(1)

In accordance with Article 80(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, Council Directive 91/414/EEC (2) is to apply, with respect to the procedure and the conditions for approval, to active substances for which a decision has been adopted in accordance with Article 6(3) of that Directive before 14 June 2011. For bispyribac the conditions of Article 80(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 are fulfilled by Commission Decision 2003/305/EC (3).

(2)

In accordance with Article 6(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC Italy received on 26 February 2002 an application from Bayer CropScience for the inclusion of the active substance bispyribac (also called bispyribac sodium, according to the form in which the active substance is contained in the representative formulation on which the dossier is based) in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC. Decision 2003/305/EC confirmed that the dossier was ‘complete’ in the sense that it could be considered as satisfying, in principle, the data and information requirements of Annexes II and III to Directive 91/414/EEC.

(3)

For that active substance, the effects on human health and the environment have been assessed, in accordance with the provisions of Article 6(2) and (4) of Directive 91/414/EEC, for the uses proposed by the applicant. The designated rapporteur Member State submitted a draft assessment report on 1 August 2003.

(4)

The draft assessment report was peer reviewed by the Member States and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in the format of the EFSA conclusion on the peer review of the pesticide risk assessment of the active substance bispyribac on 12 July 2010 (4). This report was reviewed by the Member States and the Commission within the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health and was finalised on 17 June 2011 in the format of the Commission review report for bispyribac.

(5)

It has appeared from the various examinations made that plant protection products containing bispyribac may be expected to satisfy, in general, the requirements laid down in Article 5(1)(a) and (b) and Article 5(3) of Directive 91/414/EEC, in particular with regard to the uses which were examined and detailed in the Commission review report. It is therefore appropriate to approve bispyribac.

(6)

Without prejudice to the obligations provided for by Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 as a consequence of approval, taking into account the specific situation created by the transition from Directive 91/414/EEC to Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 the following should, however, apply. Member States should be allowed a period of 6 months after approval to review authorisations of plant protection products containing bispyribac. Member States should, as appropriate, vary, replace or withdraw authorisations. By way of derogation from that deadline, a longer period should be provided for the submission and assessment of the update of the complete Annex III dossier, as set out in Directive 91/414/EEC, of each plant protection product for each intended use in accordance with the uniform principles.

(7)

The experience gained from inclusions in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC of active substances assessed in the framework of 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 Council Directive 91/414/EEC concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market (5) has shown that difficulties can arise in interpreting the duties of holders of existing authorisations in relation to access to data. In order to avoid further difficulties it therefore appears necessary to clarify the duties of the Member States, especially the duty to verify that the holder of an authorisation demonstrates access to a dossier satisfying the requirements of Annex II to that Directive. However, this clarification does not impose any new obligations on Member States or holders of authorisations compared to the directives which have been adopted until now amending Annex I to that Directive or the Regulations approving active substances.

(8)

In accordance with Article 13(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, the Annex to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 of 25 May 2011 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the list of approved active substances (6) should be amended accordingly.

(9)

In the interest of clarity, Commission Directive 2011/22/EU of 3 March 2011 amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC to include bispyribac as active substance (7) should be repealed.

(10)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,