Judgments nº T-420/05 of Court of First Instance of the European Communities, of October 07, 2009

In Case T-420/05,

Vischim Srl, established in Cesano Maderno (Italy), represented by C. Mereu and K. Van Maldegem, lawyers,

applicant,

v

Commission of the European Communities, represented by B. Doherty and L. Parpala, acting as Agents,

defendant,

APPLICATION for annulment, with regard to the inclusion of the active substance chlorothalonil, of Commission Directive 2005/53/EC of 16 September 2005 amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC to include chlorothalonil, chlorotoluron, cypermethrin, daminozide and thiophanate-methyl as active substances (OJ 2005 L 241, p. 51), for annulment of the review report for chlorothalonil (document SANCO/4343/2000 final of 14 February 2005), for a declaration of failure to act and for damages,

THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (Sixth Chamber),

composed of A.W.H. Meij, President, F. Dehousse and V. Vadapalas (Rapporteur), Judges,

Registrar: C. Kantza, Administrator,

having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 25 September 2008,

gives the following

Judgment

 Legal context

1.     Directive 91/414/EEC

1         As provided in Article 4(1)(a) of Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market (OJ 1991 L 230, p. 1), -Member States shall ensure that a plant protection product is not authorised unless its active substances are listed in Annex I and any conditions laid down therein are fulfilled-.

2         Article 5(1) of Directive 91/414 states that, -in the light of current scientific and technical knowledge, an active substance shall be included in Annex I for an initial period not exceeding 10 years, if it may be expected that plant protection products containing the active substance will fulfil the - conditions- which are then set out and relate to the products not being harmful for human or animal health or the environment.

3         By virtue of the first and second indents of Article 5(4) of Directive 91/414, an active substance-s inclusion may be subject to requirements relating to -the minimum degree of purity of the active substance- and to -the nature and maximum content of certain impurities-.

4         Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414 provides:

-By way of derogation from Article 4 -, a Member State may, during a period of 12 years following the notification of this Directive, authorise the placing on the market in its territory of plant protection products containing active substances not listed in Annex I that are already on the market two years after the date of notification of this Directive.

After the adoption of this Directive, the Commission shall commence a programme of work for the gradual examination of these active substances within the 12-year period referred to in the foregoing subparagraph. This programme may require interested parties to submit all requisite data to the Commission and the Member States within a period provided for in the programme. A regulation, adopted according to the procedure laid down in Article 19, will set out all the provisions necessary for the implementation of the programme.

-

During the 12-year period referred to in the first subparagraph it may, following examination by the Committee referred to in Article 19 of such active substance, be decided by the procedure laid down in that Article that the substance can be included in Annex I and under which conditions, or, in cases where the requirements of Article 5 are not satisfied or the requisite information and data have not been submitted within the prescribed period, that such active substance will not be included in Annex I. The Member States shall ensure that the relevant authorisations are granted, withdrawn or varied, as appropriate, within a prescribed period.-

5         Article 19 of Directive 91/414, as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 806/2003 of 14 April 2003 (OJ 2003 L 122, p. 1), provides that the Commission of the European Communities is to be assisted by a regulatory committee, the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (-the Committee-).

6         As regards the active substance chlorothalonil, the period referred to in Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414, which was to expire on 26 July 2003, was extended, initially until 31 December 2005, by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2076/2002 of 20 November 2002 (OJ 2002 L 319, p. 3), then until 31 December 2006, by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1335/2005 of 12 August 2005 (OJ 2005 L 211, p. 6), unless a decision on its inclusion in Annex I to Directive 91/414 was taken before that date.

2.     Regulation (EEC) No 3600/92

7         Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3600/92 of 11 December 1992 laying down the detailed rules for the implementation of the first stage of the programme of work referred to in Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414 (OJ 1992 L 366, p. 10) sets out the procedure for the assessment...

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