Regulation (EU) No. 1107/2009 determines under article 53 that a Member State can authorise a plant protection product on the market in special circumstances for limited and controlled use. This authorisation may be granted for a maximum period of 120 days for a pest, disease or weed which cannot be managed in any other reasonable means.

For such requests, it must be demonstrated that it is an exceptional emergency situation.

After acquiring the emergency authorisation, initiatives must be taken to find a permanent solution to the problem. For example, through research for possible (alternative) measures to protect the crop or through applying for a standard authorisation or an extension of an existing one. Our service can supply the necessary help with this.
In the case of repeated applications, the applicant is requested to show what has been done to find a permanent solution.

Theoretically, all applications are admissible. However, in practice a potential applicant must ensure that the concerned formulation can be evaluated according to the criteria specific to plant protection products.

This does not mean that a complete dossier is required, but rather that a minimum amount of information must be available for each part of the evaluation to be evaluated. In general, it is assumed that this minimum consists of the availability of a DAR for the active substance of the concerned formulation. The Service Plant Protection products and fertilizers is open for discussion and assistance in this regard.

Furthermore, if the use requested in the context of an emergency application requires a Ps phytolicense for an active substance for which this type of license does not yet exists, the application will be inadmissible. Indeed, the time required to organise the examination necessary to grant a new type of Ps would far exceed the duration of the emergency authorization itself (120 days).

The following procedure must be followed for the submission of such requests:

• The application must be ESFCS (E-Submission Food Chain) of the European Commission.
• The document 'template 120 days application' must be sent via email to Anneke De Cock (anneke.decock@health.fgov.be), Head of Unit supervision and valorisation of authorisations, and to Ilse Pittomvils and Jérémy Denis (see email addresses below).
  New template 2023 with confirmation of the availability of the product on the market and availability of information on the composition!

Contact: Jérémy Denis (jeremy.denis@health.fgov.be) and Ilse Pittomvils (ilse.pittomvils@health.fgov.be).

List of emergency authorisations in Belgium

You can find the list of authorisations in Belgium here in French or in Dutch.

Find out more information about the management of emergency situations.