Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union at the Conference of the Parties as regards amendments to Annex III to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade
Date: 2025-01-29
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: UN convention, chemical product, dangerous substance, environmental protection, export, import, international trade, pesticide, public health, revision of an agreement

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 29.1.2025  COM(2025) 18 final 2025/0006 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union at the Conference of the Parties as regards amendments to Annex III to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PROPOSAL 

This proposal concerns the decision establishing the position to be taken on the Union's behalf 
in the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent 
Procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade in connection 
with  the  envisaged  adoption  of  decisions  to  amend  Annex  III  by  adding  acetochlor, 
carbosulfan, chlorpyrifos, chrysotile asbestos, fenthion (ultra low volume (ULV) formulations 
at  or  above  640  g  active  ingredient/L),  iprodione,  liquid  formulations  (emulsifiable 
concentrate  and  soluble  concentrate)  containing  paraquat  dichloride  at  or  above  276  g/L, 
corresponding to paraquat ion at or above 200 g/L, mercury, methyl bromide and paraquat. 

2. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

2.1. 

The Rotterdam Convention 

The  Rotterdam  Convention  on  the  Prior  Informed  Consent  Procedure  for  certain  hazardous 
chemicals  and  pesticides  in  international  trade  (‘the  Convention’)  aims  to  promote  shared 
responsibility  and  cooperative  efforts  among  Parties  in  the  international  trade  of  certain 
hazardous  chemicals  in  order  to  protect  human  health  and  the  environment  from  potential 
harm and to contribute to their environmentally sound use. The Convention entered into force 
on 24 February 2004. 
The European Union is a party to the Convention1. 

2.2. 

The Conference of the Parties 

Established pursuant to Article 18 of the Convention, the Conference of the Parties (COP) is 
the governing body of the Rotterdam Convention. This body normally meets every two years 
to monitor the implementation of the Convention. It also reviews chemicals brought forward 
for its consideration by the Chemical Review Committee (CRC). 

In accordance with Article 5(1) of the Convention, Parties are required to submit notifications 
of  final  regulatory  action  taken  to  ban  or  severely  restrict  the  use  of  a  chemical  at  national 
level. After receipt by the Secretariat of two such notifications on the same chemical from two 
Parties  belonging  to  two  different  PIC  regions,  those  notifications  will  be  presented  to  the 
CRC. The CRC is to review those notifications against the criteria laid down in Annex II to 
the  Convention  and  to  adopt  a  recommendation  as  regards  the  listing  of  the  respective 
chemical for consideration by the COP.  

In addition, any Party that is a developing country or a country with an economy in transition 
and  that  is  experiencing  problems  caused  by  a  severely  hazardous  pesticide  formulation 
(SHPF)  under  conditions  of  use  in  its  territory  can  propose  to  list  that  severely  hazardous 
pesticide  formulation  in  Annex  III  to  the  Convention  in  accordance  with  Article  6(1).  The 
CRC  is  to  review  those  proposals  against  the  criteria  laid  down  in  Annex  IV  to  the 
Convention and to adopt a recommendation as regards the listing of the respective SHPF for 
consideration by the COP. 

The procedure for adoption of amendments to the Convention is governed by Article 21 of the 
Convention,  and  the  procedure  for  adoption  and  amendment  of  Annexes  by  Article  22.  In 
accordance  with  Article  23  of  the  Convention,  each  party  has  one  vote.  However,  regional 

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Council  Decision  2006/730/EC  of  25  September  2006  on  the  conclusion,  on  behalf  of  the  European 
Community,  of  the  Rotterdam  Convention  on  the  Prior  Informed  Consent  Procedure  for  certain 
hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade (OJ L 299, 28.10.2006, p. 23). 

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economic integration organisations such as the EU exercise their right to vote with a number 
of votes equal to the number of their Member States that are parties to the Convention. 

2.3. 

The envisaged act of the Conference of the Parties 

At the twelfth ordinary meeting, the Conference of the Parties will consider the adoption of 
decisions to list acetochlor, carbosulfan, chlorpyrifos, chrysotile asbestos, fenthion (ultra low 
volume  (ULV)  formulations  at  or  above  640  g  active  ingredient/L),  iprodione,  liquid 
formulations  (emulsifiable  concentrate  and  soluble  concentrate)  containing  paraquat 
dichloride at or above 276 g/L, corresponding to paraquat ion at or above 200 g/L, mercury, 
methyl bromide and paraquat in Annex III to the Convention. 

The listing in Annex III has the effect that the chemicals will be subject to the Prior Informed 
Consent  Procedure  when  internationally  traded.  This  will  require  Parties  to  submit  import 
responses to the Secretariat so that the Secretariat can make those import responses available 
to  all  Parties.  Exporting  Parties  will  be  required  to  respect  the  import  responses  when 
exporting those chemicals. 

The envisaged acts will become binding on the Parties in accordance with Article 22(5)(c) of 
the  Convention,  which  provides:  ‘A  decision  to  amend  Annex  III  shall  forthwith  be 
communicated to the Parties by the Depositary. The amendment shall enter into force for all 
Parties on a date to be specified in the decision’. 

3. 

POSITION TO BE TAKEN ON THE UNION'S BEHALF 

The position to be taken on the Union's behalf at the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the 
Parties  to  the  Rotterdam  Convention  should  be  to  support  the  listing  of  acetochlor, 
carbosulfan, chlorpyrifos, chrysotile asbestos, fenthion (ultra low volume (ULV) formulations 
at  or  above  640  g  active  ingredient/L),  iprodione,  liquid  formulations  (emulsifiable 
concentrate  and  soluble  concentrate)  containing  paraquat  dichloride  at  or  above  276  g/L, 
corresponding to paraquat ion at or above 200 g/L, mercury, methyl bromide and paraquat in 
Annex  III  in  line  with  the  relevant  recommendations  of  the  Chemical  Review  Committee 
(CRC). 

In accordance with Article 5(1) of the Convention, Parties had submitted notifications of final 
regulatory  action  taken  to  ban  or  severely  restrict  the  use  of  acetochlor,  carbosulfan, 
chlorpyrifos, chrysotile asbestos, iprodione, mercury, methyl bromide and paraquat at national 
level.  

In  addition,  Parties  had  submitted  proposals  to  list  fenthion  (ultra  low  volume  (ULV) 
formulations  at  or  above  640  g  active  ingredient/L)  and  liquid  formulations  (emulsifiable 
concentrate  and  soluble  concentrate)  containing  paraquat  dichloride  at  or  above  276  g/L, 
corresponding  to  paraquat  ion  at  or  above  200  g/L,  in  Annex  III  to  the  Convention  in 
accordance with Article 6(1). 

The  CRC  reviewed  the  notifications  against  the  criteria  laid  down  in  Annex  II  and  the 
proposals against the criteria laid down in Annex IV to the Convention and concluded that all 
relevant criteria are met. 

The listing in Annex III has the effect that the chemicals will be subject to the Prior Informed 
Consent  Procedure  when  internationally  traded.  This  will  require  Parties  to  submit  import 
responses to the Secretariat so that the Secretariat can make those import responses available 
to  all  Parties.  Exporting  Parties  will  be  required  to  respect  the  import  responses  when 
exporting those chemicals. 

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The  proposal  is  coherent  with  and  complements  Regulation  (EU)  No  649/2012,  which 
implements the Rotterdam Convention in the Union. It is fully in line with the objective of the 
Convention  to  promote  shared  responsibility  and  cooperative  efforts  among  Parties  in  the 
international  trade  of  certain  hazardous  chemicals  in  order  to  protect  human  health  and  the 
environment from potential harm and to contribute to their environmentally sound use. 

The proposal is coherent with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 
and  Regulation  (EC)  No  1907/2006  since  it  does  not  interfere  with  any  decisions  on  the 
placing on the market of chemicals in the European Union. 

4. 

LEGAL BASIS 

4.1. 

Procedural legal basis 

4.1.1.  Principles 

Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for 
decisions establishing ‘the positions to be adopted on the Union’s behalf in a body set up by 
an  agreement,  when  that  body  is  called  upon  to  adopt  acts  having  legal  effects,  with  the 
exception of acts supplementing or amending the institutional framework of the agreement.’ 

The concept of ‘acts having legal effects’ includes acts that have legal effects by virtue of the 
rules of international law governing the body in question. It also includes instruments that do 
not  have  a  binding  effect  under  international  law,  but  that  are  ‘capable  of  decisively 
influencing the content of the legislation adopted by the EU legislature’2. 

4.1.2.  Application to the present case 

The  Conference  of  the  Parties  is  a  body  set  up  by  an  agreement,  namely  the  Rotterdam 
Convention  on  the  Prior  Informed  Consent  Procedure  for  certain  hazardous  chemicals  and 
pesticides in international trade. 

The acts, which the Conference of the Parties is called upon to adopt, constitute acts having 
legal effects. The envisaged acts to amend Annex III will be binding under international law 
in accordance with Article 22 of the Rotterdam Convention and will need to be implemented 
in Regulation (EU) No 649/2012. 

The  envisaged  acts  do  not  supplement  or  amend  the  institutional  framework  of  the 
Agreement. 

Therefore, the procedural legal basis for the proposed decision is Article 218(9) TFEU. 

4.2. 

Substantive legal basis 

4.2.1.  Principles 

The  substantive  legal  basis  for  a  decision  under  Article  218(9)  TFEU  depends  primarily  on 
the objective and content of the envisaged act in respect of which a position is taken on the 
Union's  behalf.  If the  envisaged act  pursues two  aims or has two components  and if one of 
those  aims  or  components  is  identifiable  as  the  main  one,  whereas  the  other  is  merely 
incidental, the decision under Article 218(9) TFEU must be founded on a single substantive 
legal basis, namely that required by the main or predominant aim or component. 

With regard to an envisaged act that simultaneously pursues a number of objectives, or that 
has  several  components,  which  are  inseparably  linked  without  one  being  incidental  to  the 

2 

Judgment  of 
ECLI:EU:C:2014:2258, paragraphs 61 to 64.  

the  Court  of  Justice  of  7  October  2014,  Germany  v  Council,  C-399/12, 

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other,  the  substantive  legal  basis  of  a  decision  under  Article  218(9)  TFEU  will  have  to 
include, exceptionally, the various corresponding legal bases. 

4.2.2.  Application to the present case 

The envisaged acts pursue objectives and have components in the area of ‘environment’ and 
‘trade’.  These  elements  of  the  envisaged  acts  are  inseparably  linked  without  one  being 
incidental to the other. 

Therefore,  the  substantive  legal  basis  of  the  proposed  decision  comprises  the  following 
provisions: Article 192(1) and the first subparagraph of Article 207(4) TFEU. 

4.3. 

Conclusion 

The  legal  basis  of  the  proposed  decision  should  be  Article  192(1)  and  Article  207(4),  first 
subparagraph, in conjunction with Article 218(9) TFEU. 

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2025/0006 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union at the Conference of the 
Parties as regards amendments to Annex III to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior 
Informed Consent Procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in 
international trade 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article  192(1)  and  Article  207(4),  first  subparagraph,  in  conjunction  with  Article  218(9) 
thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

The  Rotterdam  Convention  on  the  Prior  Informed  Consent  Procedure  for  certain 
hazardous  chemicals  and  pesticides  in  international  trade  (‘the  Convention’)  was 
concluded  by  the  Union  by  Council  Decision  (2006/730/EC)3  and  entered  into  force 
on 24 February 2004. 

Pursuant  to  Article  7  of  the  Convention,  the  Conference  of  the  Parties  may  adopt 
decisions to list chemicals in Annex III to the Convention. 

At its twelfth meeting, the Conference of the Parties is expected to adopt decisions to 
list  acetochlor,  carbosulfan,  chlorpyrifos,  chrysotile  asbestos,  fenthion  (ultra  low 
volume (ULV) formulations at or above 640 g active ingredient/L), iprodione, liquid 
formulations  (emulsifiable  concentrate  and  soluble  concentrate)  containing  paraquat 
dichloride  at  or  above  276  g/L,  corresponding  to  paraquat  ion  at  or  above  200  g/L, 
mercury, methyl bromide and paraquat in Annex III to the Convention. 

It  is  appropriate  to  establish  the  position  to  be  taken  on  the  Union's  behalf  in  the 
Conference of the Parties, as the decisions will be binding on the Union.  

To  promote  shared  responsibility  and  cooperative  efforts  among  Parties  in  the 
international trade of certain hazardous chemicals in order to protect human health and 
the environment from potential harm and to contribute to their environmentally sound 
use, it is necessary to list further chemicals that were found to meet all relevant criteria 
in  Annex  III  to  the  Convention.  It  is  therefore  appropriate  to  support  the  listing  of 
acetochlor,  carbosulfan,  chlorpyrifos,  chrysotile  asbestos,  fenthion  (ultra  low  volume 
(ULV)  formulations  at  or  above  640  g  active  ingredient/L),  iprodione,  liquid 
formulations  (emulsifiable  concentrate  and  soluble  concentrate)  containing  paraquat 
dichloride  at  or  above  276  g/L,  corresponding  to  paraquat  ion  at  or  above  200  g/L, 
mercury, methyl bromide and paraquat in Annex III to the Convention, 

3 

Council  Decision  2006/730/EC  of  25  September  2006  on  the  conclusion,  on  behalf  of  the  European 
Community,  of  the  Rotterdam  Convention  on  the  Prior  Informed  Consent  Procedure  for  certain 
hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade (OJ L 299, 28.10.2006, p. 23). 

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HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

The position to be taken on the Union's behalf at the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the 
Parties to the Convention and any subsequent Conference of the Parties where the point is on 
the agenda shall be that the Union shall support the adoption of the amendments to Annex III 
to the Convention as regards the inclusion of acetochlor, carbosulfan, chlorpyrifos, chrysotile 
asbestos,  fenthion  (ultra  low  volume  (ULV)  formulations  at  or  above  640  g  active 
(emulsifiable  concentrate  and  soluble 
ingredient/L), 
concentrate)  containing  paraquat  dichloride  at  or  above  276  g/L,  corresponding  to  paraquat 
ion at or above 200 g/L, mercury, methyl bromide and paraquat. 

formulations 

iprodione, 

liquid 

Article 2 

Refinements of the position referred to in Article 1, in light of the developments at the twelfth 
meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention and any subsequent Conference of 
the  Parties  where  the  listing  in  Annex  III  of  the  chemicals  mentioned  in  Article  1  is  on  the 
agenda, may be agreed upon by representatives of the Union, in consultation with the Member 
States, during on-the-spot coordination meetings without a further decision of the Council. 

This Decision is addressed to the Commission. 

Done at Brussels, 

Article 3 

For the Council 
The President 

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