SEVENTH COUNCIL DECISION
of 27 June 1985
on the equivalence of field inspections carried out in third countries on seed-producing crops
(85/355/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) (a) 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) (a) 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) (a) 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) (a) 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 these rules provide for
an official field inspection to be carried out during the period of seed production;Whereas an examination of these rules and the manner in which they are applied has shown that the prescribed field inspections satisfy the conditions laid down in Annex I to each of the abovementioned Directives;Whereas Decision 80/817/EEC (8), as last amended by Decision 85/4/EEC (9), which established equivalences for field inspections in the abovementioned countries, expires on 30 June 1985; whereas a new Decision is therefore necessary;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 field inspection of crops producing seed of the species covered by Decision 80/817/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 field inspections of crops producing seeds of the 'certified seed' category, carried out in the countries and by the services listed in Part I of the Annex, and in respect of the species specified therein, satisfy the conditions laid down in Part A of Annex I to Directive 66/400/EEC and in Annex I to Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC and 69/208/EEC, in so far as the conditions laid down in Part II of the Annex hereto are satisfied.
Article 2
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 3
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 4
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Luxembourg, 27 June 1985.