2^ B 90 Official]ournal of the European Communities ^oC1^19 
Opinion on the proposal foraCouncil Regulation (EEC) on the marketing of young plants and 
propagating material other than seeds, of vegetables (^) 
(90^C1^2B06) 
On 26 Februaryl990 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under 
Article 19^ oftheTreaty establishing the European Commumty,on the abovementioned proposal 
The Section for Agriculture and Fishenes,which was responsible for preparing the Committee's 
work on the subject, adopted its opinion onl^^iayl990.The rapporteur was ^ir Strauss. 
Atits2^th plenary session (meeting of^O^iay 1990) theEconomicandSocialCommitteeadopted 
the following opinion unanimously. 
1. Introduction 
1.1. The many changing national rules controlling the 
quahtyandhealthstandardsof youngplantsandplant 
propagating material could in effect constitute barriers to 
trade between member States. 
1.2. ^ith the objective of harmonising regulations as 
required for the completion of themternal market, the 
Commission has found it necessary to extend the existing 
FOirective (^0^^) relating tothemarketingofseedsto 
cover young plants and propagating material and has 
published three proposals for regulations covering vegetD 
able, ornamental, and fruit material 
IBe^. Because of time constraints the Commission has 
had little time for prior consultationwith member State 
authonties.The Commission mayghus, not be fully aware 
of the range of differences in national legislation, and has 
therefore onlydrawnupaframework in which member 
States may operate, many of the details having still to be 
determined. 
2. Ceneral observations 
2.1. Thisproposal forms part ofa wider strategyon 
plant health and must be considered in theconte^t of other 
proposals,notablyCOAi(^)1^0final,CO^i(^9)^6final 
and CO^i(^9) 6^ final amending the plant health 
FOirective ^9^EEC. These harmonization measures 
provide the framework within which CO^vl(^9) 6^9 final 
must be operative. These other measures must be adopted 
before the marketing regulation is mtroduced.This would 
ensure thatthere is no breakdown in control ofplant health 
standards and that adequate safeguard facilities are 
provided for whereby unilateral action may be taken. 2.2. The Committee agrees that it is necessary to 
introduceCommunity legislationmorder toharmom^e 
quality and plant health standards as required for the 
completion of the internal market. 
2.^. Flowever, the Committee is concerned that the 
legislationmay limit thefle^ibihty andimtiative which 
exists in the sector and is desired by consumers who have 
diffenngrequirementswithregardtoquahtystandardsand 
who arecurrently satisfied in an already selfregulating 
balance between supply and demand.Further,it is essential 
that sufficient Community resources are applied in order to 
ensure that adequate inspection is carried out to enforce the 
regulation fairly throughout the Community. 
2B4 In respect of certain points the proposal will need 
considerable clarification before its adoption. In the 
proposal much of the detailed administration of the 
proposed measures is left to the]omt Standing Committee 
and will not be referred to Council.It is difficult to givea 
precise and constructive opinion onaproposal which leave 
so much ofthe final form ofthe regulation to officials who 
will not have to refer the matter back to Council of 
Aimisters and other Community institutions. 
^3. Specific observations 
^.1.1. The regulation should also apply to propagating 
material intended for e^port.The derogation provided in 
Article2couldleadtothe situation whereby material is 
circulated in the Community which is oflower quality and 
health standards and which could transfer disease to other 
plants or themselves enter the internal market. 
BaOl^De^,^.^i^0,D^ ^1.2. The list provided in Article ^ (a)(i) is not 
exhaustive. For example, onions and Chinese cabbage are 
No C 182/20 Official Journal of the European Communities 23. 7. 90 
not included. All vegetable species should be covered 
except those identified by a 'negative' list. 
3.2. Supplier requirements 
3.2.1. The requirements imposed under Article 4 and 
Annex I will impose extra cost on small and medium-scale 
enterprises, in particular, many of whom do not already 
have the necessary record-keeping facilities. The Commit­
tee would like the Commission to examine whether 
recognized Producer and Trade Organizations should play 
a role in reducing growers' administrative costs. 
3.2.2. The derogation referred to in Annex I 4 (third 
indent) must be clarified. The Committee does not believe 
that a derogation should be based on area as this would be 
impracticable. It is however agreed that a derogation 
should apply to very small sales, provided this does not 
invalidate the aim of the legislation. 
3.3. Inspectorate resources 
3.3.1. The inspection required to enforce the regulation 
will impose an extra burden on already limited inspectorate 
resources. To ensure that suppliers are meeting the 
requirements laid out in Annex I, extra EC resources will 
be required especially if the Regulation is to be applied 
uniformly throughout the Community. 
3.3.2. Similarly inspectorate resources will have to be 
greatly enhanced in order to meet the conditions referred to 
in Annex II (A) and (B). 
3.4. Marketing arrangements 
3.4.1. Considering the definition of 'lot' [Article 3(c)(i)] 
to imply material grown from the same bag of seed, sown at 
the same time into the same growing medium and grown 
under the same conditions, the requirement for homo­
geneity (Article 7) is as it stands too stringent. For example 
some indication should be given of the percentage 
tolerances acceptable. 
3.4.2. The requirement for homogeneity will reduce the 
flexibility which exists in the sector. Customers have very 
different requirements for size and vigour for plants grown 
as one lot. The present demand-led nature of the sector meets best the requirements of individual growers. This 
should not be compromised by excessive legislation. 
Therefore, homogeneity should apply only to purity of 
variety and not to other quality criteria. 
3.4.3. The requirement for a plant health statement 
(Article 8) duplicates the requirement for a plant passport 
[COM(89) 646 final]. This documentation should be 
harmonized so that only one is required. 
3.4.4. The issue of the relevant documentation will 
require considerable additional manpower and, if the 
Commission wishes to delegate issuing of 'official' 
documents to qualified agents, then resources must be 
made available to train such people and to pay for their 
activities. 
3.5. Temporary difficulties 
3.5.1. Article 14 provides for less stringent measures to 
be adopted should 'temporary difficulties' in supply arise. 
This provision should not be invoked by a Member State 
wishing to abrogate its responsibilities under the proposed 
Regulation. 
3.5.2. The marketing restrictions imposed under Ar­
ticle 11 may in themselves constitute a temporary difficulty 
in supply and therefore invoke Article 14. Clarification of 
this terminology is required. The statement 'without 
derogations' should be added to Article 11(2). 
3.6. More stringent requirements 
3.6.1. Under Article 12 a Member State could insist on 
higher quality and health standards and provide the 
necessary inspectorate. The Committee is not opposed to 
the unilateral raising of standards, but can only agree to 
this if the Commission ensures that this is not associated 
with state aids. 
Done at Brussels, 30 May 1990. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alberto MASPRONE