SEVENTH COUNCIL DECISION
of 27 June 1985
on the equivalence of seed produced in third countries
(85/356/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,Having regard to Council Directive 66/400/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of beet seed (1), as last amended by the 1979 Act of Accession, and in particular Article 16 (1) (b) thereof,Having regard to Council Directive 66/401/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of fodder plant seed (2), as last amended by Directive 85/38/EEC (3), and in particular Article 16 (1) (b) thereof,Having regard to Council Directive 66/402/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of cereal seed (4), as last amended by Directive 81/561/EEC (5), and in particular Article 16 (1) (b) thereof,Having regard to Council Directive 69/208/EEC of 30 June 1969 on the marketing of seed of oil and fibre plants (6), as last amended by Directive 82/727/EEC (7), and in particular Article 15 (1) (b) thereof,Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,Whereas there are rules on seed control in Austria, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Cyprus, the German Democratic Republic, Spain, Hungary, Israel, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Chile, Sweden, Finland, Turkey, the United States of America, Yugoslavia and South Africa;Whereas the abovementioned rules provide that basic seed and certified seed be officially certified and their packages officially closed and marketed in accordance with the OECD schemes for the varietal certification of seed moving in international trade; whereas furthermore such rules provide for seed sampling and testing in accordance with the methods of the International Seed Testing Association;Whereas an examination of these rules and the manner in which they are applied has shown that the conditions
governing seed harvested and controlled in these countries afford the same assurances as regards the seed's characteristics, identity, examination, marking and control, as do the conditions applicable to seed harvested and controlled within the Community;Whereas Decision 80/818/EEC (8), as last amended by Decision 85/5/EEC (9), which established equivalences for seed produced in the abovementioned countries, expires on 30 June 1985; whereas a new Decision is therefore necessary;Whereas certain of the conditions laid down in Decision 80/818/EEC should be improved in the light of experience gained; whereas, in particular, the link with the current regime on the equivalence of checks on practices for the maintenance of varieties should be defined;Whereas, in the case of seven third countries, additional detailed information has been requested; whereas the renewal of the equivalence in respect of those countries should be limited to a period necessary to examine and to assess such information, without prejudice to a possible extension, pending the outcome of this examination and assessment;Whereas this Decision is without prejudice to a possible renewal of the equivalence in respect of Cyprus and Finland where seed production and certification of the species covered by Decision 80/818/EEC did not take place during the period of application of that Decision;Whereas this Decision does not preclude Community findings being revoked or extension of the period of their validity being refused where the conditions on which they are based are not or cease to be satisfied; whereas, to this end, further practical information on seed produced in the abovementioned countries should be obtained by growing and checking samples of such seed in Community comparative trials;Whereas it has become apparent that certain technical and administrative provisions in the Annex are subject to frequent change; whereas to simplify the procedure for amending the Annex changes should be dealt with under the procedure of the Standing Committee on Seeds and Propagating Material for Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry;
Whereas this Decision does not affect the Protocol on German internal trade and connected problems,HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
It is hereby declared that seed harvested in the countries listed in Part I of the Annex and officially controlled by the services listed therein, in respect of each producer country, and belonging to the species and categories specified therein, is equivalent to seed of the corresponding categories harvested within the Community and complying with Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC and 69/208/EEC, in so far as the conditions set out in Part II of the Annex to this Decision are fulfilled.
Article 2
1. Seed which has not been officially certified by a service of the producer country is also equivalent within the meaning of Article 1 in so far as the following conditions are fulfilled:- the seed has been harvested in the Community and been subjected to the prescribed field inspection, and- the seed has been officially certified by a service referred to in the Annex for the species concerned and belonging to the country where the seeds of the previous generation, which shall have been produced either in the Community or in that country, were officially certified.2. In accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 21 of Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC and 66/402/EEC and in Article 20 of Directive 69/208/EEC and by derogation from the provisions of the first indent of paragraph 1 of this Article, equivalence may be granted to seeds harvested in certain specific third countries, on condition that such countries enjoy, under Decision 85/355/EEC (1), equivalence of field inspections carried out in third countries on seed-producing crops and have been subject in those countries to the prescribed field inspection.
Article 3
Where 're-labelling and re-fastening' as referred to in the OECD schemes takes place within the Community, the provisions laid down in Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC and 69/208/EEC applicable to reclosing of packages of seed produced within the Community shall apply mutatis mutandis, without prejudice to the OECD rules applicable to such operations. EEC labels shall not be used for this purpose. In accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 21 of Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC and 66/402/EEC and in Article 20 of Directive 69/208/EEC, a decision may be taken on the conditions under which exceptions to the prohibition contained in the second sentence may be provided for.
Article 4
Technical and administrative amendments to be made to the Annex, with the exception of those concerning column 1 of the table in Part I thereof, shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21 of Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC and 66/402/EEC and in Article 20 of Directive 69/208/EEC.
Article 5
This Decision shall apply from 1 July 1985 to 30 June 1987 in the case of Austria, Australia, Norway, New Zealand, Sweden, the United States of America and Yugoslavia, and from 1 July 1985 to 30 June 1990 in the case of the other third countries listed in Part I of the Annex.
Article 6
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Luxembourg, 27 June 1985.