Public consultation of 12 May to 5 June on guideline proposals for the issuing by ANSES of marketing authorisations for plant protection products, fertilisers and growing media, and additives
In the context of the French law on the future of agriculture, food and forestry of 13 October 2014, ANSES will soon be taking on new responsibilities which were formerly performed by the Ministry of Agriculture, namely the issuing of marketing authorisations (MAs) for plant protection products, fertilisers and growing media, and additives. In order to provide full transparency regarding the criteria leading to the authorisation or non-authorisation of the products in question, the Agency has drafted a proposal for guidelines applicable to the marketing authorisation decision-making process. The Agency is submitting this proposal for public consultation up through June 5, in order to receive comments from the public which will then be examined prior to validation and publication of the guidelines.
ANSES has been in charge of the assessment of plant protection products, fertilisers and growing media, and additives since 2006, in compliance with the criteria defined by the regulations. The Ministry of agriculture issues marketing authorisations based on this scientific assessment of the risks and of the effectiveness of these products.
In application of the French law on the future of agriculture, food and forestry of 13 October 2014, ANSES is now in charge of issuing marketing authorisations (MAs) for plant protection products, fertilisers and growing media, and additives, following their assessment. A decree promulgating the law will be adopted shortly in order to officially entrust ANSES with this new responsibility.
To carry out these new duties while at the same time fully ensuring the independence of its scientific expert assessments, ANSES will re-organise its working structure in order to guarantee a clear separation between its risk assessment activity and its new MA issuance management responsibilities.
In addition, and in order to enhance transparency, ANSES has decided to draft guidelines to specify the principles adopted by the Agency for issuing MA decisions. These guidelines aim to set down clear criteria enabling the Agency to exercise its discretionary power for issuing individual decisions, based on the scientific assessment of MA application dossiers and conducted in application of the regulations.
In this context, guideline proposals have been drafted by the Agency with the support of an expert group. These proposals are being submitted for public consultation, in compliance with articles L.120-1 and L.120-2 of the French Environmental Code, from 12 May through 5 June 2015. They will be validated following an analysis of the contributions received within the frame of the public consultation and will be published prior to the official transfer of MA issuance power to the Agency.