THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ( 1 ),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament ( 2 ),

Whereas, for the reasons given below, the following Directives on the marketing of seed and propagating material should be amended:

Whereas, owing to their increased importance in the Community, rescue grass, Alaska brome-grass, California bluebell, triticale, Chinese cabbage and industrial chicory should be included in the scope of the Directives; whereas, for the same reason, hybrid varieties of certain additional cereal species and sunflower should also be included in the scope of the Directives; whereas the conditions to be satisfied by the crop and by the seed of those species and variety types should be in conformity with the schemes for seed moving in international trade laid down by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), except for cross-pollinating varieties of triticale and hybrid varieties of certain additional cereal species, where the OECD has not yet adopted such conditions;

Whereas it seems advisable, on the one hand, to revise certain provisions in order to facilitate the reproduction of seed in Member States other than that of origin and, on the other hand, to provide for Community measures to ensure the identity of that seed marketed as grown for processing;

Whereas it seems advisable that additional periods should be granted to Member States to allow seed of self-pollinating cereal species which has not been the subject of an official field inspection to be certified officially under certain conditions and to permit the marketing of specific varieties of rye not satisfying certain conditions laid down in Annex II to Directive 66/402/EEC, in order that the necessary experience for a more general and definitive solution may be acquired, in particular, with regard to rye, in the light of information to be supplied by the United Kingdom;

Whereas it seems advisable that, for the purpose of seeking improved alternative solutions to certain elements of the certification schemes adopted under the Directives, temporary experiments under specific conditions should be organized; whereas, therefore, a legal basis to that effect should be introduced;

Whereas the provisions on the information required for the official label in respect of species and variety names should be improved with the aim of providing better information for seed users and facilitating intra-Community trade;

Whereas it should be ensured that the suppliers' labels required under national provisions are drawn up in such a way that they cannot be confused with the official labels;

Whereas it is desirable to make it easier for Member States to exclude seed of cereal species or oil and fibre plant species of low economic importance from the scope of Directives 66/402/EEC and 69/208/EEC;

Whereas, in the case of Directive 70/458/EEC, certain provisions on varieties of vegetable species should be adapted in such a manner as to permit current developments to be taken into account in the process of renewal of the official acceptance of certain varieties;

Whereas, as a general rule, the conditions in respect of the value of a variety for cultivation or use should not be required for the acceptance of varieties (inbred lines, hybrids) which are intended solely as components for hybrid varieties;

Whereas it should be possible to require the suitability for specific purposes of varieties of grasses not intended for the production of fodder plants to be shown;

Whereas applications by the Hellenic Republic to be authorized to prohibit the marketing in all or part of its territory of seed or propagating material of certain varieties listed in the Common Catalogue of Varieties of Agricultural Plant Species or the Common Catalogue of Varieties of Vegetable Species should be taken into consideration in order to permit the Hellenic Republic to complete the adaptation of its seed and propagating material production and marketing to the Community requirements relating to the common catalogues;

Whereas it is useful to clarify certain provisions of the abovementioned Directives;

Whereas it is appropriate to postpone the date of implementation of the amendments already made to the abovementioned Directives by Council Directive 86/155/EEC and Commission Directive 86/320/EEC so as to bring the date into conformity with the main date of implementation of this Directive,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

1. in Article 2 (1) (A) (a),

is inserted after

and in Article 2 (1) (A) (c),

is inserted after

;

2. in Article 2 (1a) of the English version, ‘descriptions’ is replaced by ‘names’;

3. former Article 2 (1b) and (1c) become 2 (1c) and (1d) respectively;

4. the following paragraph is inserted in Article 2:

‘1b.  The different types of varieties, including the components, eligible for certification under this Directive may be specified and defined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21.’

;

5. former Article 11 becomes Article 11 (1);

6. the following paragraph is added in Article 11:

‘2.  The label referred to in paragraph 1 shall be drawn up in such a manner that it cannot be confused with the official label referred to in Article 10 (1).’

;

7. the following Article 13a is inserted:

‘Article 13a

For the purpose of seeking improved alternatives to certain elements of the certification scheme adopted under this Directive, it may be decided to organize temporary experiments under specified conditions at Community level in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21.

In the framework of such experiments, Member States may be released from certain obligations laid down in this Directive. The extent of that release shall be defined with reference to the provisions to which it applies. The duration of an experiment shall not exceed seven years.’

;

8. the fifth and sixth indents of Article 14 (3) (c) are replaced by the following:

;

9. the following sentence is added to Article 14 (3):

‘In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21, Member States may be released from the requirement to indicate the botanical name in respect of individual species and, where appropriate, for limited periods where it has been established that the disadvantages of its implementation outweigh the advantages expected for the marketing of seed.’

;

10. Article 15 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 15

1.  The Member States shall provide that fodder plant seed

1.  shall, on request and without prejudice to the provisions of Directive 70/457/EEC, be officially certified as certified seed in any Member State if that seed has undergone field inspection satisfying the conditions laid down in Annex I for the relevant category and if official examination has shown that the conditions laid down in Annex II for the same category are satisfied.

Where in such cases the seed has been produced directly from officially certified seed of generations prior to basic seed, Member States may also authorize official certification as basic seed, if the conditions laid down for that category are satisfied.

2.  Fodder plant seed which has been harvested in another Member State, and which is intended for certification in accordance with the provisions laid down in paragraph 1, shall:

3.  The Member States shall also provide that fodder plant seed

3.  shall, on request, be officially certified as certified seed in any of those Member States where the basic seed or certified seed referred to above was either produced or officially certified, if the seed has undergone field inspection satisfying the conditions laid down in an equivalence decision made under Article 16 (1) (a) for the relevant category, and if official examination has shown that the conditions laid down in Annex II for the same category are satisfied. Other Member States may also authorize official certification of such seed.’

;

11. in Annex I (2) in the first column of the table, ‘Phacelia tanacetifolia’ is inserted each time after ‘Brassica spp.’;

12. in the second sentence of the French version of Annex I (3) ‘la variété’ is replaced by ‘l'espèce’;

13. in the heading of column 4 of the French version of Annex II (I) (2) (A), ‘animale’ is replaced by ‘minimale’;

14. in Annex II (I) (2) (A) the following are inserted after ‘Arrhenatherum elatius’ and ‘Brassica oleracea convar. acephala’, respectively:

15. in Annex II (II) (2) (A) the following are inserted after ‘Arrhenatherum elatius’ and ‘Brassica oleracea convar. acephala’, respectively:

16. in Annex III the following are inserted after ‘Arrhenatherum elatius’ and ‘Brassica oleracea convar. acephala’, respectively:

17. the following is added to Annex IV (A) (I) (a) (4):

‘indicated at least under its botanical name, which may be given in abridged form and without the authorities' names, in roman characters,’

;

18. the following sentence shall be added to Annex IV (A) (I) (a):

‘In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21, Member States may be released from the requirement to indicate the botanical name in respect of individual species and, where appropriate, for limited periods where it has been established that the disadvantages of its implementation outweigh the advantages expected for the marketing of seed.’

;

19. the following is added to Annex IV (A) (I) (a) (5):

‘indicated at least in roman characters,’

;

20. the following is added to Annex IV (A) (I) (b) (5):

‘indicated at least under its botanical name, which may be given in abridged form and without the authorities' names, in roman characters’

;

21. the following is added to Annex IV (A) (I) (b):

‘In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21, Member States may be released from the requirement to indicate the botanical name in respect of individual species and, where appropriate, for limited periods where it has been established that the disadvantages of its implementation outweigh the advantages expected for the marketing of seed.’

;

22. the following is added to Annex IV (A) (I) (c) (4) after ‘shown by species and, where appropriate, by variety’: ‘both indicated at least in roman characters;’

23. in the last sentence of the Italian version of Annex IV (A) (I) (c) (4), ‘al fornitore’ is replaced by ‘all'acquirente’;

24. the following is added to Annex IV (B) (a) (6):

‘indicated at least in roman characters,’

;

25. the following is added to Annex IV (B) (a) (7):

‘indicated at least in roman characters,’

;

26. the following is added to Annex IV (B) (b) (6):

‘indicated at least in roman characters,’

;

27. the following is added to Annex IV (B) (c) (11) after ‘shown by species and, where appropriate, by variety’: ‘both indicated at least in roman characters;’

28. the following Annex is added:

‘ANNEX V

Label and document provided in the case of seed not finally certified, harvested in another Member State

A.   Information required for the label

In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21, Member States may be released from the requirement to indicate the botanical name in respect of individual species and, where appropriate, for limited periods where it has been established that the disadvantages of its implementation outweigh the advantages expected for the marketing of seed.

B.   Colour of the label

The label shall be grey.

C.   Information required for the document

1. in Article 2 (1) (A),

are inserted after

;

2. in Article 2 (1) (A) of the German version, in the line ‘Phalaris canariensis L’, ‘Kanariensaat’ is replaced by ‘Kanariengras’:

3. in Article 2 (1) (C) the introductory words are replaced by:

;

4. the following is added in Article 2 (1):

;

5. in Article 2 (1) (E) the introductory words are replaced by the following:

6. in Article 2 (1) (F), the introductory words are replaced by the following:

;

7. in Article 2 (1) (G), the introductory words are replaced by the following:

;

8. in Article 2 (1a) of the English version, ‘descriptions’ is replaced by ‘name’;

9. former Article 2 (1b) and (1c) become Article 2 (1d) and (1e) respectively;

10. the following paragraphs are inserted in Article 2:

‘1b.  Amendments to be made to paragraph 1 (C) (Ca), (E), (F) and (G) for the purpose of including hybrids of canary grass, rye and triticale in the scope of this Directive shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21.

1c.  The different types of varieties, including the components, eligible for certification under the provisions of this Directive, may be specified and defined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21. In accordance with the same procedure the definitions in paragraph 1 (B) shall be adapted accordingly.’

;

11. in Article 2 (1) (c), ‘30 June 1982’ is replaced by ‘30 June 1987’ and the second indent is deleted;

12. in Article 2 (2) (d), ‘31 December 1982’ is replaced by ‘30 June 1989’;

13. the following paragraph is added to Article 4:

‘3.  In the case of triticale seed intend for marketing in their own territory, Member States may reduce to 80 % the minimum germination required under Annex II. If, in such cases, triticale seed does not satisfy the conditions laid down in Annex II in respect of germination, this fact, and the fact that the seed is for marketing only in the territory of the Member State concerned, shall be stated on the label.’

;

14. former Article 11 becomes Article 11 (1);

15. the following paragraph is added to Article 11:

‘2.  The label referred to in paragraph 1 shall be drawn up in such a manner that it cannot be confused with the official label referred to in Article 10 (1).’

;

16. the following Article 13a is inserted:

‘Article 13a

For the purpose of seeking improved alternatives to certain elements of the certification scheme adopted under this Directive, it may be decided to organize temporary experiments under specified conditions at Community level in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21.

In the framework of such experiments, Member States may be released from certain obligations laid down in this Directive. The extent of that release shall be defined with reference to the provisions to which it applies. The duration of an experiment shall not exceed seven years.’

;

17. in Article 14 (2) (a), ‘, triticale’ is added after ‘rice’;

18. the fifth and sixth indents of Article 14 (3) (c) are replaced by the following:

;

19. the following is added to Article 14 (3):

‘In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21, Member States may be released from the requirement to indicate the botanical name in respect of individual species and, where appropriate, for limited periods where it has been established that the disadvantages of its implementation outweigh the advantages expected for the marketing of seed.’

;

20. Article 15 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 15

1.  The Member States shall provide that cereal seed

1.  shall, on request and without prejudice to the provisions of Directive 70/457/EEC, be officially certified as certified seed in any Member State if that seed has undergone field inspection satisfying the conditions laid down in Annex I for the relevant category and if official examination has shown that the conditions laid down in Annex II for the same category are satisfied.

Where in such cases the seed has been produced directly from officially certified seed of generations prior to basic seed, Member States may also authorize official certification as basic seed, if the conditions laid down for that category are satisfied.

2.  Cereal seed which has been harvested in another Member State, and which is intended for certification in accordance with the provisions laid down in paragraph 1, shall

3.  The Member States shall also provide that cereal seed

3.  shall, on request, be officially certified as certified seed in any of those Member States where the basic seed was either produced or officially certified, if the seed has undergone field inspection satisfying the conditions laid down in an equivalence decision made under Article 16 (1) (a) for the relevant category, and if official examination has shown that the conditions laid down in Annex II for the same category are satisfied. Other Member States may also authorize official certification of such seed.’

;

21. The following Article 21b is inserted:

‘Article 21b

Amendments to be made to the content of the Annexes in order to establish the conditions to be satisfied by the crop and the seed of hybrids of oats, barley, rice, wheat, durum wheat, spelt wheat and other species for which hybrids are included in the scope of this Directive pursuant to Article 2 (1b) and the conditions to be satisfied by the crop and the seed of cross-pollinating varieties of triticale shall be adopted according to the procedure laid down in Article 21.’

;

22. in Article 22, ‘Annex II (2)’ is replaced by ‘Annex II (3)’;

23. Article 23a is replaced by the following Article:

‘Article 23a

Upon application by a Member State, which will be dealt with as provided in Article 21, that State may be wholly or partially released from the obligation to apply the provisions of this Directive, with the exception of Article 14 (1):

;

24. in the table in Annex I (2) the following is inserted before

‘Zea mays’

:

;

25. in Annex I (5) (B) (a), ‘Triticosecale’ is inserted after ‘Phalaris canariensis’;

26. in the French version of Annex I (5) (B) (b), ‘3’ is replaced by ‘1’ and ‘1’ by ‘3’;

27. in Annex II (1) (A) ‘other than hybrids in each case’ is inserted after ‘Triticum spelta,’;

28. the following is inserted after Annex II (1) (A):

;

29. in Annex II (2) (A), the following is inserted after

‘Sorghum spp.’

:

30. In Annex III, ‘,Triticosecale’ is inserted after ‘Secale cereale’,

31. the following is added to Annex IV (A) (a) (4):

‘indicated at least under its botanical name, which may be given in abridged form and without the authorities' names, in roman characters’

;

32. the following sentence is added to Annex IV (A) (a):

‘In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21, Member States may be released from the requirement to indicate the botanical name in respect of individual species and, where appropriate, for limited periods where it has been established that the disadvantages of its implementation outweigh the advantages expected for the marketing of seed.’

;

33. Annex IV (A) (a) (5) is replaced by the following:

‘Variety, indicated at least in roman characters’

;

34. Annex IV (A) (a) (9) is replaced by the following:

;

35. in Annex IV (A) (b) (1), ‘or varieties’ is inserted after ‘species’;

36. the following is added to Annex IV (A) (b) (4):

‘; the names of the species and of the varieties shall be indicted at least in roman characters.’

;

37. the following Annex is added:

‘ANNEX V

Label and document provided in the case of seed not finally certified, harvested in another Member State

A.   Information required for the label

In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21, Member States may be released from the requirement to indicate the botanical name in respect of individual species and, where appropriate, for limited periods where it has been established that the disadvantages of its implementation outweigh the advantages expected for the marketing of seed.

B.   Colour of the label

The label shall be grey.

C.   Information required for the document

— with Article 3 (11) and Article 7 (9), with effect from 1 July 1982,

— with Article 3 (12), with effect from 1 January 1983,

— with Article 6 (5) and (6) and Article 7 (6) and (10), with effect from 1 January 1986,

— with Article 2 (8), (17), (20) and (28), Article 3 (18), (31) and (37) and Article 5 (10), (19), (23) and (25) in so far as those provisions require the botanical name of a species to be indicated on the label of seed, and also with Articles 1 (8), 2 (10), 3 (20), 5 (12) and 7 (18), not later than 1 July 1992,

— with the other provisions of this Directive, not later than 1 July 1990.