Within the substantive review of the General Food Law carried out by the European Commission in order to increase transparency and independence in scientific assessments, the European Commission also modified the procedure for the renewal of the approval of active substances used in plant protection products. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 2020/1740 introduces new provisions that, on the one hand, aim to increase transparency on the renewal process and on the studies relied on by the rapporteur Member State ("RMS") and the European Food Safety Agency ("EFSA"). On the other hand, the provisions aim to address some of the procedural shortcomings of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 844/2012. This article seeks to (i) outline the procedure for the renewal of the approval of active substances under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 844/2012 and the changes introduced by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 2020/1740; and (ii) preliminarily assess whether the latter Implementing Regulation achieves the objectives of increasing transparency and independence in the scientific assessment of active substances while addressing the previous procedural shortcomings.