(1)

Regulation (EC) No 304/2003 implements the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure (PIC procedure) for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and pesticides in International Trade, signed on 11 September 1998 and approved, on behalf of the Community, by Council Decision 2003/106/EC (2).

(2)

Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 304/2003 should be amended to take into account regulatory action in respect of certain chemicals taken pursuant to Council Directive 76/769/EEC of 27 July 1976 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations (3), Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market (4), Directive 98/8/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market (5) and of other Community legislation. In those cases where the restrictions imposed through those acts are not to be implemented until a future date, the obligations imposed by Regulation (EC) No 304/2003 should not start to apply before those dates in order to facilitate implementation.

(3)

Pursuant to Directive 76/769/EEC, perfluorooctane sulfonates are severely restricted for industrial use and thus should be added to the lists of chemicals contained in Parts 1 and 2 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 304/2003.

(4)

It has been decided not to include the substances dimethenamid, phosalone, alachlor, thiodicarb, oxydemethon-methyl, cadusafos, carbofuran, carbosulfan, haloxyfop-R as active substances in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC, with the effect that those active substances are banned for pesticide use and thus should be added to the lists of chemicals contained in Parts 1 and 2 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 304/2003.

(5)

It has been decided not to include carbaryl and trichlorfon as active substances in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC and not to include carbaryl and trichlorfon as active substances in Annex I, IA or IB to Directive 98/8/EC with the effect that those active substances are banned for pesticide use and thus should be added to the lists of chemicals contained in Parts 1 and 2 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 304/2003.

(6)

It has been decided not to include malathion as an active substance in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC with the effect that this active substance is banned for use in the subcategory pesticide in the group of plant protection products and thus should be added to the list of chemicals contained in Part 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 304/2003.

(7)

It has been decided not to include fenitrothion, dichlorvos, diazinon and diuron as active substances in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC with the effect that those active substances are banned for use in the subcategory pesticide in the group of plant protection products, and thus should be added to Part 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) 304/2003, despite the fact that those substances have been identified and notified for evaluation under Directive 98/8/EC and may thus continue to be authorised by Member States until a decision under that Directive will be taken.

(8)

Directive 91/414/EEC provides in Article 8(2) for a time period of 12 years during which Member States are allowed to authorise the placing on the market of plant protection products containing certain active substances. That time period has been extended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2076/2002 of 20 November 2002 extending the time period referred to in Article 8(2) of Council Directive 91/414/EEC and concerning the non-inclusion of certain active substances in Annex I to that Directive and the withdrawal of authorisations for plan protections products containing these substances (6). However, since no directive was adopted including the active substances azinphos-methyl and vinclozolin in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC before the expiry of the time period defined for those substances, Member States were obliged to withdraw national authorisations of plant protection products containing those substances as from 1 January 2007. As a result the active substances azinphos-methyl and vinclozolin are therefore banned for pesticide use and thus should be added to the list of chemicals contained in Part 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 304/2003.

(9)

Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 304/2003 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(10)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 29 of Directive 67/548/EEC,