2006/302/EC: Commission Decision of  25 April 2006  concerning the non-inclusion of methabenzthiazuron 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(2006) 1653)   (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2006-04-25
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: chemical product, market approval, marketing restriction, plant health legislation, plant health product

26.4.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 112/15

COMMISSION DECISION

of 25 April 2006

concerning the non-inclusion of methabenzthiazuron 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(2006) 1653)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2006/302/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

it

to provide

is
protection products containing such substances,
reasonable
for
a period of grace
for
disposal, storage, placing on the market and use of
existing stocks for a period no longer
than twelve
months to allow existing stocks to be used in no more
than one further growing.
In cases where a longer
advance notice period is provided, such period can be
shortened to expire at the end of the growing season.

Having regard to Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991
concerning the placing of plant protection products on the
market (1),
by Commission Directive
2004/20/EC (2), and in particular the fourth subparagraph of
Article 8(2) thereof,

amended

last

as

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC provides that a
Member State may, during a period of 12 years
following the notification of
that Directive, authorise
the placing on the market of plant protection products
containing active substances not listed in Annex I of that
Directive that are already on the market two years after
the date of notification, while those substances are
gradually being examined within the framework of a
programme of work.

For

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1490/2002 (3) lay down
the detailed rules for the implementation of the second
and third stages of the programme of work referred to in
active
Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC.
substances for which a notifier fails to fulfil
its obli-
gations under these Regulations no completeness check
or evaluation of
the dossier shall be performed. For
methabenzthiazuron no complete dossier has been
submitted within the prescribed time limit. As a conse-
quence, this active substance should not be included in
Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC and Member States
should withdraw all authorisations for plant protection
products containing this substance.

(3)

For the active substances for which there is only a short
period of advance notice for the withdrawal of plant

(4)

(5)

For methabenzthiazuron information has been presented
and evaluated by the Commission together with Member
State experts which has shown a need for further use of
the
temporary
measures should be provided for to enable the devel-
opment of alternatives.

In such cases

concerned.

substance

The measures provided for
accordance with
Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

in this Decision are in
Standing
the

opinion

the

of

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Methabenzthiazuron shall not be included in Annex I
Directive 91/414/EEC.

to

Article 2

Member States shall ensure that:

(a) Authorisations for plant protection products containing
methabenzthiazuron are withdrawn by 25 October 2006;

(1) OJ L 230, 19.8.1991, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 70, 9.3.2004, p. 32.
(3) OJ L 224, 21.8.2002, p. 23. Regulation as amended by Commission
Regulation (EC) No 1044/2003 of 18 June 2003 (OJ L 151,
19.6.2003, p. 32).

(b) From 26 April 2006 no authorisations for plant protection
products containing methabenzthiazuron are granted or
renewed under the derogation provided for in Article 8(2)
of Directive 91/414/EEC.

L 112/16

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

26.4.2006

Article 3

1.
By derogation from Article 2, a Member State listed in
column B of the Annex may maintain authorisations for plant
protection products containing substances listed in column A
for uses listed in column C of that Annex until 30 June 2009 at
the latest.

A Member State making use of the derogation provided for in
the first subparagraph shall ensure that the following conditions
are complied with:

(a)

the continued use is only accepted so far as it has no
harmful effects on human or animal health and no unac-
ceptable influence on the environment;

(b) such plant protection products remaining on the market
after 25 October 2006 are relabelled in order to match
the restricted use conditions;

(c) all appropriate risk mitigation measures are imposed to

reduce any possible risks;

(d) alternatives for such uses are being seriously sought.

2.
The Member
Commission about

State

concerned

the measures

shall

inform the
taken in application of

taken
paragraph 1, and in particular about
pursuant to points (a) to (d), by 31 December of each year.

the actions

Article 4

Any period of grace granted by Member States in accordance
with Article 4(6) of Directive 91/414/EEC, shall be as short as
possible.

Where authorisations shall be withdrawn in accordance with
Article 2 by 25 October 2006 at the latest, the period shall
expire on 25 October 2007 at the latest.

Where authorisations shall be withdrawn in accordance with
Article 3(1) by 30 June 2009 at the latest, the period shall
expire on 31 December 2009 at the latest.

Article 5

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 25 April 2006.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU
Member of the Commission

26.4.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 112/17

Column A

Active substance

Methabenzthiazuron

ANNEX

List of authorisations referred to in Article 3(1)

Column B

Member State

Column C

Use

Belgium

France

Leek, peas

Allium crops

Forage grasses

Leguminous crops