WRITTEN QUESTION E-0612/00

by Dirk Sterckx (ELDR) to the Commission

(3 March 2000)

Subject: Need for European regulations on the use of pesticides in horticulture

According to reports, Belgium permits the use in horticulture of certain plant protection products (tolyfluanil and myclobutanil) that are prohibited in France. On the other hand, there are certain plant protection products that are permitted in France but prohibited in Belgium. On the basis of its national legislation France in some cases holds Belgian exports of horticultural products. The Belgian products are thus placed in an unfavourable light in France, which can have far-reaching consequences for Belgian exports. The Belgian authorities, however, do not carry out any comparable checks on French horticultural products.

1. Is there European legislation on the use of plant protection products in horticulture?

2. If so, what provisions does this legislation contain?

3. If not, does the Commission not consider that there is a need to draw up European provisions so as to prevent distortions of competition between the Member States?

4. Apart from whether or not there is European legislation, under what circumstances is France permitted to prevent or hinder the import of Belgian horticultural products?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(10 April 2000)

1 - 3. The use of plant protection products is regulated by Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991(1) concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market. The main objectives of this Directive are to (a) ensure a high level of protection of human health, for the consumer

and for the producers of agricultural commodities, (b) ensure a high level of protection of the environment and resources and (c) ensure free circulation of plant protection products and agricultural produce in the Community.

The Directive provides for a positive list of accepted active substances that are considered as safe for human and animal health and the environment after a thorough evaluation. However, the authorization of individual products remains within the responsibility of individual Member States (subsidiarity) and this constitutes a second check of the safety of a plant protection product under the specific conditions of use in that Member State.

The Directive provides that Member States can only authorize a plant protection product if the active substances it contains are listed in the positive list and provided certain criteria concerning efficacy and safety for humans and the environment are satisfied. These criteria are harmonised (the so-called uniform principles) as are the data that industry has to submit when applying for an authorization.

For all the active substances already on the market when the Directive entered into force in July 1993, a derogation allows Member States to continue to grant authorizations for plant protection products not yet included in the positive list, pending the current gradual re-evaluation of all such active substances. The Commission adopted Regulation (EC) No 451/2000 of 28 February 2000 laying down the detailed rules for the implementation of the second and third stages of the work programme in Council Directive 91/414/EEC(2) to facilitate and speed up this review.

The Directive provides for a system of obligatory acceptance of an authorization given in one Member State, to the extent that the agricultural, plant health and environmental (including climatic) conditions are comparable in another Member State.

4. Related to the issue of the authorisation of plant protection products, is the issue of their residues in horticultural products. Community maximum levels of pesticides residues (MRLs) in horticultural products are fixed in the annexes to Council Directives 76/895/EEC of 23 November 1976(3) and 90/642/EEC of 27 November 1990(4) for a wide variety of pesticides. These MRLs are binding throughout the Community. The work of setting these MRLs is a continuous task that is not yet complete. For those combinations of pesticide and commodity where a Community MRL has not yet been fixed, then the situation in the Member States is unharmonised and individual Member States may set national MRLs.

It is entirely possible that a situation could arise whereby an authorisation for use exists in one Member State and a corresponding national MRL also exists in that Member State whereas in another Member State no authorisation exists and a national MRL of zero exists. This would create a situation whereby the second Member State could legitimately block imports of produce containing residues from the first Member State.

Council Directive 97/41/EC of 25 June 1997(5) provided for a conciliation procedure at Community level for such cases where bilateral discussions between the Member States were unsuccessful in resolving such trade disputes.

(1) OJ L 230, 19.8.1991.

(2) OJ L 55, 29.2.2000.

(3) OJ L 340, 9.12.1976.

(4) OJ L 350, 14.12.1990.

(5) OJ L 184, 12.7.1997.