EU and GB approval changes (July to September 2023)

26/10/2023
Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
Category: News

EU and GB approval changes

Following the United Kingdom (UK) departure from the European Union (EU), COLEAD’s Regulation Monitoring now covers both EU and Great Britain (GB) approval changes, enabling us to keep COLEAD members and partner-beneficiaries up-to-date on both regulatory frameworks.

Note that EU approvals still apply in Northern Ireland. Great Britain is the mainland comprising England, Scotland and Wales.

The European Commission (EC) has recently published changes to 59 plant protection product (PPP) approvals within the EU, some of which are important for ACP horticulture. These include:

– Extension of the approval period for 54 PPPs

– Non-renewal of approval of active substance dimoxystrobin

– Renewal of approval as low-risk substances: quart sand, fat distillation residues and Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV)

– Expiration of the approval for penflufen

The EC has recently notified the WTO of its intention not to renew the approval of clofentezine, triflusulfuron-methyl, metiram and benthiavalicarb.

GB has not published or notified any approval changes during this period.

How will ACP producers/exporters be affected?

Non-approval, withdrawal of approval or expiration of approval mean that EU/GB maximum residue levels (MRLs) are likely to be maintained or reduced to the limit of determination (LoD) which, in most cases, will mean that they can not be used on crops for export to the EU/GB.

What should ACP producers/exporters do now?

If you currently use dimoxystrobin, penflufen, clofentezine, triflusulfuron-methyl, metiram or benthiavalicarb on crops destined for the EU markets, you need to look for alternatives, or ensure that current uses allow you to comply with the new MRLs (most likely at LoD), as soon as the change is communicated. If this is likely to cause you significant problems, and you fear being left without effective and available alternatives, please contact COLEAD at: network@colead.link.

We will keep you informed as more information becomes available.

In this News, ‘key active substances’ refers to those used/registered in one or more ACP countries on horticultural crops that are frequently exported regionally or internationally. While COLEAD makes every effort to provide comprehensive information about EU and GB PPP regulatory changes, it is possible that some PPPs or crops relevant to you are not included in our list of key substances/crops. We recommend that you review the following section, which gives details on all approval changes since the beginning of 2023, to check for any others that could affect you. If you see any PPP that you use on crops for export to the EU or GB in the lists below, we recommend that you check the regulation itself using the link provided.

Our news is a quarterly update designed to inform you of any changes introduced during the preceding three months. If you require more frequent updates on EU MRL changes, we recommend that you visit our AGRINFO website and subscribe to the bi-monthly newsletter on EU regulations.

AGRINFO is a programme funded by the European Union and implemented by COLEAD (Committee Linking Entrepreneurship-Agriculture-Development). It provides an online information service that keeps you up-to-date on evolving EU policies, regulations and standards with potential impacts on agri-food value chains. It provides clear summaries for third-country partners about the “what, why and when” of recent and upcoming changes, and actions needed to adjust to new rules.

Key changes of approval in the EU during the period Juillet-Septembre 2023

The EC has recently published changes to 59 plant protection product (PPP) approvals within the EU.

Approval periods for the following key substances have been extended (new expiry dates shown):

– aluminium silicate (Expiry date: 15 December 2024)

– cymoxanil (Expiry date: 18 August 2026)

– hydrolysed proteins (Expiry date: 15 April 2025)

– maltodextrin (Expiry date: 28 February 2026)

– pyrethrins (Expiry date: 15 June 2026)

– tebuconazole (Expiry date: 15 August 2026)

– deltamethrin (Expiry date: 15 August 2026)

– eugenol (Expiry date: 30 April 2026)

– fludioxonil (Expiry date: 15 June 2025)

– fosthiazate (Expiry date: 31 January 2027)

– geraniol (Expiry date: 30 April 2026)

– tebufenpyrad (Expiry date: 31 January 2027)

– thymol (Expiry date: 30 April 2026)

– calcium carbide (Expiry date: 30 November 2026)

– ethylene (Expiry date: 30 November 2026)

Non-renewal of the active substance dimoxystrobin

Dimoxystrobin is a fungicide used for disease control in cereals and some other crops.

The European Commission (EC) has published Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1436 concerning the non-renewal of approval of dimoxystrobin for use in the EU. Any grace period granted for use in the EU will expire by 31 July 2024.

Expiration of the approval of the active substance penflufen

Penflufen is a fungicide used for disease control in potato, cereal crops, legumes and certain other crops.

The European Commission (EC) has published Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1447, setting the date for the expiry of approval of penflufen for use in the EU to 31 January 2024.

All PPP approval changes in the EU introduced in 2023

Table 1 shows all changes to PPP approvals introduced in the EU since the beginning of 2023.

If you require additional information, or face particular problems as a result of these changes, please contact COLEAD at: network@colead.link .

Proposed future approval changes

All draft regulations must be notified either to the WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary Committee (SPS) or Technical Barriers Committee (TBT) for a commenting period of 60 days before they are adopted. This provides an important opportunity for countries to comment on the proposed changes, and to seek an amendment if a change is likely to have a significant impact on exports. To provide feedback stakeholders should contact their national WTO contact point .

Table 2 shows recent WTO notifications of draft regulations that propose further changes to EU active substance approvals.

References

Lewis, K.A., Tzilivakis, J., Warner, D. and Green, A. (2016). An international database for pesticide risk assessments and management. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal, 22(4): 1050-1064. DOI: 10.1080/10807039.2015.1133242

This publication has been developped by the Fit For Market Plus programme, implemented by COLEAD within the framework of Development cooperation between the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), and the European Union (EU).

This publication has been produced with the financial support of the EU and the OACPS. Its contents are the sole responsibility of COLEAD and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the EU or the OACPS.

Articles similares

Approval