2003/508/EC: Commission Decision of 7 July 2003 adopting Community import decisions for certain chemicals pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 304/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending Decisions 2000/657/EC and 2001/852/EC (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2003-07-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: chemical product, dangerous substance, form, hydrocarbon, import (EU), international trade, pesticide

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II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 7 July 2003

adopting Community import decisions for certain chemicals pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 304/
2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending Decisions 2000/657/EC and
2001/852/EC

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2003/508/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

(4)

The interim Secretariat has requested that participants in
Importing Country
the PIC procedure use the special
Response form when reporting their import decisions.

the
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 304/2003 of
European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003
concerning the export and import of dangerous chemicals (1),
and in particular Article 12(1) thereof,

(5)

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Under Regulation (EC) No 304/2003, the Commission is
to decide on behalf of the Community whether or not to
permit the import into the Community of each chemical
subject to the prior informed consent (PIC) procedure.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have
been appointed to provide secretariat services for the
operation of the interim PIC procedure established by
the Final Act of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries on
Informed
the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior
Consent (PIC) procedure for certain hazardous chemicals
and pesticides in international trade,
in particular the
Resolution on interim arrangements laid down therein;
the Convention was signed on 11 September 1998 and
approved by the Community by Council Decision 2003/
106/EC (2).

as

acting

The Commission,
common designated
authority, is required to forward decisions on chemicals
to the Secretariat of the interim PIC procedure, herein-
after ‘the interim Secretariat’, on behalf of the Commu-
nity and its Member States.

(1) OJ L 63, 6.3.2003, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 63, 6.3.2003, p. 27.

severely

pesticide

hazardous

The chemical monocrotophos has been added to the list
of chemicals subject to the interim PIC procedure, as a
pesticide, for which the Commission has received infor-
mation from the interim Secretariat in the form of a
Decision Guidance Document. Monocrotophos is already
subject to the interim PIC procedure to the extent that
formulations
certain
containing monocrotophos are listed in Annex III to the
Rotterdam Convention. Pending a Community evalua-
tion of monocrotophos within the framework of Council
Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 concerning the
placing of plant protection products on the market (3), as
last amended by Regulation (EC) No 806/2003 (4), an
interim response concerning those pesticide formula-
tions was given in Commission Decision 2000/657/EC
of 16 October 2000 adopting Community import deci-
sions for certain chemicals pursuant to Council Regula-
tion (EEC) No 2455/92 concerning the export and
import of certain dangerous chemicals (5), as amended
by Decision 2001/852/EC (6). Pursuant to Commission
Regulation (EC) No 2076/2002 of 20 November 2002
extending the time period referred to in Article 8(2) of
Council Directive 91/414/EEC and concerning the non-
inclusion of certain active substances in Annex I to that
Directive and the withdrawal of authorisation for plant
substances (7),
protection products

containing these

(3) OJ L 230, 19.8.1991, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 1.
(5) OJ L 275, 27.10.2000, p. 44.
(6) OJ L 318, 4.12.2001, p. 28.
(7) OJ L 319, 23.11.2002, p. 3.

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(6)

(7)

monocrotophos was excluded from Annex I to Directive
91/414/EEC and authorisations
for plant protection
products containing it were to be withdrawn by 25 July
2003. The interim response set out in Decision 2000/
657/EC should therefore be replaced by a final import
decision.

The chemicals 2,4,5-T, chlorobenzilate and phospha-
midon fall within the scope of Directive 91/414/EEC,
which provides for a transitional period during which
Member States may, pending a Community decision,
take a decision on substances and products falling within
the scope of that Directive. By Regulation (EC) No 2076/
2002, those substances were excluded from Annex I to
Directive 91/414/EEC and authorisations
for plant
protection products containing the substances were to
be withdrawn by 25 July 2003. The import decisions for
the pesticide formulations 2,4,5-T, chlorobenzilate and
phosphamidon set out in Decision 2000/657/EC, which
were submitted as interim responses pending a Commu-
nity decision, should therefore be replaced by final deci-
sions.

containing this active

The chemicals parathion and methyl parathion also fall
within the scope of Directive 91/414/EEC. By Commis-
sion Decision 2001/520/EC of 9 July 2001 concerning
the non-inclusion of parathion in Annex I to Council
Directive 91/414/EEC and the withdrawal of authorisa-
tions for plant protection products containing this active
substance (1) and Commission Decision 2003/166/EC of
10 March 2003 concerning the non-inclusion of methyl
parathion in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC
and the withdrawal of authorisations for plant protection
products
those
substances have now been excluded from Annex I to
Directive 91/414/EEC and authorisations
for plant
protection products containing them have been with-
drawn. Consequently, the import decisions for the pesti-
cide formulations parathion and methyl parathion, as set
in Commission Decision 2001/852/EC of 19
out
November 2001 on adopting Community import deci-
sions pursuant to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2455/92
concerning the export and import of certain dangerous
chemicals and amending Decision 2000/657/EC and
respectively, which were
Decision
submitted as interim responses pending a Community
decision, should be replaced by final decisions.

2000/657/EC,

substance (2),

(8)

The chemical ethylene oxide is covered by Council
Directive 79/117/EEC of 21 December 1978 prohibiting
the placing on the market and use of plant protection
products containing certain active substances (3), as last

(1) OJ L 187, 10.7.2001, p. 47.
(2) OJ L 67, 12.3.2003, p. 18.
(3) OJ L 33, 8.2.1979, p. 36.

amended by Regulation (EC) No 807/2003 (4). This was
reflected in a final decision on import contained in Deci-
sion 2001/852/EC. However, ethylene oxide has recently
been notified under the Community programme for the
evaluation of existing substances under Directive 98/8/
EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16
February 1998 concerning the placing of biocidal
products on the market (5), which provides for a transi-
tional period during which Member States may, pending
a Community decision, take a decision on substances
and products falling within its scope. The import deci-
sion set out in Decision 2001/852/EC should therefore
be replaced.

(9)

The chemicals polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) were
made subject to severe restrictions at Community level
by Council Directive 76/769/EEC of 27 July 1976 on
the approximation of the laws, regulations and adminis-
the Member States relating to
trative provisions of
certain
restrictions on the marketing and use of
and preparations (6),
dangerous
last
as
amended by Directive 2003/11/EC of
the European
Parliament and of the Council (7). This was reflected in a
Community import decision that was published in PIC
Circular V reporting the situation as at 30 June 1995.
However,
that Decision did not take into account a
complete ban on PBBs in Austria dating from 1993. It is
therefore necessary to replace that import Decision.

substances

(10)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accor-
dance with the opinion of
the Committee set up
pursuant to Article 29 of Council Directive 67/548/
EEC (8), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 807/
2003,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The interim responses on the import of the chemicals 2,4,5-T,
chlorobenzilate, methyl parathion, monocrotophos and phos-
phamidon, as set out in the Annex to Decision 2000/657/EEC,
are replaced by the import response forms set out in Annex I
to this Decision.

Article 2

The final decision on the import of ethylene oxide and the
interim response on the import of parathion, as set out in the
Annex to Decision 2001/852/EC, are replaced by the import
response forms set out in Annex II to this Decision.

(4) OJ L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 36.
(5) OJ L 123, 24.4.1998, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 262, 27.9.1976, p. 201.
(7) OJ L 42, 15.2.2003, p. 45.
(8) OJ 196, 16.8.1967, p. 1.

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The final decision on the import of polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), published in PIC Circular V,
replaced by the import response form set out in Annex III to this Decision.

is

Article 3

Done at Brussels, 7 July 2003.

For the Commission

Margot WALLSTRÖM

Member of the Commission

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Revised import decisions for the chemical substances 2,4,5-T, chlorobenzilate, methyl parathion, monocroto-
phos and phosphamidon replacing the previous import decisions set out in Decision 2000/657/EC

ANNEX I

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Revised import decisions for the chemical substances ethylene oxide and parathion replacing the previous
import decisions set out in Decision 2001/852/EC

ANNEX II

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1995 import decision

ANNEX III

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