1.The Authority shall circulate the draft assessment report received from the rapporteur Member State to the applicant and the other Member States at the latest 30 days after its receipt. It shall ask the applicant to circulate an update of the dossier where applicable to the Member States, the Commission and the Authority.
The Authority shall make the draft assessment report available to the public, after giving the applicant two weeks to request, pursuant to Article 63, that certain parts of the draft assessment report be kept confidential.
The Authority shall allow a period of 60 days for the submission of written comments.
2.The Authority, where appropriate shall organise a consultation of experts, including experts from the rapporteur Member State.
Within 120 days of the end of the period provided for the submission of written comments, the Authority shall adopt a conclusion in the light of current scientific and technical knowledge using guidance documents available at the time of application on whether the active substance can be expected to meet the approval criteria provided for in Article 4 and shall communicate it to the applicant, the Member States and the Commission and shall make it available to the public. In the event of a consultation as provided for in this paragraph, the 120-day period shall be extended by 30 days.
Where appropriate, the Authority shall address in its conclusion the risk mitigation options identified in the draft assessment report.
3.Where the Authority needs additional information, it shall set a period of a maximum of 90 days for the applicant to supply it to the Member States, the Commission and the Authority.
The rapporteur Member State shall assess the additional information and submit it to the Authority without delay and at the latest within 60 days after receipt of the additional information. In that case the 120-day period provided for in paragraph 2 shall be extended by a period which shall cease at the moment when the additional assessment is received by the Authority.
The Authority may ask the Commission to consult a Community reference laboratory, designated pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 for the purposes of verifying whether the analytical method for the determination of the residues proposed by the applicant is satisfactory and meets the requirements in Article 29(1)(g) of this Regulation. The applicant shall, if requested by the Community reference laboratory, provide samples and analytical standards.
4.The conclusion of the Authority shall include details concerning the evaluation procedure and the properties of the active substance concerned.
5.The Authority shall establish the format for its conclusion which shall include details concerning the evaluation procedure and the properties of the active substance concerned.
6.The time limits for the Authority’s opinion on applications concerning maximum residue levels set out in Article 11 and for decisions on applications concerning maximum residue levels set out in Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 shall be without prejudice to the time limits laid down in this Regulation.
7.Where the conclusion of the Authority is adopted within the time limit set out in paragraph 2 of this Article, extended by any additional period set in accordance with paragraph 3, the provisions of Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 shall not apply and the provisions of Article 14 of that Regulation shall apply without delay.
8.Where the conclusion of the Authority is not adopted within the time limit set out in paragraph 2 of this Article, extended by any additional period set in accordance with paragraph 3, the provisions of Articles 11 and 14 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 shall apply without delay.