EU Council Backs 15 Year First Approvals for Most Pesticide Active Substances

European Union governments have agreed a negotiating position that would substantially lengthen approval periods for most plant protection active substances while keeping tighter safeguards for higher-risk chemicals.

Under the Council mandate adopted on September 30, first approvals for most active substances would run for 15 years and subsequent approvals for 25 years, replacing shorter cycles that industry and national authorities have criticised as administratively burdensome.

The proposal forms part of the EU's Omnibus X simplification package covering food and feed safety, plant protection products, biocides, official controls and related legislation.

Low-risk active substances and the plant protection products containing them would receive unlimited approvals and authorisations, while biocontrol substances would be prioritised through a faster assessment route.

The Council also wants longer data protection periods for tests and studies submitted with pesticide applications, extending first-authorisation protection for standard products from 10 to 13 years and for low-risk products from 13 to 15 years.

Longer approval periods would be balanced by stronger monitoring. The mandate calls for periodic reviews of scientific literature and monitoring data by the European Food Safety Authority and more cautious treatment of substances classified as category 2 carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction.

The agreement is not yet final EU law. It establishes the Council's negotiating position ahead of talks with the European Parliament, where the final text could still change.

For crop protection companies and farmers, the proposal could reduce repeated reauthorisation costs and uncertainty while increasing the importance of post-approval monitoring and risk review over much longer commercial lifecycles.