Amended proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to fertilizers [presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty]
Date: 2002-06-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: animal health, cadmium, dangerous substance, fertiliser, means of agricultural production, public health

24.9.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 227 E/503

Amended proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to
fertilizers (1)

(2002/C 227 E/27)

COM(2002) 318 final — 2001/0212(COD)

(Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty on 17 June 2002)

1. State of procedure

— The proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to fertilizers
(COM(2001) 508 final — 2001/0212(COD)) was adopted by the Commission on 14 September 2001
and then transmitted to the Council and European Parliament on 17 September 2001.

— The Economic and Social Committee gave its opinion on 17 December 2001.

— The European Parliament approved the proposal with three amendments in the first reading on 10

April 2002.

2. Objective of the amended proposal

The amended proposal adapts the original proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the
Council relating to fertilizers in two respects:

— Article 33 is deleted;

— one change to Annex I that was introduced in the original proposal, is removed.

3. Comments on the amendments adopted by the Parliament

3.1. Amendments accepted by the Commission

3.1.1. Amendment 1

Amendment 1 can be accepted in principle, having regard to the Commission's intention to bring forward
proposals on cadmium in fertilizers, subject to a favourable opinion of the Scientific Committee on
Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment (SCTEE).

It should be said also that the formulation of the Parliament in relation to the precise timing of the
proposal for bringing forward the legislation to address the cadmium issue could not be accepted,
in
particular as the deadline proposed, namely 30 June 2002 is not compatible with the exercise of the
Commission's right of initiative.

Recital No 15 becomes the following:

‘Fertilizers can be contaminated by substances that can potentially pose a risk to human and animal
health and the environment. Further to the opinion of the Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Eco-
toxicity and the Environment (SCTEE), the Commission intends to address the issue of unintentional
cadmium content in mineral
fertilizers and will, where appropriate, draw up a proposal for a
Regulation, which it intends to present to the European Parliament and the Council. Where appro-
priate, a similar review will be undertaken for other contaminants.’

3.1.2. Amendment 3

Amendment 3 can also be accepted because the Commission can accept the argument that any modifi-
cation of the annexes of the Regulation during a recast of the existing legislation should be avoided.

(1) OJ C 51 E, 26.2.2002, p. 1.

C 227 E/504

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Official Journal of the European Communities

24.9.2002

In Annex I, table E.1.4, the text at the intersection of the fourth column, and the fourth line becomes the
following:

‘5 % water-soluble Fe, at least 8/10 of the declared value of which has been chelated.’

This provision is identical to that in Commission Directive 93/69/EEC of 23 July 1993 adapting to
technical progress Council Directive 76/116/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member
States relating to fertilizers (1).

3.2. Amendments not accepted by the Commission

Amendment 2 cannot be accepted for the following reasons:

— Article 33 in the draft Regulation is hereby deleted. The deletion of paragraph 1 of Article 33 is logical
because it becomes superfluous when the anticipated Decisions, based on Article 95(4) of the Treaty,
which are currently at an advanced stage of examination by the Commission, and which would provide
for the extension of the derogations to Austria, Finland and Sweden concerning the maximum
admissible content of cadmium in fertilizers are adopted;

— Paragraph 2 of Article 33 limits the right of initiative of the Commission.

4. Conclusion

In accordance with Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty, the Commission amends its proposal as presented
above.

(1) OJ L 185, 28.7.1993, p. 30.