(1)

The inclusion of carbendazim in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC expires on 13 June 2011.

(2)

On request the inclusion of an active substance may be renewed for a period not exceeding ten years. On 6 August 2007 the Commission received such a request from the applicant regarding the renewal of the inclusion for this substance.

(3)

On 10 January 2008, the applicant submitted to the rapporteur Member State Germany data in support of its request for renewal of the inclusion of carbendazim.

(4)

The rapporteur Member State prepared a draft re-assessment report which was commented by the applicant on 13 May 2009 and after its finalisation was submitted to the applicant and the Commission on 24 July 2009. In addition to the assessment of the substance, that report includes a list of the studies the rapporteur Member State relied on for its assessment.

(5)

The Commission communicated the draft re-assessment report to the European Food Safety Authority (hereinafter: ‘the Authority’) and to the Member States on 28 July 2009 for comments.

(6)

At the request of the Commission, the draft re-assessment report was peer reviewed by the Member States and the Authority and commented by the applicant on 14 December 2009. The Authority presented its conclusion on the peer review of the risk assessment of carbendazim (2) to the Commission on 30 April 2010. After the applicant had been given the possibility to comment and taking into account its comments delivered on 31 May 2010, the draft re-assessment report and the conclusion from the Authority were reviewed by the Member States and the Commission within the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health and finalised on 23 November 2010 in the format of the Commission review report for carbendazim.

(7)

It has appeared from the various examinations made that plant protection products containing carbendazim may be expected to continue to satisfy the requirements laid down in Article 5(1)(a) and (b) of Directive 91/414/EEC, as regards the uses which were examined and detailed in the Commission review report. It is therefore appropriate to renew the inclusion of carbendazim in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC, in order to ensure that plant protection products containing this active substance may continue to be authorised where they comply with that Directive. In addition to the uses supported for the first inclusion, the applicant supports in its renewal dossier the use on fodder beet. Taking into consideration the additional data submitted by the applicant, the use on fodder beet should be added to the list of uses that may be authorised.

(8)

Article 5(4) of Directive 91/414/EEC provides that inclusion of a substance in Annex I may be subject to restrictions. In order to correctly reflect the high level of protection of human and animal health and the environment sought in the Union, it is necessary to limit the uses of carbendazim to those that have actually been assessed and which are considered to comply with the conditions of Article 5(1) of Directive 91/414/EEC. This implies that uses which are not part of the list of uses set out in Annex I to that Directive may not be authorised unless they are first added to that list. It is appropriate to set maximum limits for the presence of two relevant impurities 2-amino-3-hydroxyphenazine (AHP) and 2,3-diaminophenazine (DAP) in commercially manufactured carbendazim.

(9)

Without prejudice to the conclusion set out in recital 8, it is appropriate to obtain further information on certain specific points. Article 6(1) of Directive 91/414/EC provides that inclusion of a substance in Annex I may be subject to conditions. Therefore, it is appropriate to require that the applicant submits further information as regards, the aerobic degradation in soil, the long-term risk to birds and the relevance of a third impurity, for confidentiality reasons referred to as AEF037197. In addition, the applicant should be requested to examine the studies included in the list in the draft re-assessment report of 16 July 2009 (Volume 1, Level 4 ‘Further information’, pp. 155-157).

(10)

Several Member States have expressed concerns as regards the hazard profile of this substance. Similar concerns were expressed at the time of the first inclusion. The renewal dossier is, in part, based on toxicity data used during the assessment of the dossier submitted for the initial inclusion of this substance. The original inclusion was limited to a period of three years (3). Account should also be taken of the progressive understanding of the need to ensure a high level of protection of human and animal health and the sustainable environment. Therefore, it is appropriate to limit the renewal period of the inclusion to three and half years.

(11)

As with all substances included in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC, the status of carbendazim could be reviewed under Article 5(5) of that Directive in the light of any new data becoming available, such as its currently ongoing evaluation in the framework of Directive 98/8/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 16 February 1998 concerning the placing of biocidal substances on the market (4) and from the review of relevant scientific literature.

(12)

A reasonable period should be allowed to elapse before the inclusion of an active substance in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC is renewed in order to permit Member States and the interested parties to prepare themselves to meet the new requirements resulting from the renewal.

(13)

Without prejudice to the obligations defined by Directive 91/414/EEC as a consequence of renewing the inclusion of an active substance in Annex I thereto, Member States should be allowed a period of six months after renewal to review authorisations of plant protection products containing carbendazim to make sure that the requirements laid down in Directive 91/414/EEC, in particular in its Article 13, and the relevant conditions set out in Annex I to that Directive, continue to be satisfied. As appropriate, Member States should renew, where appropriate with modifications, or refuse to renew authorisations. By way of derogation from that deadline, a longer period should be provided for the submission and assessment of the update of the complete Annex III dossier of each plant protection product for each intended use in accordance with the uniform principles laid down in Directive 91/414/EEC.

(14)

It is therefore appropriate to amend Directive 91/414/EEC accordingly.

(15)

The Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health did not deliver an opinion within the time limit laid down by its Chair and the Commission therefore submitted to the Council a proposal relating to these measures. Since, on the expiry of the period laid down in the second subparagraph of Article 19(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC, the Council had neither adopted the proposed measures nor indicated its opposition to them, these measures are to be adopted by the Commission,