Evaluation of the emergency authorisations granted by Member State Estonia for plant protection products containing clothianidin or thiamethoxam

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was requested by the European Commission to provide technical assistance in accordance with Article 53(2) of Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009 to examine the emergency authorisations granted in 2017 by the competent national authority in Estonia for plant protection products containing the neonicotinoid active substances (a.s.) clothianidin or thiamethoxam for uses on spring oilseed rape and spring turnip rape that were restricted in accordance with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 485/2013. In particular, EFSA was asked to assess whether the granting of these emergency authorisations and their wide scope were necessary because of a danger which cannot be contained by any other reasonable means. In this context, EFSA collected and evaluated the information in relation to the emergency authorisations for clothianidin and thiamethoxam in Estonia in line with the EFSA insecticide protocol developed in the framework of a mandate concerning the application of Article 4(7) of Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009. The current Technical Report summarises the outcome of the evaluation of ten crop/pest combinations considered in Estonia in 2017.

The evaluation demonstrated that for six crop/pest combinations no sufficient alternative a.s. to clothianidin and thiamethoxam is currently authorised in Estonia, to provide an alternative mode of action (MoA). Whereas, for four combinations, there was an alternative a.s. authorised with the same MoA as the a.s. under consideration. The evaluation included an assessment of non-insecticide alternatives for the presented uses. A wide range of non-insecticidal methods, mostly cultural control methods, is available, but often these methods do not have the same efficacy as chemical ones, or present some technical or cultural limitations.