10 November 2026, Brussels: The European Commission has extended the approval periods for 26 pesticide active substance entries, ranging from the insecticide flonicamid to several phosphide-based fumigants and four Trichoderma biocontrol strains, to prevent gaps in their market availability while renewal assessments continue. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2348, adopted on October 23, 2026, amends the list of approved active substances maintained under Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011.
The substances covered had approvals due to lapse between November 15 and December 31, 2026, before the EU’s ongoing renewal review process for each of them is expected to conclude. Under Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, the Commission can grant extensions of this kind when a substance’s renewal dossier is still under assessment but the current approval period is about to run out, avoiding a situation in which farmers temporarily lose access to a product while regulators finish their work.
Which substances were extended and for how long
Most of the 26 entries fall under the standard renewal procedure set out in Implementing Regulation (EU) No 844/2012. A smaller group of seven, covering substances treated as low-risk or biological under EU rules, including emamectin, orange oil, quinmerac, sodium silver thiosulfate, tembotrione, zinc phosphide and acequinocyl, are being processed under the separate Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1740. The extensions vary widely in length depending on how far along each renewal file is, running from five months for buprofezin to as long as 42 months for iron sulphate.
The full list of substances and their newly extended approval expiry dates, as set out in the regulation, is as follows:
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| Active substance | New approval expiry date |
|---|---|
| Buprofezin | March 15, 2027 |
| Halosulfuron-methyl | August 15, 2027 |
| Amidosulfuron | August 31, 2027 |
| Fenoxaprop-P | August 31, 2027 |
| Trichoderma asperellum (ICC012, T25, TV1) | January 31, 2028 |
| Trichoderma atroviride (T-11) | January 31, 2028 |
| Trichoderma gamsii (ICC080) | January 31, 2028 |
| Trichoderma harzianum (T-22, ITEM 908) | January 31, 2028 |
| Calcium carbide | January 31, 2028 |
| Fatty acids C7 to C20 | January 31, 2028 |
| 2,5-dichlorobenzoic acid methylester | May 15, 2028 |
| Sulcotrione | August 15, 2028 |
| Acetic acid | November 15, 2028 |
| Aluminium phosphide | January 31, 2029 |
| Magnesium phosphide | January 31, 2029 |
| Acequinocyl | January 15, 2029 |
| Ethylene | May 31, 2029 |
| Quinmerac | May 31, 2029 |
| Tembotrione | May 31, 2029 |
| Emamectin | May 15, 2029 |
| Metamitron | July 31, 2029 |
| Orange oil | November 30, 2029 |
| Sodium silver thiosulfate | November 30, 2029 |
| Flonicamid | October 15, 2029 |
| Iron sulphate | May 31, 2030 |
| Zinc phosphide | May 31, 2030 |
Part of a recurring pattern through 2026
The 26-substance batch is the latest in a series of similar extension regulations the Commission has issued over the course of 2026, reflecting a renewal assessment backlog that has repeatedly forced regulators to push back expiry dates for active substances rather than complete full renewals on the original schedule. Earlier rounds during the year covered different, smaller groups of substances, underscoring how routine these extensions have become as a stopgap measure within the EU’s pesticide approval system.
The regulation does not change the underlying safety assessments for any of the 26 substances, nor does it grant a new approval. It simply keeps each substance legally available on the EU market under its existing terms and conditions while the European Food Safety Authority and Member State rapporteurs continue the renewal evaluations already under way.
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