Plant Protection Act Amended Conclusively

Valentin Evstatiev

BTA photo

Sofia,

23.11.2023 15:15

(BTA)

Amendments to the Plant Protection Act, transposing EU law on fertilizers and plant protection products, were approved on second reading Thursday.

MP Daniel Petrov (Vazrazhdane) made the only statement during the debating time in the National Assembly. He said his parliamentary group would support the bill unconditionally as it had not received a single negative opinion since it was first presented.

Petrov noted that the amendments introduce a requirement for plant growers and traders to obtain certificates showing that they use only products of the highest quality. Businesses are obviously willing to pay a five-digit sum for such a certificate and a similarly large annual fee, he commented.

The amendments introduce measures for the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 laying down rules on the making available on the market of EU fertilizing products. They define the obligations of economic operators related to the presentation of documents and information to plant protection inspectors. The revisions also set penalties for violations of the EU regulation.

Additional provisions offer definitions of such terms as "accredited laboratory", "fertilizers", "inorganic fertilizers" and "biologically active compounds". The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency is designated as a supervisory authority for the fertilizing products market.

/VE/