What will happen to agrochem regulations after Brexit

A report published by the UK Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) examines what the regulatory framework for plant protection products (PPPs) in UK agriculture and the wider supply chain might look like post Brexit.

 

The current regulatory framework is determined by the EU Commission with subsequent approval for use in Member States being decided locally. The UK has a huge legislative task ahead, replacing existing EU laws with equivalent UK ones in many areas. The regulation of pesticides is unlikely to be top of the agenda when it comes to considering changing regulation at the point of transition and it is, therefore, likely that the existing EU rules will be ‘lifted and shifted’ in the medium term, as part of ‘The Great Repeal Bill’, pending more fundamental reform in the medium to long term. 

 

The idea is to ‘lift and shift’ as much as possible of the rules that have been passed by Brussels straight into UK law. There is a distinction between EU ‘directives’ and ’regulations’, which is important in this context. Regulations are directly applicable EU laws, which means that the EU law applies in the Member States without further national implementing measures, as soon as it enters into force. Directives will not usually apply directly and will require to be converted into UK law by Acts of Parliament and so most Directives will already be on our Statute book (although there is no straightforward ‘readacross’ from a particular Directive to a corresponding piece of UK legislation). If no specific provision is made for the EU laws that are directly applicable, they will no longer apply in the UK as soon as the European Communities Act 1972 is repealed and so Regulations will require to be ‘saved’ until Government has decided what should be done with these laws. The plan is for the Great Repeal Bill to make provision for this although much of what is to be decided may depend on the outcome of the withdrawal negotiations and the UK’s future relationship with the EU. The process of giving effect in UK law to EU regulations is likely to be complex, especially where those regulations confer responsibilities on particular EU bodies, which will no longer have jurisdiction once the UK exits. One of the critical tasks being undertaken by civil servants at the moment is to work through the ‘domestic consequences’ and identify where policy choices will have to be made during the legislative process.

 

To learn more from this report: What will happen to agrochem regulations after Brexit