(1)

Commission Directive 2008/127/EC (2) included potassium hydrogen carbonate on 1 September 2009 as an active substance in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC (3).

(2)

Active substances included in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC are deemed to have been approved under Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 and are listed in Part A of the Annex to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 (4).

(3)

The approval of the active substance potassium hydrogen carbonate, as set out in Part A of the Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011, expires on 31 August 2022.

(4)

Applications for the renewal of the approval of the active substance potassium hydrogen carbonate were submitted in accordance with Article 1 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 844/2012 (5) within the time period provided for in that Article.

(5)

The applicants submitted the supplementary dossiers required in accordance with Article 6 of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 844/2012. The application was found to be complete by the rapporteur Member State.

(6)

The rapporteur Member State prepared a draft renewal assessment report in consultation with the co-rapporteur Member State and submitted it to the European Food Safety Authority (‘the Authority’) and the Commission on 19 December 2019. The Authority made the supplementary summary dossier available to the public and launched a public consultation on the draft renewal assessment report. The Authority also circulated the draft renewal assessment report to the applicants and to the Member States for comments and forwarded the comments received to the Commission.

(7)

On 20 April 2021, the Authority communicated to the Commission its conclusion (6) on whether potassium hydrogen carbonate can be expected to meet the approval criteria provided for in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009.

(8)

The Commission presented a renewal report and a draft Regulation regarding potassium hydrogen carbonate to the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed on 5 and 6 July 2021.

(9)

The Commission invited the applicants to submit their comments on the conclusion of the Authority and, in accordance with Article 14(1), third paragraph, of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 844/2012, on the renewal report. The applicants submitted their comments, which were carefully examined.

(10)

It has been established, with respect to one or more representative uses of at least one plant protection product containing the active substance potassium hydrogen carbonate, that the approval criteria provided for in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 are satisfied.

(11)

The risk assessment for the renewal of the approval of the active substance potassium hydrogen carbonate is based on a limited number of representative uses, which however do not restrict the uses for which plant protection products containing potassium hydrogen carbonate may be authorised. It is therefore appropriate not to maintain the restriction to use as a fungicide or insecticide.

(12)

The Commission further considers that potassium hydrogen carbonate is a low-risk active substance pursuant to Article 22 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. Potassium hydrogen carbonate is not a substance of concern and fulfils the conditions set in point 5.1 of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. It is therefore appropriate to renew the approval of potassium hydrogen carbonate as a low-risk substance.

(13)

Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(14)

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/745 (7) extended the approval period of potassium hydrogen carbonate until 31 August 2022, in order to allow the completion of the renewal process before the expiry of that approval period. However, given that a decision to renew the approval has been taken ahead of that extended expiry date, this Regulation should start to apply earlier than that date.

(15)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,