Brussels, 17/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - New rules on authorisation of biocidal products came into force in the European Union on Tuesday 17 July. They will significantly improve the protection of human health and the environment, and the free movement of these products on the internal market. The new EU regulation, adopted in May of this year to increase the safety of insecticides, disinfectants and repellents (but not medicines and agricultural pesticides) and simplify the procedure for authorising marketing, will become applicable on 1 September 2013 (see EUROPE 10612). The new rules are designed to “ensure that only safe products are made available and that the most dangerous substances are kept out of our market. By simplifying authorisation, the new regulation will bring considerable economic benefits to European companies”, European Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said.
Thus, from 1 September 2013, companies will have two options. Companies may either submit an application to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and, if the product is judged safe, obtain the authorisation for the said product to be sold throughout the EU (this is the procedure likely to be used by large firms), or they may submit an application to their own national authority to sell a product in their home country and, if authorisation is granted, they can subsequently put the product on the market of other member states, by virtue of the mutual recognition principle (this is a procedure which may appeal more to small and medium-sized enterprises, as it reduces red tape for them).
The regulation covers not only biocides but also goods, such as furniture, and materials, such as food packaging, treated with biocidal products. The new provisions will also reduce animal testing by making data sharing compulsory and encouraging a more flexible and integrated approach to testing. A dedicated IT platform (the Register for Biocidal Products) will be used for submitting applications as well as recording decisions and disseminating information to the public. The Commission estimates that the new rules will save industry €2.7 billion over a period of 10 years. (AN/transl.rt)