Laws govern the approval, distribution and application of plant protection products and their residues and disposal. In this respect, EU-regulations and EU-directives have a significant influence. EU-regulations are directly applicable in Germany, while EU-directives require the transformation into national regulations.

These include:

Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market and repealing Council Directives

Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October establishing a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides (Text with EEA relecance)

Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 Concerning Statistics on Pesticides

Directive 2008/98/EC  of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives (Text with EEA relevance)

Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 Establishing a Framework for Community Action in the Field of Water Policy

Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 February 2005 on Maximum Residue Levels of Pesticides in or on Food and Feed of Plant and Animal Origin and Amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC (Text with EEA relevance)

The European Commission departments dealing with plant protection issues are

• Directorate-General Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE),
• Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV) and
• Directorate-General Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI).