Harmonisation with new EU Regulation on Fertilising Products

As part of the activities in the area of Negotiating Chapter 1 (Free movement of goods), the PLAC III project has provided support to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management in harmonising national legislation with the new EU Fertilising Products Regulation.

The support is intended towards the achievement of Serbia’s progress in the negotiations with the EU in Chapter 1, where two benchmarks have been set for its opening. The harmonised European product legislation, which needs to be transposed or complied with by each Member State, represents the largest part of the acquis under this chapter. It is based on the “old approach” (imposing precise product specifications) and the “new and global approach” (imposing general product requirements). The “old approach” product legislation covers, among other products, fertilisers. With the adoption of the new Regulation 2019/1009 on fertilising products (laying down the rules for placing fertilising products on the market), the previous two regulations (No. 1069/2009 and No. 1107/2009) were amended and one (No. 2003/2003) was repealed.

The Law on Plant Nutrition and Soil Improvers is the legal basis for adopting technical regulations for fertilisers in Serbia. The legislative framework in the field of fertilisers is fully harmonised with Regulation 2003/2003 relating to fertilisers and with Regulation 1069/2009 establishing health rules regarding animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption.

In order to harmonise the Law with the new EU Regulation, the expert of the PLAC III project has worked together with the representatives of the Plant Protection Administration of the line ministry on the legal gap assessment of the legislation and recommendations for harmonisation.

At the workshop held on 12 October in Belgrade, expert Jože Ileršič introduced the provisions of the new Regulation on fertilising products to the participants. The adoption of the regulation in 2019 is part of the EU’s Circular Economy Action. The Regulation introduces the improvement of market surveillance and raising the quality of conformity assessment.

As Ileršič said, the harmonised rules apply to the marketing of fertilising products with the CE mark, the application of which started on July 16, 2022 and refers to the free movement of goods on the internal market of the Union. The Regulation introduces harmonised limits for toxic pollutants such as cadmium, mercury or arsenic and pathogenic organisms. A manufacturer can mark a fertilising product with the CE mark only if it complies with the new Regulation and has passed, among other things, the appropriate conformity assessment procedure.

The assessment of legal gaps showed that the existing legislation in Serbia is fully harmonised with Regulation 2003/2003 in the field of inorganic (mineral) fertilisers and inorganic soil conditioners, but not with the new Regulation. Due to the different concept and approach of the new Regulation (such as the concept of evaluating the conformity of fertilisers), the identified gaps in the existing legal framework indicate that a new draft law on fertilisers is needed for transposition, Ileršič stated. As part of the project support, a proposal of a new law was drafted, as well as a proposal of rulebooks that will elaborate the technical conditions specified in the annexes of the Regulation.

The draft new law envisages, among other things, that market surveillance and import control will continue to be carried out by the Phytosanitary Inspection. It was pointed out, however, that due to the completely new EU approach, the general legal framework in Serbia and the status of a candidate country, it is not possible to transpose all provisions of the Regulation 2019/1009 into the national legislation at the moment.

The workshop was attended by representatives of the Plant Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management.