WRITTEN QUESTION E-2304/01

by Jan Mulder (ELDR) to the Commission

(31 July 2001)

Subject: Danish measures to ban the import as from 2003 of fruit and vegetables containing residues of plant protection products, the use of which is prohibited in Denmark

The Danish government is considering introducing a ban as from 2003 on imports of fruit and vegetables that contain residues of plant protection products, the use of which is prohibited in Denmark. The background to this measure is apparently that the European Commission will not conclude its evaluation/assessment of authorised plant protection products by 2003. This assessment will probably not be completed until 2007. The Danish measures would apply until then.

1. Can the Commission confirm whether Denmark's plans are consistent with Community consumer protection policy?

2. Does the Commission regard measures of this kind as a distortion of the internal market?

3. Can the Commission say whether the Danish government's plans will create difficulties within the WTO?

4. European supermarket chains also intend to impose similar requirements. Is it authorised, within the framework of European legislation on supermarket chains (or other market operators), to refuse products in such a case?

5. If the Commission does not agreed with the Danish plans, how does it intend to cover the period from 2003 to 2007?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(29 October 2001)

The Commission does not have details of the specific measures under consideration in Denmark, nor of how they will be implemented in practice. Two separate sets of Community legislation are involved.

The first is Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 on the placing of plant protection products on the market(1). This provides that an evaluation of the active substances that were on the market in 1993 be completed by 2003. The Commission recently submitted a report to the Parliament and the Council on this process(2). Many substances will not have been evaluated by 2003 (2008 is a more likely completion date). It is not clear whether Denmark will ban the uses of those substances whose evaluations will not have been completed.

The second set of legislation concerns Council Directive 76/895/EEC of 23 November 1976 relating to the fixing of maximum levels for pesticide residues in and on fruit and vegetables(3), Council Directive 86/362/EEC of 24 July 1986 on the fixing of maximum levels for pesticide residues in and on cereals(4), Council Directive 86/363/EEC of 24 July 1986 on the fixing of maximum levels for pesticide residues in and on foodstuffs of animal origin(8) and Council Directive 90/642/EEC of 27 November 1990 on the fixing of maximum levels for pesticide residues in and on certain products of plant origin, including fruit and vegetables(5) which allow maximum levels of residues (MRLs) of pesticides to be set at Community level in food of plant and animal origin. The Community is progressively setting MRLs for each of the 835 substances of plant protection products for each of the about 150 commodities on the market. The legislation provides that, pending the setting of a Community MRL, Member States may establish national MRLs. Some Member States already have a zero tolerance policy for non-authorised pesticides that have not yet had MRLs fixed at Community level. It is not clear whether Denmark will take this approach for those substances whose evaluations will not have been completed under Directive 91/414/EEC.

1. In the absence of specific details, the Commission is not in a position to state whether Denmark's plans are consistent with Community consumer protection policy.

2. In the absence of specific details, it is similarly difficult to give a precise answer. Unilateral action by one Member State in this area could cause distortions of the market and care would need to be taken to avoid this. It follows from the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice that the import and marketing of foodstuffs lawfully produced and marketed in another Member State may only be restricted, in the absence of harmonisation, by such rules where they are necessary, proportionate and the means of achieving the objective which least hinders trade. In this context, the Commission would like to draw attention to the fact that such a ban as described by the Honourable Member may depending on its content have to be notified in draft form either under Council Regulation (EEC) 315/93, of 8 February 1993 laying down Community procedures for contaminants in food(6), or Directive 98/34/EC of the Parliament and of the Council, of 22 June 1998, laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations(7). In such cases the Commission may examine the proposed measures to verify that they conform with Community legislation in force and do not distort the market.

3. In the absence of specific details, it is again difficult to give a precise answer. Denmark would have to respect its World Trade Organisation (WTO) obligations in taking any measures.

4. Supermarket chains are free to fix their quality criteria when entering into contracts with suppliers.

5. The Commission will, later this year, submit a proposal to consolidate and amend the above residues directives. The proposal will include the possibility to prevent the presence of residues of substances whose uses are not permitted in the Community, whilst respecting WTO obligations. The details are still under discussion with Member States and other stakeholders but they would include transitional measures to cover the period 2003-2007.

(1) OJ L 230, 19.8.1991.

(2) COM(2001) 444 final.

(3) OJ L 340, 9.12.1976.

(4) OJ L 221, 7.8.1986.

(5) OJ L 350, 14.12.1990.

(6) OJ L 37, 13.2.1993.

(7) OJ L 204, 21.7.1998.

(8) OJ L 221, 7.8.1986.