EUROPE–EFSA: Release of PERSAM v3.0.8
16 January 2023
EUROPE–EFSA: Revised Guidance on Birds and Mammals Finalised
13 February 2023
On January 3, the Ministry of Agriculture put out for consultation a draft order authorising, for a period of 120 days, for the 2023 campaign, the use of sugar beet seeds treated with active substances from the neonicotinoid family (imidacloprid or thiamethoxam). These authorisations would be granted in accordance with Article 53 of Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009. The public consultation is open until January 24.
According to the Law No. 2020-1578 of December 14, 2020, as regards the conditions of placing on the market of plant protection products in case of emergency situations for sugar beets, the 2023 campaign would be the last for which such a derogation could be adopted. Similar exemptions had been issued for the 2021 and 2022 campaigns, after public consultation and opinion of the Supervisory Board (body provided for by the law of December 14, 2020).
As a reminder, the sowing period for sugar beets in France generally extends between mid-March and mid-April. The purpose of seed treatment with neonicotinoid insecticides is to control aphids that are vectors of yellow viruses.
On January 19, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered a judgement on the interpretation of Article 53 of Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009. This judgement results from a request for a preliminary ruling submitted by the Belgian Council of State following a dispute between the Belgian Government and several associations. This judgement concludes that Article 53 “must be interpreted as not permitting a Member State to authorise the placing on the market of plant protection products for seed treatment, or the placing on the market and use of seeds treated with those products, where the placing on the market and use of seeds treated with those products have been expressly prohibited by an implementing regulation.”
Following this decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Supervisory Board, established by the law of December 14, 2020 and responsible for issuing an opinion on these emergency authorisations, postponed its meeting to January 26, 2023, the legal consequences of the decision of the Court of Justice in France, and the consequences for the intended derogation for the 2023 campaign being assessed by the French Government.
On January 23, 2023, following a meeting with professionals of the sugar beet sector, the French Minister of Agriculture announced abandoning the derogation project authorising seeds treated with neonicotinoids, for the coming campaign. An action plan, which will be specified in the coming days, will be implemented to guarantee the sustainability of the French sector. In particular, France will support the uniform application of the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union in all the countries of the Union, in order to avoid any distortion detrimental to the French sector. France will also trigger a safeguard clause with the European Commission to ensure that seeds, beets and beet sugar imported in 2023 cannot be treated with neonicotinoids.
To download:
Draft order and documents made available for public consultation (in French):
Decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union: Judgement of the Court (First Chamber) of 19 January 2023 (Document 62021CJ0162)
Press release from the Ministry of Agriculture : Press release_23 January 2023
See also our previous articles:
FRANCE: New Derogation to the Ban of Neonicotinoids for 2022
FRANCE: Ban of Neonicotinoids – the 2021 Derogation for Sugar Beets Validated
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