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Commission refuses to approve extended use of nettle as basic substance in plant protection

🇪🇺 EUR-Lex · Fri 23 Oct 2026

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2340 declines to approve an extension of use for Urtica spp. under the EU plant protection products framework, Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009.

The European Commission has decided not to approve an extension of use of the basic substance Urtica spp., commonly known as nettle, under the EU rules on plant protection products. The decision is set out in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2340, dated 22 October 2026 and published on EUR-Lex on 23 October.

The regulation concerns non-approval under Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, the framework governing the placing of plant protection products on the EU market. As a result, the extended use covered by the application cannot be authorised in plant protection products across the Union.

The full text of the regulation was not available at the time of writing, so the specific use that was sought, the grounds for refusal and any related conditions have not been confirmed here. Readers should consult the published regulation on EUR-Lex for those details.

For context, basic substances are a category within the EU plant protection regime. They are approved for specific uses and are not themselves primarily marketed as plant protection products. The matter belongs to agrochemical regulation and has no direct bearing on human medicines pharmacovigilance.

What it means for your team

  • Regulatory teams in the agrochemical sector should review the full text of Regulation (EU) 2026/2340 to confirm the scope of the refused extension of use.
  • The extended use of Urtica spp. concerned cannot be authorised in plant protection products in the EU.
  • Human medicines pharmacovigilance and quality teams need take no action, as the decision falls under plant protection legislation.

Official source: EUR-Lex ↗

Article written by VigiEye from the official source (EUR-Lex). AI-assisted; check the source before acting.

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