Agriculture, EU – Baltic States, Legislation, Markets and Companies

All active substances featuring on the “substitute list” are still available on the market and are deemed safe, but could be substituted in time when a viable alternative is made available. Commission envisages an approval periods for “candidates for substitution”, CfS to be limited to a maximum of 7 years.

Candidates for substitution (CfS)

A Commission proposal to establish an EU-wide list of 77 candidates for substitution was endorsed by the EU member state experts. Candidates for substitution (CfS) are pesticides for which national authorities need to carry out an assessment to establish whether more favourable alternatives to using the plant protection product exist, including non-chemical methods. Main aim is to encourage more sustainable crop protection.  

Pesticides are mainly used in agricultural production to keep crops healthy and prevent them from being destroyed by pests and diseases. The placing on the market of pesticides is governed by Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. Under this Regulation, to qualify as a CfS, an active substance must meet specific criteria based on the properties it contains (both toxicological and environmental).

The new list

This new CfS list is the result of a comprehensive review of the active substances which are currently on the market and extensive consultation with stakeholders. It is based on an independent study tasked by the Commission.

The study contains a comprehensive analysis of all active substance on the market on 31 January 2013. The findings of the study provided a solid evidential basis for the listing of an active substance as a CfS in a comprehensive database that will be updated on a regular basis.

The Commission underlined that list is neither to be misconstrued as a list of banned substances, nor as a ranking of CfS. All active substances featuring on the list will still be available on the market and are deemed safe, but could be substituted in time when a viable alternative is made available. Approval periods for CfS are limited to a maximum of 7 years. However, current approval periods will not be affected.

Reference: European Commission, Fact Sheet “Pesticides: experts endorse new EU list of candidates for substitution”, Brussels, 27 January 2015

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-15-3743_en.htm?locale=en

More information on the issue see:

http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/pesticides/approval_active_substances/index_en.htm