Today, millions of farmers across Europe often face higher costs and reduced choice when purchasing essential crop protection solutions. This is predominantly due to regulatory barriers affecting post-patent plant protection products (PPPs), resulting from the fragmented implementation of the existing EU regulatory framework.
Without more consistent implementation, differences in national timelines and interpretations create avoidable administrative burdens for both regulators and applicants.
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Not only do these intra-EU market barriers create preventable regional inequalities among farmers operating within the same Single Market, but they also increase farmers’ production costs, thereby weakening European agricultural competitiveness and strategic autonomy.
In December 2025, the European Commission proposed the Food and Feed Safety Simplification Omnibus - commonly referred to as Omnibus X - which seeks to remove these barriers by introducing greater EU-wide synchronisation of data protection periods for post-patent PPPs. The principle behind the Commission’s proposal is a welcome step forward. However, without targeted amendments, the proposed system may fail to fully address existing legal uncertainty and could unintentionally undermine the very objective of harmonisation.
These concerns remained particularly relevant during the closing weeks of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU in June 2026, as Member States continued their work on the politically sensitive elements of the proposal.
Millions of farmers across Europe often face higher costs and reduced choice when purchasing essential crop protection solutions
The Irish Presidency therefore assumes responsibility for the dossier at a decisive point. Depending on the precise procedural stage reached in the Council, Ireland’s immediate task will be either to take an agreed Council position forward into the next phase or to help bridge any remaining differences. In either scenario, it has an important opportunity to guide the process towards a balanced outcome that genuinely supports European farmers.
Whatever the immediate procedural stage, four areas should remain central to the next phase of the legislative process to ensure that the new framework works as intended.
First, the proposal should include explicit safeguards to avoid situations where renewal data reused in subsequent authorisations could benefit from a data protection period significantly longer than originally envisaged by the legislator. Without such safeguards, protection periods could be extended in ways that create legal complexity and delay fair competition after exclusivity is meant to expire.
Farmers will gain fair and equal access to a competitive crop protection market.
Second, a clear and objective EU-level starting point for data protection periods should be established and linked to the date of adoption of the relevant EU implementing regulation approving or renewing the active substance. A harmonised reference point would reduce divergent national interpretations and provide predictability for both authorities and applicants, as well as equal access for farmers across the EU.
Third, greater clarity is needed on the role of provisional authorisations. A targeted amendment should confirm that provisional authorisations trigger the start of data protection periods, ensuring that the rules are applied consistently across Member States and avoiding uncertainty for companies relying on the system.
Finally, transparency must be supported by practical implementation tools. The development of a centralised EU database would improve consistency, reduce administrative burdens and help ensure that harmonisation functions effectively in practice rather than only on paper.
The Irish Presidency therefore assumes responsibility for the dossier at a decisive point
As the European Parliament develops its position and the file moves towards interinstitutional negotiations, the Irish Presidency has begun its term at a particularly important, yet politically complex stage. Whatever the precise status of the Council’s position, Ireland is well placed to ensure continuity, facilitate technical dialogue and build the basis for constructive negotiations with the Parliament and the Commission, with the aim of ensuring that the final legislation delivers its intended objectives.
These are not radical changes. Rather, they are targeted refinements that would help translate the European Commission’s simplification agenda into practical benefits for farmers and ensure that harmonisation works as intended.
Crucially, if the Omnibus succeeds in delivering a workable regulatory framework, the benefits will extend beyond post-patent crop protection. Farmers will gain fair and equal access to a competitive crop protection market, regulators will benefit from greater clarity and consistency, and Europe will take a practical step towards strengthening its competitiveness and strategic autonomy in agriculture amid continued global uncertainty.
These developments and their implications for European agriculture will be examined at the second Crop Protection Regulatory Conference, taking place in Brussels on 8-9 September, where policymakers, regulators and industry representatives will discuss the future of crop protection regulation in Europe.
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