2000/801/EC: Commission Decision of 20 December 2000 concerning the non-inclusion of lindane in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC and the withdrawal of authorisations for plant-protection products containing this active substance (notified under document number C(2000) 4014) (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2000-12-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: dangerous substance, pharmaceutical product, plant health product, withdrawal from the market

L 324/42

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

21.12.2000

COMMISSION DECISION

of 20 December 2000

concerning the non-inclusion of lindane in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC and the
withdrawal of authorisations for plant-protection products containing this active substance

(notified under document number C(2000) 4014)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2000/801/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July
1991 concerning the placing of plant-protection products on
the market (1), as last amended by Commission Directive 2000/
80/EC (2), and in particular the fourth subparagraph of Article
8(2) thereof,

Having regard to Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3600/92 of
11 December 1992 laying down the detailed rules for the
implementation of the first stage of the programme of work
referred to in Articles 8(2) of Council Directive 91/414/EEC
concerning the placing of plant-protection products on the
market (3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2266/
2000 (4), and in particular Article 7(3a)(b) thereof,

Whereas:

Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC provided for the
Commission to carry out a programme of work for the
examination of
the active substances used in plant-
protection products which were already on the market
on 15 July 1993. Detailed rules for the carrying out of
this programme were established in Regulation (EC) No
3600/92.

Commission Regulation (EC) No 933/94 of 27 April
1994 laying down the active substances of plant-protec-
tion products and designating the rapporteur Member
States for the implementation of Regulation (EEC) No
3600/92 (5), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No
2230/95 (6), has designated the active substances which
should be assessed in the framework of Regulation (EEC)
No 3600/92, designated a Member State to act as
rapporteur
each
substance and identified the producers of each active
substance who submitted a notification in due time in
accordance with Article 4(2) of Regulation (EEC) No
3600/92.

the assessment of

in respect of

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Lindane is one of the 90 active substances designated in
Regulation (EC) No 933/94.

(10)

In accordance with Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation (EEC)
No 3600/92, Austria, being the designated rapporteur
Member State, submitted on 17 December 1998 to the

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

Commission the report of its assessment of the informa-
tion submitted by the notifiers in accordance with the
provisions of Article 6(1) of this Regulation.

On receipt of the report of the rapporteur Member State,
the Commission undertook consultations with experts
of the Member States as well as with the main notifier
(CIEL) as provided for in Article 7(3) of Regulation (EEC)
No 3600/92.

The assessment report prepared by Austria has been
reviewed by the Member States and the Commission
within the Standing Committee on Plant Health. This
review was finalised on 13 July 2000 in the format of
the Commission review report for lindane, in accordance
with Article 7(6) of Regulation (EEC) No 3600/92.

Assessments made on the basis of
the information
it may be
submitted have not demonstrated that
expected that, under the proposed conditions of use,
plant-protection products containing lindane satisfy in
general the requirements laid down in Article 5(1)(a) and
(b) of Directive 91/414/EEC, in particular with regard to
the safety of operators potentially exposed to lindane
and with regard to the fate and behaviour of
the
substance in the environment and its possible impact on
non-target organisms.

Therefore it
substance in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC.

is not possible to include this active

Any period of grace for disposal, storage, placing on the
market and use of existing stocks of plant-protection
products containing lindane allowed by Member States,
in accordance with the provisions of Article 4(6) of
Directive 91/414/EEC should be limited to a period of
no longer than 18 months to allow existing stocks to be
used in no more than one further growing season.

This Decision does not prejudice any action the
Commission may undertake at a later stage for this
active substance within the framework of Council
Directive 79/117/EEC (7).

(1) OJ L 230, 19.8.1991, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 309, 9.12.2000, p. 14.
(3) OJ L 366, 15.12.1992, p. 10.
(4) OJ L 259, 13.10.2000, p. 27.
(5) OJ L 107, 28.4.1994, p. 8.
(6) OJ L 225, 22.9.1995, p. 1.

(11)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in
accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee
on Plant Health,

(7) OJ L 33, 8.2.1979, p. 36.

21.12.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 324/43

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 3

Article 1

Lindane is not included as an active substance in Annex I to
Directive 91/414/EEC.

Any period of grace granted by Member States in accordance
with the provisions of Article 4(6) of Directive 91/414/EEC,
shall be as short as possible and not longer than 18 months
from the date of adoption of the present Decision.

The Member States shall ensure that:

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 2

Article 4

1. authorisations

for plant-protection products containing
lindane are withdrawn within a period of six months from
the date of adoption of the present Decision;

2. from the date of adoption of

the present Decision no
containing
authorisation for plant-protection products
lindane will be granted or renewed under the derogation
provided for in Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC.

Done at Brussels, 20 December 2000.

For the Commission

David BYRNE

Member of the Commission