Commission Regulation (EC) No 149/2008 of 29 January 2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing Annexes II, III and IV setting maximum residue levels for products covered by Annex I thereto (Text with EEA relevance)

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 149/2008

of 29 January 2008

amending Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing Annexes II, III and IV setting maximum residue levels for products covered by Annex I thereto

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 February 2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed of plant and animal origin and amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC (¹), and in particular Article 5(1), Article 21(1) and Article 22(1) thereof,

(1) It is necessary to establish Annexes II, III and IV to Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, their establishment being a condition for the application of Chapters II, III and V of that Regulation.

(2) Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 should, for the products covered by Annex I to that Regulation, incorporate the maximum residue levels (MRLs) provided for under Council Directive 86/362/EEC of 24 July 1986 on the fixing of maximum levels for pesticide residues in and on cereals (²), Council Directive 86/363/EEC of 24 July 1986 on the fixing of maximum levels for pesticide residues in and on foodstuffs of animal origin (³) and Council Directive 90/642/EEC of 27 November 1990 on the fixing of maximum levels for pesticide residues in and on certain products of plant origin, including fruit and vegetables (⁴), taking into account the criteria mentioned in Article 14(2) of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005.

(3) According to Article 22(1) of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, Annex III to that Regulation is to establish temporary MRLs for active substances for which a decision on inclusion in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market (⁵) has not yet been taken. When establishing those MRLs the remaining MRLs in Annex II to Council Directive 76/895/EEC (⁶) and hitherto unharmonised national MRLs are to be taken into account. Those MRLs have to meet certain requirements.

(4) Article 16(1) of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 also provides that Annex III may contain other categories of MRLs. These include MRLs for new agricultural products included in Annex I of the Regulation, for which no MRLs were set in Council Directives 86/362/EEC, 86/363/EEC and 90/642/EEC.

(5) In order to distinguish between the MRLs referred to in recital 3 and the MRLs mentioned in recital 4, it is appropriate to divide Annex III into several parts.

(6) As regards the national MRLs notified by Member States, the Member States concerned have communicated the information required under Article 23 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005. In accordance with Articles 23 and 24 of that Regulation, for each crop/pesticide combination those MRLs were submitted to the European Food Safety Authority, hereinafter ‘the Authority’. The Authority has published reasoned opinions (⁷) on the national MRLs for active substances not included in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC and on the other hitherto unharmonised MRLs, on the basis of which temporary MRLs can be set, which do not present an unacceptable risk to consumers. Annex III to that Regulation should therefore be established accordingly.

(7) Substances for which it has been established in accordance with Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 that no MRLs are required should be included in Annex IV to that Regulation. In accordance with Articles 24 of that Regulation, active substances that may be included in Annex IV were submitted to the Authority. The Authority has published a reasoned opinion on the basis of which active substances can be included in Annex IV. Annex IV to that Regulation should therefore be established accordingly.

(8) Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(9) As this Regulation constitutes the last of the Regulations establishing Annexes I, II, III and IV, referred to in Article 50 second sub-paragraph of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, this means that Chapters II, III and V of the latter will come into force six months from the publication of this Regulation. It is therefore appropriate to provide that the MRLs defined by this Regulation apply from the same date.

(10) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health.

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

After Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, the text in the Annex to this Regulation is added as Annexes II, III and IV.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force six months after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

ANNEX

‘ANNEX II