Brexit has consequences for applications and authorisations
What are the options until 30 March 2019?
On 30 March 2019 at midnight, the United Kingdom (UK) will leave the European Union, at which time Brexit will be a fact. What does this mean for applications and authorisations for plant protection products and biocidal products? Various plant protection products and biocidal products derive their authorisations from assessments preformed by another EU member state. What are the consequences if this assessment is (or was) performed by the UK’s Competent Authority (CA)?
In general, the following applies: decisions on substances or products from the UK taken on or after 30 March 2019 will no longer be recognised by the EU member states. After that date, applications for products can no longer be submitted on the basis of a new substance authorisation in the UK. The deadline is strict: a product or substance application that is still pending in the UK on 30 March will lack authorisation for the EU market.
Furthermore, the EU has decided that authorisations based on previously completed substance assessments from the UK, often called 'mutual recognitions', will no longer be possible as of 30 March 2019. This is because UK will then belong to the large group of ‘third-party countries' whose decisions have no consequences for the EU market.
A final consideration concerns the Biocidal Products Regulation, which stipulates that for products, the corresponding applicant must be based in an EU member state, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Iceland. Applications for biocidal products submitted by a company based exclusively in the UK will therefore no longer be possible. This also applies to national applications in the Netherlands under transitional law. However, this does not apply to substance applications.
The consequences of the Brexit are far-reaching. The Ctgb has specified these consequences for plant protection products and for biocidal products. Of course, it is also possible that an applicant has submitted an application in the UK that is dependent on an authorisation in the Netherlands or elsewhere in the EU. For these situations refer to the UK goverment site on 'Regulating pesticides if there's no Brexit deal'.