COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DIRECTIVE (EU) 2022/1648

of 23 September 2022

amending Directive 2003/91/EC as regards a derogation for organic varieties of vegetable species suitable for organic production

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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

Having regard to Council Directive 2002/55/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of vegetable seed (1), and in particular Article 7(2)(a) and (b) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Commission Directive 2003/91/EC (2) aims to ensure that the varieties of vegetable plant species that Member States include in their national catalogues comply with the protocols established by the Community Plant Variety Office (‘CPVO’). In particular, those protocols aim to ensure compliance with the rules concerning the characteristics to be covered as a minimum by the examination and the minimum conditions for examining certain varieties of vegetable species to establish distinctness, uniformity and stability (‘DUS’). For the species not covered by the CPVO protocols, that Directive aims to ensure compliance with test guidelines of the International Union for Protection of New Varieties of Plants (‘UPOV’).

(2) There is a need to ensure that producers can use organic varieties suitable for organic production resulting from organic breeding activities. Some of them meet the DUS criteria of all other varieties of the same species, but other varieties intended for organic production are characterised by a high level of genetic and phenotypical diversity between individual reproductive units.

(3) Therefore, the standards for uniformity defined in the existing DUS protocols and guidelines of the CPVO and UPOV are not suitable for organic varieties for organic production, which are characterised by a high level of genetic and phenotypical diversity.

(4) It is therefore necessary to offer the possibility to deviate from the existing DUS examination protocols so that they are more adapted for organic varieties suitable for organic production. Therefore, it should be possible to adjust the existing protocols for variety examination for certain species to meet the needs of the organic agriculture. It is therefore appropriate to derogate from certain provisions of Article 1 of Directive 2003/91/EC.

(5) Member States should report, to the Commission and the other Member States, by 31 December of each year, until 31 December 2030, on the number of applications and results of the DUS examinations, in order to ensure a regular review of those requirements and further assess the need to amend, remove or also apply them to other species.

(6) Directive 2003/91/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(7) Competent authorities and the professional operators concerned should have sufficient time to adequately prepare before national provisions transposing this Directive start applying.

(8) The measures provided for in this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1 Amendments to Directive 2003/91/EC Directive 2003/91/EC is amended as follows: (1) Article 1, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2. As regards distinctness, uniformity and stability: (a) the species listed in Annex I shall comply with the conditions laid down in the ‘Protocols for distinctness, uniformity and stability tests’ of the Administrative Council of the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) listed in that Annex; (b) the species listed in Annex II shall comply with 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) listed in that Annex. By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, as regards uniformity, the organic varieties suitable for organic production, which belong to the species listed in Annex III, Part A, may comply instead with the conditions listed in Part B of that Annex. Member States shall report, to the Commission and the other Member States, by 31 December of each year, until 31 December 2030, on the number of applications for variety registrations and results of the examinations for distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS) concerning those organic varieties’; (2) The text set out in the Annex to this Directive is added as Annex III.

Article 2 Transposition 1. Member States shall adopt and publish, by 30 June 2023 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. They shall apply those provisions from 1 July 2023. 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 3 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 4 Addressees This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 23 September 2022. For the Commission Stella KYRIAKIDES Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 33.

(2) Commission Directive 2003/91/EC of 6 October 2003 setting out implementing measures for the purposes of Article 7 of Council Directive 2002/55/EC as regards the characteristics to be covered as a minimum by the examination and the minimum conditions for examining certain varieties of vegetable species (OJ L 254, 8.10.2003, p. 11).