09/12/2020 (Agence Europe) – At the request of the Commission, the EFSA is assessing the justification for the emergency authorisations of neonicotinoids (clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and thiacloprid) granted by Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, the EFSA announced on 8 December. The Agency will take into account the specific situation in each Member State and the availability of alternative solutions to protect sugar beet crops. Article 53 of the European Pesticides Regulation does indeed provide for the possibility of derogations via the emergency authorisation clause, but under very strict conditions and duly justified by the absence of alternative solutions. For the time being, only Romania and Lithuania have been brought in line for abusive use of this clause (see EUROPE 12417/9). The assessments are expected to be finalized in the second half of 2021. The revised methodology for future evaluations should be revised by the end of 2022. (AN)