92001E3324

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3324/01

by Patricia McKenna (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(30 November 2001)

Subject: Forest reproductive material registration and protection

Will the Commission take steps to protect the Community seed stands registered under Directives 66/404/EEC(1), 71/161/EEC(2) or 1999/105/EC(3) on the Marketing of Forest Reproductive Materials which currently may be felled without any suitable assessment?

In Ireland, the State Forestry Board Coillte Teo has felled over 1 474 hectares of registered seed stands without any form of licensing which would require individual assessment, although the entire register covers only 3 715 hectares and only 20 % of Ireland's seed is from native sources. Further, by delegating the task of drawing up the national register of basic forest reproductive material required under the Directive to Coillte Teo, the country's largest harvester of timber, Ireland's practice is not in accordance with the Directives which specifically exclude any legal person or its members from maintaining the seed stand registers if they could derive financial gain from the measures it takes under the Directives.

Would the Commission, therefore, take steps to ensure that the native seed stands in every Member State that receives EU funding for afforestation, including Ireland, are registered under the Directive only by independent qualified parties and that, once registered, any felling is prohibited without suitable assessment and the attachment of necessary conditions to respect the purpose of the Directive?

(1) OJ B 125, 11.7.1966, p. 2326.

(2) OJ L 87, 17.4.1971, p. 14.

(3) OJ L 11, 15.1.2000, p. 17.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(18 January 2002)

The Commission has asked the Member State concerned for information regarding the facts raised to by the Honourable Member. It will inform her of its findings.