National Law

EU law

EU Regulation on the placing of plant protection products on the market and repealing Directives 79/117/EEC and 91/414/EEC Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of 21 October 2009

EU Regulations implementing Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009

COMMISSION IMPLEMENTATION REGULATION (EU) 2018/783 of 29 May 2018 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 as regards the conditions for the approval of the active substance imidacloprid

COMMISSION IMPLEMENTATION REGULATION (EU) 2018/784 of 29 May 2018 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 as regards the conditions for the approval of the active substance clothianidin

COMMISSION IMPLEMENTATION REGULATION (EU) 2018/785 of 29 May 2018 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 as regards the conditions for the approval of the active substance thiamethoxam

COMMISSION IMPLEMENTATION REGULATION (EU) 2017/2324 of 12 December 2017 renewing the approval of the active substance glyphosate provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market and amending the Annex to Commission implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 concerning the active substance glyphosate

implementing regulation (EU) 2016/1313 of 1 August 2016 amending implementing regulation (EU) No 540/2011 as regards the conditions for the approval of the active substance glyphosate

implementing regulation (EU) 2016/1056 of 29 June 2016 amending implementing regulation (EU) No 540/2011 as regards the extension of the duration of the approval of the active substance glyphosate

COMMISSION IMPLEMENTATION REGULATION (EU) No 485/2013 of 24 May 2013 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 as regards the conditions for the approval of the active substances clothianidin, thiamethoxam and imidacloprid and the prohibition on the use and sale of seeds treated with plant protection products containing these active substances

implementing regulation (EU) No 540/2011 of the commission

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

implementing regulation (EU) No 541/2011 of the commission

of 1 June 2011 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the list of approved active substances

COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 544/2011

of 10 June 2011 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards data requirements for active substances

COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 284/2013 of 1 March 2013 laying down data requirements for plant protection products under Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market

COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 545/2011

of 10 June 2011 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards data requirements for plant protection products

COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 546/2011 of 10 June 2011

implementing Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards uniform principles for evaluation and authorisation of plant protection products

COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 547/2011 of 8 June 2011

implementing Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards labelling requirements for plant protection products

Other important EU Directives and Regulations

EU Regulation on statistics on pesticides

Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009 of 25 November 2009.

EU Regulation implementing the Regulation on statistics on pesticides

Regulation (EU) No. 408/2011 of 27 April 2011

EU Directive establishing a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides

Directive 2009/128/EC of 21 October 2009

Corrigendum to Directive 2009/128/EC

EU Regulation on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed:

Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of 23 February 2005.

European Commission MRL Database

Overview of MRLs in the EU

EU Directive on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous preparations

Directive 1999/45/EC of 31 May 1999

Publication of harmonised risk indicators in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/782

General Information:

Directive (EU) 2019/782 establishes harmonised risk indicators within the European Union, thus helping to further implement the objectives of Directive 2009/128/EC establishing a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides. The Member States are therefore required to publish the following information each year.

Overview:

In Austria, only plant protection products that have been approved by the Federal Office for Food Safety (BAES) following a comprehensive test procedure may be placed on the market. These are pesticides which are used both in the open air and in greenhouses, as well as in stock protection.

The basic prerequisite for the authorisation of a plant protection product is that the active substances, safeners and synergists contained have been approved in accordance with the uniform EU laws and can therefore be used in products. The active substances listed in the graphs below include both active substances for use in conventional farming and active substances permitted in organic farming. Details on the respective risk indicators can be found in Directive (EU) 2019/782.

 

Harmonised Risk Indicator 1 (HRI 1)

The HRI 1 is calculated on the basis of the annual sales volumes of active substances in plant protection products within Austria, which are multiplied by their respective weightings. For this purpose, the reference value of 100 is derived from the average for the years 2011 to 2013.

In recent years, the HRI 1 has risen in Austria. A key reason for this is the inclusion of inert gases – such as carbon dioxide – in the statistics. These have been included in the calculation of the HRI 1 in Austria since 2016. The high application rates resulting from the characteristics of use have led to a significant increase in the HRI 1 from 2016 onwards in the field of application of inert gases, primarily for storage treatment. 

In 2024, a total of 2,108 tonnes of inert gases were placed on the market in Austria, corresponding to approximately 40 per cent of the total quantity of active substances placed on the market (see Green Report). The decline of 14 index points from 2022 to 2023 is largely attributable to the reduced placing on the market of plant protection products containing the active substance sulphur (2022: 1,296 tonnes, 2023: 709 tonnes). The rise in the volume of sulphur placed on the market to 872 tonnes in 2024 ultimately led to a slight increase in HRI 1 of three index points.

One factor behind the rise in HRI 1 in Austria between 2015 and 2018 was – alongside the issue of inert gases – the increased use of plant protection products containing active substances that require a high application rate per hectare. For example, in the case of sulphur and copper, this amounts to several kilograms per hectare, whilst for potassium hydrogen carbonate and sulphur lime, it ranges from 30 kg to 55 kg of active ingredient per hectare. By comparison, the typical application rate of active ingredients in plant protection products per hectare is significantly lower. As a rule, the active ingredient application rate ranges from a few grams to a few kilograms.

Harmonised Risk Indicator 2 (HRI 2)

The Harmonised Risk Indicator 2 is based on the number of emergency authorisations granted. The weighting of active substances is carried out in the same way as for HRI 1. Similarly, the reference value of 100 is set as the average for the years 2011 to 2013.

Following a rise in emergency authorisations in 2020, HRI 2 for Austria has been on a downward trend again since 2020. This is attributable, amongst other things, to the impact of weather conditions on crops.

Emergency authorisations also played an important role in organic farming in Austria. In 2023, a total of 42 emergency authorisations were granted, of which 16 were suitable for use in organic farming (38 per cent).

Measures to reduce the use of pesticides and to promote integrated pest management:

By taking certain precautions in the equipment and operation of the device, the standard distance to surface waters can be reduced without the risk of unacceptable contamination for aquatic organisms. Similar to the use of drift-reducing plant protection equipment or equipment parts, the dust drift of pneumatic precision air seeders with a suction air system can be reduced by technical measures in order to prevent unacceptable impacts on the environment - especially on "non-target organisms" such as bees.

Here you can find the ordinance of the Federal Office for Food Safety "Drift-reducing plant protection equipment and measures", published in the Amtliche Nachrichten, with explanations of the risk-reducing application conditions and a list of drift-reducing plant protection equipment and plant protection equipment parts (Annex I) as well as dust drift-reducing pneumatic precision air seeders with a suction air system (Annex II).