WRITTEN QUESTION E-3140/00

by Mario Mauro (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(6 October 2000)

Subject: Organic plant protection products

There is still no body of EU legislation specifically regulating the registration of plant protection products of organic origin.

Whilst rapid progress is being made in research and the development of organic plant protection products, with the prospect of products comparable in cost and effect with synthetic products being available in the future, the lack of regulation may restrict the use of these products and hence their potential benefits in areas where they compare favourably with conventional plant protection products (lower toxicity for human beings and other non-targeted organisms, lower costs, less environmental impact, etc).

Furthermore, the lack of regulation allows products onto the market which are of poor quality and little or no effect, without the necessary experiments and checks being carried out to provide guarantees for the health of workers and consumers.

1. What steps does the European Commission intend to take to respect the principle of transparency in the marketing and use of organic plant protection products?

2. What steps does it intend to take to safeguard the health of workers and consumers and to support developments in this field?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(16 January 2001)

1. The Commission understands that in referring to organic plant protection products, the Honorable Member refers to plant protection products other than the conventional chemical products. This would cover products such as those of plant or animal origin, pheromones or micro-organisms. Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 on the placing of plant protection products on the market(1), applies to all such plant protection products. However certain provisions, such as detailed data requirements for industry, had to be adopted later on by the Commission.

The Commission adopted as a priority detailed requirements for chemical active substances. In principle the same requirements also apply to extracts of plants or animal products or pheromones. However, the applicant does not have to submit certain information if he can scientifically justify that the information is not necessary to demonstrate that the substance meets the high human health and environmental requirements of the Directive.

In order to increase transparency for the applicants the Commission is, together with the Member States, involved in a harmonization at Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) level of data requirements for pheromones and semiochemicals. An OECD wide harmonisation is crucial to encourage the development of these substances because it will guarantee almost world wide acceptability of data sets, thus lowering the cost of development.

Detailed data requirements for micro-organisms are almost finalised and are expected to be adopted by the Commission in spring 2001.

2. The Commission is confident that a good balance has been reached between the goal of ensuring a high level of protection for human health and the environment while not putting unbearable cost on the shoulders of notifiers for these classes of substances, which would discourage their development.

(1) OJ L 230, 19.8.1991.