The Netherlands has received nearly half of the total number of Union authorisation applications made so far under the Biocidal Products Regulation. The country’s Secretary of State for Infrastructure and Water Management, Steven van Weyenberg, called for a more even distribution of the workload across member states, as well as more guidance from the Commission to facilitate “a harmonised approach and efficiency in the assessment”.

Background

The basic principle of the BPR is that a biocidal product (BP) must be authorised before it can be made available on the market or used in the European Union (EU). This takes place in two consecutive steps. As the first step, the active substance is evaluated and, provided the criteria are fulfilled, is then approved in a specified product-type (PT). The second step is the authorisation of the BP consisting of, containing or generating the approved active substance(s).

The European Commission reported delays regarding the implementation of the BPR Review Programme during the Environment Council of the EU meeting on 6th October 2021. (Source: Chemical Watch)