Placing of biocidal products on the market: extension of certain time periods

The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety adopted the report drawn up by Daciana Octavia SÂRBU (PES, RO) amending, under the first reading of the codecision procedure, the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 98/8/EC concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market as regards the extension of certain time periods.

In view of an agreement with the Council and the Commission to reach a first reading agreement in order not to endanger the necessary and urgent adoption of the extension of the transitional period, the report suggests the following changes to the Commission proposal:

• the extension of the transitional period for four years, instead of three (until 14 May 2014 instead of 14 May 2013) so as to make sure that all biocidal products containing active substances are evaluated in due time creating a market regulated by harmonised rules;
• on the other hand the limitation to a maximum of two years of the possibility to further extend the deadlines for the remaining dossiers through comitology in order to avoid the possibility to endlessly delay the whole process;
• in line with paragraph 34 of the interinstitutional agreement on better law making, the deletion in the articles of the obligation by Member States to communicate to the Commission the texts of their transpositions into national law including correlation tables between those and the Directive and replacing it by the encouragement of Member States in a recital to draw up such tables.