argomento: News del mese - Diritto Internazionale e Comunitario

Articoli Correlati: General Court

In 2012, as a result of the loss of bee colonies because of the increasing misuse of pesticides, the Commission decided to review the EU approvals granted for the active substances clothianidin, thiamethoxam and imidacloprid and the active substance fipronil. In particular, it asked EFSA to conduct a new risk assessment of those substances as regards bee health and, in the light of the risks identified, on 24 May 2013 the Commission adopted Implementing Regulation No 485/20131 prohibiting, as from 26 May 2013, the use of clothianidin, thiamethoxam and imidacloprid for a lot of activities. The Bayer group, which produces imidacloprid and clothianidin, the Syngenta group, which markets thiamethoxam, and the BASF group, which markets fipronil, brought proceedings before the General Court for annulment of those prohibitions and restrictions. In the cases T-429/13, T-451/13, T-584/13, the Court dismissed the actions in their entirety. According to the Court, given the existence of new studies the results of which, as compared with the knowledge available at the time of the earlier assessment, raised concerns as to whether the conditions of approval were still satisfied, the Commission was fully entitled to find that it was appropriate to review the approval of the substances in question.