1995D0514 — EN — 30.12.1996 — 002.001 — 1
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►B COUNCILDECISION
of29November1995
ontheequivalenceoffieldinspectionscarriedoutinthirdcountriesonseedproducingcropsand
ontheequivalence ofseedproducedinthirdcountries
(95/514/EC)
(OJ L 296, 9.12.1995, p. 34)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1CommissionDecision96/217/EC of 8 March 1996 L 72 37 21.3.1996
►M2Council Decision 97/33/EC of 17 December 1996 L 13 31 16.1.1997
▼B
COUNCILDECISION
of29November1995
ontheequivalenceoffieldinspectionscarriedoutinthirdcountries
on seed producing crops and on the equivalence of seed produced
inthirdcountries
(95/514/EC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 66/400/EEC of 14 June 1966 on
the marketing of beet seed(1), and in particular Article 16 (1) thereof,
Having regard to Council Directive 66/401/EEC of 14 June 1966 on
the marketing of fodder plant seed(2), and in particular Article 16 (1)
thereof,
Having regard to Council Directive 66/402/EEC of 14 June 1966 on
the marketing of cereal seed(3), and in particular Article 16 (1) thereof,
Having regard to Council Directive 69/208/EEC of 30 June 1969 on
the marketing of seed of oil and fibre plants(4), and in particular
Article 15 (1) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas there are rules onofficial seed con trol inAustralia, Bulgaria,
Canada, Switzerland, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel,Morocco, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Argentina, Chile, Slovakia,Slovenia, Turkey, Uruguay, the United States of America and South
Africa; whereas these rules provide for anofficial field in spectionto
be carried out during the period of seed production;
Whereas the abovementioned rules provide in principle that basic seed,
certified seed and certified seed of the first generation may be officially
certified and their packages officially closed in accordance with theOECD schemes and for the varietal certification of seed moving ininternational trade; whereas, furthermore, such rules provide for seedsampling and testing in accordance with the methods of the Interna-
tional Seed Testing Association (‘ISTA’);
Whereas in the respective third countries an examination of these rules
and the manner in which they are applied has shown that the prescribed
field inspection of seed producing crops satisfies the relevant condi-
tions laid down in the abovementioned Directives; whereas theconditions governing seed harvested and controlled in these countriesafford the same assurances as regards the seed's characteristics, thearrangements for its examination, for ensuring identity, for markingand for control, as do the conditions applicable to seed, harvested and
controlled within the Community;
Whereas Decision85/355/EEC(
5), which established equivalence for
field inspections in the abovementioned countries and Decision 85/
356/EEC(6) which established equivalences for seed produced in the
abovementioned countries, expired on 30 June 1995; whereas a newdecisionis therefore n ecessary;1995D0514 — EN — 30.12.1996 — 002.001 — 2
(1) OJ No 125, 11. 7. 1966, p. 2290/66. Directive as last amended by the 1994
Act of Accession.
(2) OJ No 125, 11. 7. 1966, p. 2298/66. Directive as last amended by the 1994
Act of Accession.
(3) OJ No 125, 11. 7. 1966, p. 2309/66. Directive as last amended by Commis-
sionDirective 95/6/EC (OJ No L 67, 25. 3. 1995, p. 30).
(4) OJ No L 169, 10. 7. 1969, p. 3. Directive as last amended by the 1994 Act
of Accession.
(5) OJ No L 195, 26. 7. 1985, p. 1. Decisionas last amen ded by Decision95/
20/EC (OJ No L 28, 7. 2. 1995, p. 11).
(6) OJ No L 195, 26. 7. 1985, p. 20. Decisionas last amen ded by Decision95/
20/EC (OJ No L 28, 7. 2. 1995, p. 11).
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Whereas the OECD schemes for the varietal certificationof seed
moving in international trade, upon which this Decision is based, maybe modified in the near future; whereas, in these circumstances, it
appears desirable to limit the continuation of the equivalence under
this Decisionto 18 mon ths;
Whereas this Decisionis without prejudice to a possible ren ewal of the
equivalence in respect of Cyprus where seed production and fieldinspections did not take place under Decisions 85/355/EEC and 85/356/EEC;
Whereas this Decision does not preclude Community findings being
revoked where the conditions on which they are based cease to be
satisfied; whereas, to this end, further practical information on seedproduced in the abovementioned countries should be obtained bygrowing and checking samples of such seed in Community comparativetests;
Whereas certain provisions in this decision are subject to technical
amendment; whereas, to simplify the procedures, such modifications
should be dealt with under the procedure of the Standing Committeeon Seeds and Propagating Material for Agriculture, Horticulture andForestry,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
It is hereby declared that field inspections of seed producing crops of
the categories ‘certified seed’ and ‘certified seed for the first genera-tion’, carried out in the countries and by the Authorities listed in Part
I of the Annex hereto, and in respect of the group of species or species
specified therein, satisfy the conditions laid down in Part A of Annex Ito 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 PartII (A) of the Annex hereto are satisfied.
Article 2
It is hereby also declared that where the conditions laid down in Part II
(B) of the Annex hereto are satisfied, seed of the categories ‘basic
seed’, ‘certified seed’ and ‘certified seed of the first generation’
harvested in the countries listed in Part I of the Annex and officiallycontrolled by the respective Authorities also listed in Part I of theAnnex and belonging to the group of species or species specifiedtherein, 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.
Article 3
1. Seed which has not been officially certified by an Authority of
the producer country is also equivalent within the meaning of Article2 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 beenofficially certified by anAuthority referred to in
the Annex for the species concerned and belonging to the country
where the seeds of the previous generation, which shall have beenproduced either inthe Commun ity or inthat coun try, were offi-cially certified.
2. By way of derogation from the first indent of paragraph 1 of this
Article, equivalence may be granted to seeds harvested in certain
specific third countries, in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 21 of Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC and 66/402/EEC andin Article 20 of Directive 69/208/EEC, on condition that such countriesenjoy, under this Decision, equivalence of field inspections carried outin third countries and have been subject in those countries to theprescribed field inspection.1995D0514 — EN — 30.12.1996 — 002.001 — 3
▼B
Article 4
Where ‘relabelling and refastening’ as referred to in the OECD
schemes takes place within the Community, the provisions laid down
inDirectives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC an d 69/208/EEC
with respect to reclosing of packages of seed produced within theCommunity shall apply mutatis mutandis , without prejudice to the
OECD rules applicable to such operations. EC labels shall not be usedfor this purpose.
The conditions under which exceptions to the prohibition referred to in
the first paragraph may be provided for shall be decided on, where
appropriate, inaccordan ce with the procedure laid downfor inArticle
21 of Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC and 66/402/EEC and inArticle 20 of Directive 69/208/EEC.
Article 5
Technical and administrative amendments to be made to Annex I, with
exception of those concerning column 1 of the table in Part I of thatAnnex, shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid downinArticle 21 of Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC an d
inArticle 20 of Directive 69/208/EEC.
Article 6
This Decisionshall apply from 1 July 1995 to ►
M231 December
1997◄.
Article 7
This Decisionis addressed to the Member States.1995D0514 — EN — 30.12.1996 — 002.001 — 4
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ANNEX
PART I
Countries,authoritiesandspecies
Country AuthoritySpecies referred to inthe followin g
Directives
12 3
Australia Department of Primary Industries and
Energy, Canberra66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC — except Sorghum
spp. and Zea mays
69/208/EEC
Bulgaria Sortovi Semena I Posadatchen Materiel,
Sofia66/400/EEC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
69/208/EEC
Canada Agriculture Canada, Ottawa 66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
69/208/EEC
Switzerland Eidgenössische Forschungsanstalt für
Landwirtschaftlichen Pflanzenbau, Zürich
Stationfédérale de recherches agron omi-
ques, Nyon66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
69/208/EEC
Croatia Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry,
Zagreb66/402/EEC — only in respect
ofZea mays
Czech Republic Ministry of Agriculture, Praha66/400/EEC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
69/208/EEC
Hungary Institute for Agricultural Quality Control,
Budapest66/400/EEC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
69/208/EEC
Israel Ministry of Agriculture, Bet-Dagan 66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
69/208/EEC
Morocco Ministère de l'Agriculture et de la
réforme agraire, Rabat66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
69/208/EEC
New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries,
Wellington66/400/EEC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
69/208/EEC
Poland Ministère de l'Agriculture et de l'éco-
nomie alimentaire, Warszawa66/400/EEC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC — other thanZea
mays
69/208/EEC
Romania Ministère de l'Agriculture et de l'alimen-
tation, Bucarest66/400/EEC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
69/208/EEC
Argentina Secretaría de Estado de Agricultura y
Ganadería, Buenos Aires66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
69/208/EEC1995D0514 — EN — 30.12.1996 — 002.001 — 5
▼B
Country AuthoritySpecies referred to inthe followin g
Directives
12 3
Chile Ministerio de Agricultura, Santiago 66/400/EEC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
69/208/EEC
Slovakia Central Control and Testing Institute for
Agriculture, Bratislava66/400/EEC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
69/208/EEC
Slovenia Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry,
Ljubljana►M166/401/EEC ◄
66/402/EEC — only in respect
ofZea mays
►M169/208/EEC ◄
Turkey Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Rural Affairs, Ankara66/400/EEC
66/402/EEC
69/208/EEC
Uruguay Ministerio de Ganadería, Agricultura y
Pesca, Montevideo66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC — only in respect
ofZea mays
69/208/EEC
United States of
AmericaUS Department of Agriculture, Beltsville,
Maryland66/400/EEC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
69/208/EEC
South Africa Department of Agriculture, Pretoria 66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC — only in respect
ofZea mays andSorghum spp.
69/208/EEC1995D0514 — EN — 30.12.1996 — 002.001 — 6
▼B
PART II
A.Conditionsrelating to field inspectionscarried outin thirdcountries on
seedproducingcrops
1. Field inspections shall be carried out in accordance with national rules for
the applicationof the OECD schemes for the varietal certificationof seed
moving in international trade as follows:
— sugar beet seed and fodder beet seed, in the case of Beta vulgaris
referred to inDirective 66/400/EEC,
— herbage an d oil seed, inthe case of the species referred to inDirec-
tives 66/401/EEC and 69/208/EEC,
— cereal seed, inthe case of seed of the species referred to inDirective
66/402/EEC, other than Zea mays andSorghum spp.,
— maize and sorghum seed, in the case of seed of Zea mays and
Sorghum spp. referred to inDirective 66/402/EEC.
Field inspections shall be carried out by the Authorities of the producing
country listed in column 2 of the table in Part I of this Annex, or any
legal person, whether governed by public or by private law of that
country, acting under the responsability of such Authorities, provided
that such person derives no private gain from the result of the inspection.
2. Harvested seed shall be packed inofficially closed packages which bear a
special label provided for by the OECD for seed which is not finally
certified; the label shall give the following additional information:
— reference number of the basic seed,
— name of the Member State which certified the basic seed.
3. Harvested seed shall be accompanied by an official certificate giving the
following information:
— area cultivated,
— quantity of seed,— the attestation that the conditions that have to be satisfied by the crops
from which the seed comes have beenfulfilled.
B.Conditionsrelating toseedproducedinthirdcountries
1. Basic seed, certified seed and certified seed of the first generation shall
be officially certified and its packages officially closed and marked in
accordance with the OECD schemes for the varietal certification of seed
moving in international trade specified below, and the seed lots shall be
accompanied by the certificates required under those OECD schemes:
— sugar beet seed and fodder beet seed, in the case of seed of Beta
vulgarisreferred to inDirective 66/400/EEC,
— herbage and oil seed, in the case of the seed of the species referred to
inDirectives 66/401/EEC an d 69/208/EEC,
— cereal seed, inthe case of seed of the species referred to inDirective
66/402/EEC, other than Zea mays andSorghum spp.,
— maize and sorghum seed in the case of Zea mays andSorghum spp.
referred to inDirective 66/402/EEC.
Moreover, seed shall satisfy the conditions of Community rules other than
those relating to varietal identity and varietal purity.
2. Field inspections and examination of the conditions to be satisfied by the
seed shall be carried out by the Authorities of the producing country
listed incolumn2 of the table referred to inPart I of this An n ex, or by
any legal person whether governed by public or by private law of that
country, acting under the responsibility of such Authorities, provided
that such person derives no private gain from the result of the inspection
or examination.
3. The conditions which seed shall satisfy in accordance with the second
subparagraph of paragraph 1 are laid downinthe followin g Directives:
— Directive 66/400/EEC, Annex I (B)
— Directive 66/401/EEC, Annex II— Directive 66/402/EEC, Annex II
— Directive 69/208/EEC, Annex II.1995D0514 — EN — 30.12.1996 — 002.001 — 7
▼M1
▼B
▼B
For the purpose of the examination to check whether the abovementioned
conditions have been satisfied, samples shall be taken officially in accor-
dance with the ISTA rules and their weights shall conform to the weight
stipulated under such methods, taking into account those specified in the
following Directives:
— Directive 66/400/EEC, Annex II, second line,
— Directive 66/401/EEC, Annex III, columns 3 and 4,— Directive 66/402/EEC, Annex III, columns 3 and 4,
— Directive 69/208/EEC, Annex III, columns 3 and 4.
The examination shall be carried out officially in accordance with the
rules established under the ISTA rules.
4. Seed shall satisfy the following additional conditions in respect of
package marking:
4.1. The following official information shall be given:
— in the case of certified seed, reference number of basic seed and
name of the country where that seed was officially certified,
— a statement that the seed satisfied the conditions of Community
rules other than those relating to varietal identity and varietal
purity: ‘the seed complies with EC rules and standards’,
— a statement that the seed has been sampled and tested in accor-
dance with current international methods: ‘Sampled and analyzed
according to ISTA rules for oranges or green certificates by …,
(name or initials of the ISTA seed testing station)’,
— date of official closing,— where seed lots have been ‘relabelled and refastened’ within the
meaning of the OECD schemes, also a statement that this opera-
tion took place, the most recent date of reclosing and the
Authorities responsible therefore,
— country of production,
— declared net or gross weight or declared number of pure seeds or,
inthe case of beet seed, clusters,
— where weight is indicated and granulated pesticides, pelleting
substances or other solid additives are used, the nature of the
additive and also the approximate ratio between the weight of
pure seed and the total weight.
This in formationmay be giveneither onthe OECD label or onan
additional official label which shall give the name of the service
and the country. Any suppliers' labels shall be drawn up in such a
manner that they cannot be confused with the additional official
label.
4.2. An official notice placed inside the package shall give at least the
reference number of the lot, the species and the variety; in addition,
inthe case of beet seed, it shall be stated where appropriate whether
the seed is monogerm or precision seed.
This notice is not necessary if the minimum information is printed
indelibly on the package or if an adhesive label or a label of non-tear material is used.
4.3. Any chemical treatment of the seed and the active substance shall be
n oted either onthe official label or ona special label as well as on
the container or inside it.
4.4. All information required for official labels, for official notices and
for packages shall be given in at least one of the official languages
of the Community.
5. The seed lots shall be accompanied by an orange or green ISTA certifi-
cate giving the information relating to the conditions in paragraph 3.
6. In the case of basic seed of varieties which are exclusively maintained
within the Community, the seed of the preceding generations shall have
beenproduced withinthe Commun ity.1995D0514 — EN — 30.12.1996 — 002.001 — 8
▼B
Inthe case of basic seed of other varieties, the seed of the precedin g
generations shall have been produced under the responsibility of the
persons responsible for the maintenance breeding, referred to in the
CommonCatalogue of Varieties of Agricultural Plan t Species or, where
the variety is not yet listed there, in the National Catalogue of the
Member State of admission, either within the Community or in a third
country which has been granted, under Decision 92/420/EEC(1), the
equivalence of checks on practices for the maintenance of varieties
carried out inthird coun tries.
Inthe case of basic seed of hybrid varieties, the seed of the precedin g
generation may also have been produced, under the responsibility of the
above person, in a third country where the variety components are main-
tained.
7. In the case of certified seed of the first generation, the basic seed from
which it is derived shall have been produced and officially controlled
and certified:
— either withinthe Commun ity, or
— in a third country which has been granted equivalence under this
Decision for the production of basic seed of the species concerned,
provided that it has beenproduced from seed produced inaccordan ce
with paragraph 6.
8. Inthe case of the Un ites States of America, by way of derogationfrom
paragraph 4.1, third indent and paragraph 5, sampling, testing and issue
of seed analysis certificates may be carried out by Official Seed Testing
State Laboratories according to the rules of the Association of Official
Seed Analysis (AOSA) applicable to lot inspection. In this case:
— the following statement shall be given under paragraph 4.1: ‘Sampled
and analysed according to AOSA by …’, (name or initials of the Offi-
cial Seed Testing State Laboratory), and
— the certificates required under paragraph 5 shall be the Lot Inspection
Certificate issued by the Official Seed Testing Laboratory under the
authority of the State Seed Testing Agency.
Specific cases in which this derogation shall not apply may be defined 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.1995D0514 — EN — 30.12.1996 — 002.001 — 9
(1) OJ No L 231, 13. 8. 1992, p. 22.▼M1