Opinion of the Commission pursuant to Article 251 (2), third subparagraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty, on the European Parliament's amendments to the Council's common position regarding the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed of plant and animal origin and amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC (COM (2003) 117 Final – 2003/0052 (COD)) amending the proposal of the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty
Date: 2005-01-25
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: animal feedingstuffs, consumer protection, food standard, foodstuffs legislation, pesticide residue

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 25.1.2005 
COM(2005) 22 final 

2003/0052 (COD) 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION 

pursuant to Article 251 (2), third subparagraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty, 
on the European Parliament's amendments 
to the Council's common position regarding the  
proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
AND OF THE COUNCIL  
on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed of plant and animal 
origin and amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC  
(COM (2003) 117 Final – 2003/0052 (COD)) 

AMENDING THE PROPOSAL OF THE COMMISSION 
pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
 
2003/0052 (COD) 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION 

pursuant to Article 251 (2), third subparagraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty, 
on the European Parliament's amendments 
to the Council's common position regarding the  
proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
AND OF THE COUNCIL  
on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed of plant and animal 
origin and amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC  
(COM (2003) 117 Final – 2003/0052 (COD)) 

1- 

BACKGROUND 

The  proposal  for  a  European  Parliament  and  Council  Regulation  on  maximum 
residue  levels  of  pesticides  in  or  on  food  and  feed  of  plant  and  animal  origin  and 
amending  Council  Directive 91/414/EEC  (COM  (2003)  117  Final)  was  adopted  by 
the Commission on 14 March 2003. 

The Economic and Social Committee gave its Opinion on 16 July 2003. 

The Committee of Regions decided not to issue an Opinion on the proposal. 

The European Parliament gave its Opinion (First Reading) on 20 April 2004. 

The Commission adopted the amended proposal on 26 April 2004. 

The  Council’s  Common  Position  was  transmitted  to  the  European  Parliament  on 
8 September 2004. 

The European Parliament gave its Opinion (Second Reading) on 15 December 2004. 

The opinion sets out the Commission's position on the amendments adopted by the 
European Parliament on 15 December 2004 in accordance with Article 251 (2)(c) of 
the EC Treaty. 

2- 

AIM OF THE COMMISSION’S PROPOSAL 

1. 

The aim of the proposed draft Regulation is to replace, codify and simplify the 
four  existing  Council  Directives  on  Maximum  Residue  Levels  (MRLs)  for 
plant  protection  products  (Directives  76/895/EEC,  86/362/EEC,  86/363/EEC 
and 90/642/EEC), to harmonise all MRLs at EU level and to define the roles of 
the  Member  States,  the  Commission,  the  European  Food  Safety  Authority 
(EFSA) and other parties in the process of setting MRLs.  

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
 
2. 

3. 

The Regulation provides for MRLs to be directly applicable and enforceable in 
the  Member  States,  underpinned  by  publicly  available  consumer  risk 
assessments for which EFSA has overall responsibility. Where plant protection 
products are not authorised for use in the Community, where uses outside the 
Community are unacceptable in terms of consumer intake of residues, or where 
data  are  insufficient  to  complete  a  risk  assessment,  a  default  value  of  0.01 
mg/kg shall apply. 

The  Regulation  defines  the  obligations  of  the  Member  States  with  regard  to 
control  and  enforcement  of  MRLs  and  reporting  data  concerning  control  and 
enforcement to EFSA and the publication of these data in an annual report by 
EFSA. 

3. 

COMMISSION'S OPINION ON THE AMENDMENTS PROPOSED BY THE PARLIAMENT 

3.1. 

Summary of the Commission's position 

The  European  Parliament  has  adopted  35  amendments.  All  amendments  can  be 
accepted by the Commission without reservation. 

3.2. 

Parliament's amendments on second reading 

The  amendments  adopted  are  the  result  of  a  compromise  between  European 
Parliament,  Council  and  Commission  reached  in  negotiations  during  the  second 
reading of the Codecision procedure. The resulting text is a satisfactory compromise 
for  the  Commission.  Some  amendments  on  setting  maximum  levels  for  pesticide 
residues (MRLs) reflect already existing working practice, and make these explicit in 
the  legislation.  Other  amendments  provide  for  the  development  and  application  of 
new  methodology.  The  Commission  is  in  favour  of  all  amendments  and  made  this 
clear during the negotiations. The amendments are in line with the original proposal 
and an improvement relative to the existing legislation. 

4. 

CONCLUSION 

Pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty, the Commission amends its proposal as 
set out above. 

EN 

3 

   EN