2007/393/EC: Commission Decision of 6 June 2007 concerning the non-inclusion of diazinon in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC and the withdrawal of authorisations for plant protection products containing that substance (notified under document number C(2007) 2339)   (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2007-06-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: dangerous substance, marketing restriction, pharmaceutical product, plant health legislation, plant health product, withdrawal from the market

9.6.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 148/9

COMMISSION DECISION

of 6 June 2007

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

(notified under document number C(2007) 2339)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2007/393/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

diazinon the rapporteur Member State was Portugal and
all relevant information was submitted on 9 July 2004.

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

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

the

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

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.

Commission Regulations (EC) No 451/2000 (2) and (EC)
No 703/2001 (3)
lay down the detailed rules for the
implementation of the second stage of the programme
of work referred to in Article 8(2) of Directive
91/414/EEC and establish a list of active substances to
be assessed with a view to their possible inclusion in
Annex I
includes
diazinon.

to Directive 91/414/EEC. That

list

For diazinon the effects on human health and the en-
vironment have been assessed in accordance with the
provisions laid down in Regulations (EC) No 451/2000
and (EC) No 703/2001 for a range of uses proposed by
the notifier. Moreover, those Regulations designate the
rapporteur Member States which have to submit
the
relevant assessment
reports and recommendations to
the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in accordance
with Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 451/2000. For

(1) OJ L 230, 19.8.1991, p. 1. Directive as

last amended by

Commission Directive 2007/25/EC (OJ L 106, 24.4.2007, p. 34).
(2) OJ L 55, 29.2.2000, p. 25. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1044/2003 (OJ L 151, 19.6.2003, p. 32).

(3) OJ L 98, 7.4.2001, p. 6.

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

The assessment report was peer reviewed by the Member
States and the EFSA and presented to the Commission
on 23 June 2006 in the format of the EFSA conclusion
regarding the peer review of the pesticide risk assessment
the active substance diazinon (4). This report was
of
reviewed by the Member States and the Commission
within the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and
Animal Health and finalised on 29 September 2006 in
the
for
diazinon.

the Commission review report

format of

During the evaluation of this active substance, a number
of concerns were identified. In particular based on the
available data it has not been demonstrated that
the
operator, worker and bystander exposure is acceptable.
Moreover there is insufficient information on some very
toxic impurities and their presence at levels which might
be of toxicological or ecotoxicological concern cannot be
excluded.

to submit

submitted its

The Commission invited the notifier
its
comments on the results of the peer review and on its
intention or not to further support the substance. The
comments which have been
notifier
carefully examined. However, despite the arguments
advanced, the above concerns remained unsolved, and
the information
assessments made on the basis of
submitted and evaluated during
the EFSA expert
it may be
meetings have not demonstrated that
expected that, under the proposed conditions of use,
plant protection products containing diazinon satisfy in
general the requirements laid down in Article 5(1)(a) and
(b) of Directive 91/414/EEC.

Diazinon should therefore not be included in Annex I to
Directive 91/414/EEC.

for

plant

Measures should be taken to ensure that authorisations
granted
containing
diazinon are withdrawn within a fixed period of time
and are not renewed and that no new authorisations
for such products are granted.

protection products

(4) EFSA Scientific Report (2006) 85, 1-73, Conclusion regarding the

peer review of the pesticide risk assessment of diazinon.

L 148/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

9.6.2007

(9)

Any period of grace granted by a Member State for the
disposal, storage, placing on the market and use of
existing stocks of plant protection products containing
diazinon, should be limited to 12 months in order to
allow existing stocks to be used in one further growing
season.

(10)

This Decision does not prejudice the submission of an
application for diazinon according to the provisions of
Article 6(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC in view of a
possible inclusion in its Annex I.

(11)

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 2

Member States shall ensure that:

(a) authorisations

for plant protection products containing

diazinon are withdrawn by 6 December 2007;

(b) no authorisations for plant protection products containing
diazinon are granted or renewed from the date of publi-
cation of this Decision.

Article 3

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 shall expire on 6 December
2008 at the latest.

Article 4

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 6 June 2007.

Article 1

Diazinon shall not be included as an active substance in Annex
I to Directive 91/414/EEC.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU
Member of the Commission