Article 1 
Metam shall not be included as an active substance in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC.
Article 2 
Member States shall ensure that: 1. authorisations for plant protection products containing metam are withdrawn by 13 January 2010; 2. no authorisations for plant protection products containing metam are granted or renewed from the date of publication of this Decision.
Article 3 
1. By way of derogation from Article 2, a Member State listed in column A of Annex I may maintain authorisations for plant protection products containing metam for the uses listed in column B of that Annex until 31 December 2014, provided that it complies with the following conditions: (a) it ensures that no harmful effects to human and animal health and no unacceptable influence on the environment are caused; (b) it ensures that such plant protection products remaining on the market are relabelled in order to match the restricted use conditions; (c) it imposes all appropriate risk mitigation measures to reduce any possible risks in order to ensure the protection of human and animal health and the environment; (d) it ensures that alternative products or methods for such uses are being seriously sought, in particular, by means of action plans. 2. The Member State making use of the derogation provided for in paragraph 1 shall inform the Commission about the measures taken under paragraph 1, and, in particular, under points (a) to (d) by 31 December of each year and provide on a yearly basis estimates of the amounts of metam used for essential uses pursuant to this Article.
Article 4 
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. For authorisations which are withdrawn in accordance with Article 2, that period shall expire by 13 January 2011 at the latest. For authorisations which are withdrawn in accordance with Article 3, it shall expire by 31 December 2014 at the latest.
Article 5 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.