# Commission Implementing Directive 2014/97/EUShow full title

Commission Implementing Directive 2014/97/EU of 15 October 2014 implementing Council Directive 2008/90/EC as regards the registration            of suppliers and of varieties and the common list of varieties         

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U.K.

# Commission Implementing Directive 2014/97/EU                     

# of 15 October 2014

# implementing Council Directive 2008/90/EC as regards the registration of suppliers and of varieties and the common list of                        varieties                     

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Directive 2008/90/EC of 29 September 2008 on the marketing of fruit plant propagating material and                           fruit plants intended for fruit production(1), and in particular Article 5(3) and Article 7(5) and (6) thereof,                        

Whereas:

(1)It is necessary to set out provisions concerning the register of suppliers provided for in Directive 2008/90/EC and the notification                              obligations of suppliers.

(2)For the purpose of transparency, Member States should make available that register, where appropriate. The decision whether                              that register, or parts of it are to be published is left to the Member States.

(3)A variety register should be provided for. That register should include varieties registered under Council Directive 92/34/EEC(2) in addition to those registered under Directive 2008/90/EC. That register should indicate whether varieties have an official                              description or an officially recognised description.

(4)Genetically modified varieties should be registered only if the genetically modified organism of which the variety consists                              is authorised for cultivation pursuant to Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(3) or Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council(4).

(5)The conditions under which varieties are to be registered as varieties with an official description and the procedure for                              their registration should be provided for. Member States may, as provided for in Directive 2008/90/EC, lay down conditions                              concerning the registration of a variety with an officially recognised description.

(6)In order to register a variety as a variety with an official description, the responsible official body should establish such                              a description.

(7)The period of validity of registration, the renewal of registration and the removal of a variety from the variety register                              should be provided for.

(8)Member States should notify to each other and to the Commission certain information concerning registered varieties and applications                              for registration of varieties. Based on that information the Commission should publish a common list of varieties to create                              a transparent and easily consultable database to increase the confidence on the market.

(9)It is appropriate to repeal Commission Directive 93/79/EEC(5).

(10)The measures provided for in this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Propagating Material                              and Plants of Fruit Genera and Species,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

## Article 1U.K.Register of suppliers

1.Member States shall keep and update a register of suppliers, as provided for in Article 5(1) of Directive 2008/90/EC. That                        register shall be referred to hereinafter as ‘the register of suppliers’.                  

In addition to suppliers registered in accordance with this Directive, that register shall include suppliers accredited in                     accordance with national provisions transposing Article 6(1) of Directive 92/34/EEC.                  

Where appropriate, Member States shall make available the register of suppliers.

2.The register of suppliers shall include the following information:                  

(a)name, address and contact details of the supplier;                  

(b)activities within the meaning of Article 2(9) of Directive 2008/90/EC that are exercised by the supplier in the Member State                        concerned, the address of the premises involved and the main genera or species concerned; and                  

(c)registration number or code.                  

3.Member States shall ensure that the responsible official body removes a natural or legal person from the register of suppliers,                        if it is established that that person no longer exercises any activity within the meaning of Article 2(9) of Directive 2008/90/EC.                  

## Article 2U.K.Notification obligation of suppliers

1.Member States shall ensure that suppliers notify the information referred to in Article 1(2)(a) and (b).                  

No notification shall, however, be required from suppliers accredited in accordance with Article 6(1) of Directive 92/34/EEC.

2.Member States shall ensure that suppliers notify any change in their situation concerning the information referred to in Article                        1(2)(a) and (b).                  

3.Member States shall ensure that suppliers are informed of their registration and of any modifications thereto within a time                        period to be laid down by national legislation.                  

## Article 3U.K.Variety register

1.Member States shall keep, update and publish a register of varieties (hereinafter ‘variety register’).                  

In addition to varieties registered in accordance with this Directive, the variety register shall include varieties registered                     before 30 September 2012 in accordance with Article 9(3) of Directive 92/34/EEC and varieties registered in accordance with                     the second sentence of the first subparagraph of Article 7(4) of Directive 2008/90/EC.                  

2.The variety register shall include the following information:                  

(a)denomination of the variety and synonyms;                  

(b)species the variety belongs to;                  

(c)the indication ‘official description’ or ‘officially recognised description’, as appropriate;                  

(d)date of registration, or, where applicable, of renewal of registration;                  

(e)end of validity of registration.                  

3.Member States shall keep a file for each variety they register. That file shall contain a description of the variety and a                        summary of all the facts relevant to the registration of the variety.                  

## Article 4U.K.Conditions for registration of varieties

1.Member States shall ensure that a variety is registered as a variety with an official description if it fulfils the following                        requirements:                  

(a)it is distinct, uniform and stable within the meaning of paragraph 2;                  

(b)a sample of the variety is available; and                  

(c)as regards genetically modified varieties, the genetically modified organism of which the variety consists is authorised for                        cultivation pursuant to Directive 2001/18/EC or Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003.                  

2.A variety shall be considered as:                  

(a)‘distinct’ where it is clearly distinguishable, by reference to the expression of the characteristics that result from a particular                        genotype or combination of genotypes, from any other variety commonly known at the date of the application referred to in                        Article 5;                  

(b)‘uniform’ where, subject to the variation that may be expected from the particular features of its propagation, it is sufficiently                        uniform in the expression of those characteristics which are included in the examination for distinctness, as well as any                        other characteristics used for the variety description;                  

(c)‘stable’ where the expression of the characteristics which are included in the examination for distinctness, as well as any                        other characteristics used for the variety description, remain unchanged after repeated propagation or, in the case of micropropagation                        at the end of each cycle.                  

## Article 5U.K.Application for registration of a variety

1.For registration of a variety as a variety with an official description, Member States shall require that a written application                        be submitted to the responsible official body of the Member State concerned.                  

2.The application shall be accompanied by the following:                  

(a)the information required by the technical questionnaires set out at the time of application:                  

in Annex II to the ‘Protocols for distinctness, uniformity and stability tests’ of the Administrative Council of the Community                              Plant Variety Office (CPVO) for the relevant species for which such a protocol has been published; or, where no such protocols                              have been published;                           

in Section X of the ‘Test guidelines for the conduct of tests for distinctness, uniformity and stability’ of the International                              Union for the Protection of new Varieties of Plants (UPOV) and the Annex to the Test guideline concerned for the relevant                              species for which such guidelines have been published; or where no such guidelines have been published;                           

in national provisions;

(b)information on whether the variety is officially registered in another Member State, or is the subject of an application for                        such a registration in another Member State;                  

(c)a proposed denomination;                  

(d)in the case of a genetically modified variety, evidence that the genetically modified organism of which the variety consists                        is authorised for cultivation pursuant to Directive 2001/18/EC or Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003.                  

3.The applicant may submit any of the following with its application:                  

(a)an official description established, in accordance with Article 6(5), by a responsible official body of another Member State;                  

(b)any other relevant information.                  

## Article 6U.K.Examination of applications

1.Member States shall ensure that, where a responsible official body receives an application for registration of a variety as                        a variety with an official description, an examination of that variety is performed in accordance with paragraphs 2, 3 and                        4.                  

2.Growing trials shall be carried out to establish an official description of the variety.                  

Where the applicant submits information in accordance with Article 5(3)(a) and the responsible official body considers that                     this information shows that the conditions for registration provided for in Article 4 are fulfilled, no growing trials shall,                     however, be carried out.                  

Where growing trials are to be carried out, the responsible official body shall request a sample of the material of the variety.

3.The growing trials referred to in paragraph 2 shall be performed by:                  

(a)the responsible official body receiving the application; or                  

(b)the responsible official body of another Member State having agreed to perform those trials; or                  

(c)any legal person, in accordance with Article 13(2) of Directive 2008/90/EC.                  

Where point (c) applies and trials are carried out on the premises of private enterprises, the responsible official body shall                     ensure that no measures are applied that might interfere with the official examination.                  

4.The growing trials shall be performed in accordance with the following provisions as regards trial design, growing conditions                        and characteristics of the variety to be covered as a minimum:                  

(a)the ‘Protocols for distinctness, uniformity and stability tests’ of the Administrative Council of the Community Plant Variety                        Office (CPVO) applicable at the beginning of the technical examination; or, where no protocols have been published for the                        relevant species;                  

(b)the ‘Test guidelines for the conduct of tests for distinctness, uniformity and stability’ of the International Union for the                        Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) applicable at the beginning of the technical examination; or, where no guidelines                        have been published for the relevant species;                  

(c)national provisions.                  

5.If based on the examination referred to in paragraph 1, the responsible official body concludes that the variety concerned                        fulfils the conditions of Article 5 it shall establish an official description and include that variety in the variety register.                  

## Article 7U.K.Period of validity of variety registration

The maximum period of validity of the registration of a variety shall be 30 years.

In the case of genetically modified varieties, the validity of the registration shall be limited to the period for which the                     genetically modified organism of which the variety consists is authorised for cultivation pursuant to Directive 2001/18/EC                     or Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003.                  

## Article 8U.K.Renewal of variety registration

1.Member States shall ensure that the registration of a variety may be renewed for further maximum periods of 30 years, provided                        that material of that variety is still available.                  

In the case of a genetically modified variety, renewal shall, in addition, be subject to the condition that the respective                     genetically modified organism continues to be authorised for cultivation pursuant to Directive 2001/18/EC or Regulation (EC)                     No 1829/2003. The renewal period shall be limited to the period of authorisation of the genetically modified organism concerned.                  

2.For renewal of the registration, Member States shall require that a written application be submitted to the responsible official                        body of the Member State concerned. The application shall be accompanied by evidence showing that the conditions set out in                        paragraph 1 are fulfilled.                  

A Member State may, however, renew the registration of a variety for which no written application has been submitted, where                     it considers that renewal serves to preserve genetic diversity and sustainable production or serves another general interest.                  

## Article 9U.K.Removal of a variety from the variety register

Member States shall ensure that a variety is removed from the variety register if:

the conditions for registration, as set out in Article 4, are no longer fulfilled;

at the time of the application for registration or during examination, false or fraudulent particulars had been supplied concerning                              the facts on the basis of which the variety was registered.                           

## Article 10U.K.Notifications

1.Each Member State shall notify to the responsible official bodies of the other Member States and the Commission the information                        required to access the variety register of the Member State concerned.                  

Each Member State shall notify the Commission as soon as possible of the inclusion of a variety in its variety register, and                     any other amendment to its variety register.                  

2.Each Member State shall, on request, make available to another Member State or the Commission:                  

(a)the official or officially recognised description of varieties registered in the variety register of the Member State concerned;                  

(b)the results of examinations of applications for registration of varieties performed by the Member State concerned pursuant                        to Article 6;                  

(c)any other information available in respect of varieties included in the variety register of the Member State concerned or                        removed from that register;                  

(d)the list of varieties for which applications for registration are pending in the Member State concerned.                  

## Article 11U.K.Common list

The Commission shall, on the basis of the information received pursuant to subparagraph 2 of Article 10(1), establish, regularly                     update and publish in an electronic format a common list of the varieties included in the variety registers of the Member                     States.                  

## Article 12U.K.Transposition

1.Member States shall adopt and publish, by 31 December 2016 at the latest, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions                        necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions and                        a correlation table between those provisions and this Directive.                  

They shall apply those provisions from 1 January 2017.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference                     on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.                  

2.Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the                        field covered by this Directive.                  

## Article 13U.K.Repeal

Directive 93/79/EEC is repealed with effect from 1 January 2017.

## Article 14U.K.Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the *Official Journal of the European Union*.                  

## Article 15U.K.Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 15 October 2014.

*For the Commission*                            

*The President*                            

José Manuel Barroso                            

1

OJ L 267, 8.10.2008, p. 8.                           

2

Council Directive 92/34/EEC of 28 April 1992 on the marketing of fruit plant propagating material and fruit plants intended                              for fruit production (OJ L 157, 10.6.1992, p. 10).                           

3

Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release into the environment                              of genetically modified organisms and repealing Council Directive 90/220/EEC (OJ L 106, 17.4.2001, p. 1).                           

4

Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on genetically modified food                              and feed (OJ L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 1).                           

5

Commission Directive 93/79/EEC of 21 September 1993 setting out additional implementing provisions for lists of varieties                              of fruit plant propagating material and fruit plants, as kept by suppliers under Council Directive 92/34/EEC (OJ L 256, 14.10.1993, p. 25).