorattherequestofaMemberState,'to
theStandingCommitteeonPlantHealthsetupbytheCouncil
Decisionof*•*,hereinaftercalledthe"Committee"*
(2)WithintheCommittee,thevotesoftheMemberStatesshallbe
weightedasprovidedinArticle1^8(2)oftheTreaty*The
Chairmanshallnotvote*

(3)Therepresentative oftheCommission shall submit adraft of
themeasures tobeadopted .The Committee shall deliver ite
Opinion onsuch measures within atimo ?.imit setbythe
Chairman according totheurgency ofthematters .Opinions
shall beadopted byamajority offorty-one vote6 .
(4)TheCommission shall adopt themeasures andimplement them
forthwith where they are inp^cordance with theOpinion of
theCommittee .Where they are not inaccordance with the
Opinion oftheCommittee ,orifnoOpinion isdelivered |the
Commission shall without delay propose tothe Council the
measures tobeadopted .The Council shall adopt themeasures
byaqualified majority .
Ifthe Council has not adopted anymcasnmn within '
months oftheproposal being submitted toittt>t<»Copii -p.f-.nion
shall adopt theproposed measures and implement ,them iorthwith
Article 9
(1)TheMember States shall notlater thr>n 1January 197?bring
into force the laws ,regulations and administrative provisions
necessary tocomply with theprovisions ofthis Directive and
itsAnnex .They shall forthwith inform theCommission thereof
(2)Onnotification ofthis Directive Member States shall inform
theCommission ,intime toenable ittoput forward its
comments ,ofall draft laws ,regulations oradministrative
provisions which they contemplate adopting inthefield
covered bythis Directive .
Article 10
This Directive isaddressed tothe Member States *

ANNEX
(1)
Description oftheactive
substanceorgroupof
activesubstances
1»mercuricoxide
2*otherinorganic
mercurycompounds
alkylmercury
compounds
4*alkoxyalkyl and
arylmercury
compounds
5»aldrin
6*chlordane
7*dieldrin
8.DDT
9*endrin
10*HCHcont&ining
lessthan99*0%of
thegamma-isomer
11*heptachlor
12•hexachlorobenzene(2)
Usespormittedinaccordance
withArticlek(3)
Periodof
authorisation
asacankerpaintonfruit
trees
(a)dippingofbulbsandseed
potatoes
(b)treatmentofbasicand
pre-basiccerealseed,
exceptmaize
(a)asacankerpaintonfruit
trees
(b)dippingofbulbsandseed
potatoes
(c)seedtreatmentofcereals*
beet,flaxandrape
soiltreatmentagainstOtiorrhyncus
innurserystocktstrawberries ,
ornamentals andvines I
soiltreatmentagainst
Otiorrhyncus innurserystock,
strawberries ,ornamentals and
vines
asamiticideoncyclamenand
onstrawberrypropagating
material \.
\until
31December
1979
until31December
1979
until31December
1979