The definition of Plant biostimulant is included.

We would like to inform you that last Tuesday Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 was published, laying down rules on the making available on the market of EU fertilising products and modifying Regulations (EC) No. 1069/2009 and (EC) No. 1107/2009 and repealing Regulation (EC) No. 2003/2003.

This Regulation will come into force on 16 July 2019 and will be applied starting on 16 July 2022. Nonetheless, starting on 15 July 2019, the following articles will apply:

a). Article 4, section 3, which establishes that by 16 July 2020, the Commission shall publish a guidance document for manufacturers and market surveillance authorities with clear information and examples concerning the visual appearance of the label referred to in Annex III.

b). Article 14 about the implementing acts that the Commission may adopt on “Common Specifications of EU fertilising products”.

c). Article 42 that empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts to amend Annex I, with the exception of cadmium limit values and the definitions, or other elements relating to the scope of application, product function categories, and for amending Annexes II, III and IV, for the purpose of adapting those Annexes to technical progress and facilitating internal market access and free movement for EU fertilising products.

d). Article 43 that empowers the Commission to adopt separate delegated acts in respect of each component material category in Annex II. Those delegated acts shall include any amendments to Annexes I, III and IV which are necessary as a consequence of amendments to Annex II.

e). Article 44 that confers the Commission with the power to adopt delegated acts subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

f). Article 45 establishes the Procedure of the Committee on Fertilising Products.

g). Article 46 regarding the sanitary regulations applicable to animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption and which revokes Regulation (EC) No. 1774/2002 (Regulation on animal by-products).

h). Article 47 regarding the Amendments to Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market.

In this article, one of the amendments affects Article 3 of the Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009, where, from this moment on, the definition of “plant biostimulant” is included as “a product stimulating plant nutrition processes independently of the product’s nutrient content, with the sole aim of improving one or more of the following characteristics of the plant or the plant rhizosphere: nutrient use efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress, quality traits, and availability of confined nutrients in soil or rhizosphere”.

Furthermore, starting on16 April 2020 CHAPTER IV on “Notification of conformity Assessment Bodies” will be applied (which includes articles 20-36).

Lastly, and with regard to biostimulants, in ANNEX I of the New Regulation these are included as the sixth of the seven Product Function Categories (PFCs) defined for EU fertilising products (PFC 6: PLANT BIOSTIMULANT).

You can download the new EU Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 on EU fertilizer products from here