COMMISSION DECISION of 27 June 1995 on the organization of a temporary experiment under Council Directive 69/208/EEC in order to establish conditions to be satisfied by the seed of hybrids and varietal associations of swede rape and turnip rape (95/232/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 69/208/EEC of 30 June 1969 on the marketing of seed of oil and fibre plants (1), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, and in particular Article 12a thereof,
Whereas Directive 69/208/EEC did not establish specific conditions to be satisfied by the seed of hybrids of swede rape and turnip rape; whereas, furthermore, in the case of material not officially admitted to the Common Catalogue of Varieties of Agricultural Plant Species, which material includes varietal associations, the said Directive neither established specific conditions nor permitted the certification and marketing of such material;
Whereas on the basis of preliminary evidence it has been claimed that specified conditions for seed of hybrids of swede rape and turnip rape should be established;
Whereas, similarly, it has been claimed that the certification and marketing of seed of varietal associations should now be permitted and consequently specific conditions governing seed of such varietal associations should also be established;
Whereas those claims cannot yet be confirmed at Community level on the basis of the information available;
Whereas it is therefore useful to organize a temporary experiment under specified conditions with the aim of establishing the conditions to be satisfied by the seed of hybrids and varietal associations of swede rape and turnip rape;
Whereas the conditions of that experiment should be specified in such a manner as to enable the maximum information to be collected at Community level with a view to drawing proper conclusions for possible future adaptations of Community provisions;
Whereas, for the purpose of the experiment, Member States should be released from certain obligations laid down in Directive 69/208/EEC;
Whereas the measures contained in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Seeds and Propagating Material for Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
1. A temporary experiment shall be organized at Community level under the conditions specified in the Annex, in order to establish the conditions to be satisfied by the seed of hybrids and varietal associations of swede rape (Brassica napus L.) and turnip rape (Brassica rapa L. var. silvestris (Lam.) Briggs) for certification and marketing under Directive 69/208/EEC.
2. Any Member State may participate in the experiment.
Article 2
For the purpose of this Decision:
- a 'varietal association` shall mean an association of certified seed of a specified male-sterile hybrid variety officially admitted under Directive 70/457/EEC (2), with certified seed of one or more specified pollinator varieties, similarly admitted, and mechanically combined in proportions jointly determined by the persons responsible for the maintenance of the 'pollinator-dependent hybrid` and of the 'pollinator(s)`, such comination having been notified to the Certification Authority,
- 'pollinator-dependent hybrid` shall mean the male-sterile component within the 'varietal association`,
- 'pollinator(s)` shall mean the component shedding pollen within the 'varietal association`.
Article 3
Seed of hybrids and varietal associations of swede rape and turnip rape may be marketed within the Community provided that the conditions and requirements in the Annex are satisfied.
Article 4
1. Member States participating in the experiment are hereby released from the provisions in Directive 69/208/EEC relating to previous cropping, to varietal identity, varietal purity, isolation of the crop, number of field inspections, and labelling, without prejudice to Article 3 of this Decision.
2. In the case of seed of varietal associations of swede rape and turnip rape, Member States participating in the experiment are also released from the provisions of Article 2 (1) (c) of Directive 69/208/EEC in so far as they require that seed shall belong to a variety included in the common catalogue of varieties or national catalogue of varieties, and from the provisions of Article 8 of Directive 69/208/EEC, in so far as they relate to the homogeneity of the lots.
Article 5
1. Member States shall inform the Commission whether they have decided to participate in the experiment.
2. Member States shall forward to the Commission and to the other Member States before the end of each year progress reports on the results of the experiment.
3. The experiment shall end on 31 December 1997.
4. The Annex may be reviewed during the course of the experiment, account being taken of the information collected, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 20 of Directive 69/208/EEC.
5. Member States may decide to cease participating in the experiment before 31 December 1997 if they consider that the pursuit of the experiment might have an adverse effect on the quality of the seed. They shall immediately inform the other Member States and the Commission thereof.
Article 6
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 27 June 1995.