Evaluation of the emergency authorisations granted by Member State Slovakia for plant protection products containing thiamethoxam

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was requested by the European Commission to provide technical assistance in accordance with Article 53(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 to examine the emergency authorisations granted in 2020 by the competent national authority in Slovakia for plant protection products containing the neonicotinoid active substances (a.s.) clothianidin, imidacloprid or thiamethoxam for uses on sugar beet which were restricted when all outdoor uses were prohibited in May 2018. EFSA was asked to assess whether the granting of this emergency authorisation and its wide scope was necessary because of danger which cannot be contained by any other reasonable means. In this context, EFSA collected and evaluated the information in relation to the emergency authorisation for thiamethoxam in Slovakia in line with the EFSA insecticide protocol developed in the framework of a mandate concerning the application of Article 4(7) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. The current Technical Report summarises the outcome of the evaluation of three crop/pest combinations considered in Slovakia in 2020. The evaluation demonstrated that for every crop/pest combination no sufficient alternative active substance to thiamethoxam are currently authorised in Slovakia, in order to provide alternative mode of actions (MoA). The evaluation included an assessment of non‐insecticide alternatives for the presented uses. In all cases, crop rotation is considered as the only available non‐insecticide measure which is highly effective and feasible to control the pests and it is applied on more than 50% of the acreage of the crop in Slovakia.