98/320/EC: Commission Decision of 27 April 1998 on the organisation of a temporary experiment on seed sampling and seed testing pursuant to Council Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC and 69/208/EEC
Date: 1998-04-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Community certification, EU Member State, sampling, seed, self-employed person, testing

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Official Journal of the European Communities

12. 5. 98

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 27 April 1998

on the organisation of a temporary experiment on seed sampling and seed
testing pursuant to Council Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC and
69/208/EEC

(98/320/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

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), as last
amended by Directive 96/72/EC (2), and in particular
Article 13a thereof,

Having regard to Council Directive 66/401/EEC of 14
June 1966 on the marketing of fodder plant seed (3), as
last amended by Directive 96/72/EC, and in particular
Article 13a 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 96/72/EC, and in particular Article
13a thereof,

Having regard to Council Directive 69/208/EEC of 30
June 1969 on the marketing of seed of oil and fibre
plants (5), as last amended by Directive 96/72/EC, and in
particular Article 12a thereof,

Whereas, pursuant
to Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/
401/EEC, 66/402/EEC and 69/208/EEC, seed can be offi-
cially certified only where the conditions to be satisfied
by the seed have been established in official seed testing
on samples of seed drawn officially for the purpose of
seed testing;

Whereas it has been claimed that seed sampling and seed
testing under official supervision may constitute improved
alternatives to the procedures for official seed certi-
fication, without a significant decline in the quality of the
seed;

(1) OJ 125, 11. 7. 1966, p. 2290/66.
(2) OJ L 304, 27. 11. 1996, p. 10.
(3) OJ 125, 11. 7. 1966, p. 2298/66.
(4) OJ 125, 11. 7. 1966, p. 2309/66.
(5) OJ L 169, 10. 7. 1969, p. 3.

that

Whereas
confirmed at
Community level on the basis of the information avail-
able;

claim cannot

yet be

Whereas it is therefore appropriate to organise a tempo-
rary experiment under specified conditions with the aim
of assessing whether that claim can be sustained at
Community level and in particular whether there will be
any significant decline in the quality of
the seed
compared with that achieved under the system of official
seed sampling and seed testing;

Whereas the conditions applying to that experiment
should be specified in such a manner as to enable the
maximum amount of
information to be collected at
Community level with a view to drawing appropriate
conclusions
the
Community provisions;

adaptations of

for possible

future

Whereas, for the purpose of that experiment, Member
States should be released from certain obligations laid
down in the Directives concerned;

Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are in
accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee
on Seeds and Propagating Material for Agriculture, Horti-
culture and Forestry,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

1. A temporary experiment
is hereby organised at
Community level with the aim of assessing whether seed
sampling for the purpose of seed testing and seed testing
under official supervision may constitute improved alter-
natives to the procedures for official seed certification
required within the meaning of Directives 66/400/EEC,
66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC and 69/208/EEC, without a
significant decline in the quality of the seed.

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Any Member State may participate in the experiment.

2. Member States which participate in the experiment
are hereby released from the obligations laid down in the
Directives referred to in paragraph 1 in respect of official
seed sampling and official seed testing, subject to the
conditions set out in Articles 2 and 3 respectively.

Article 2

Seed sampling shall be carried out by seed samplers
1.
that purpose by the
who have been authorised for
competent seed certification authority of
the Member
State concerned under the conditions set out in para-
graphs 2, 3 and 4.

2.
Seed samplers shall have the necessary technical
qualifications obtained in training courses organised
under conditions applicable to official seed samplers and
confirmed by official examinations.

They shall carry out seed sampling in accordance with
current international methods.

3.

Seed samplers shall be:

(a)

independent natural persons,

or

(b) persons employed by natural or legal persons whose
seed

involve seed production,

activities do not
growing, seed processing or seed trade,

or

(c) persons employed by natural or legal persons whose
activities involve seed production, seed growing, seed
processing or seed trade.

In the case referred to in point (c), a seed sampler may
carry out seed sampling only on seed lots produced on
behalf of his employer, unless it has been otherwise
for certi-
agreed between his employer,
fication and the competent seed certification authority.

the applicant

their

In respect of

responsibilities vis-(cid:133)-vis

4.
the
competent seed certification authority, seed samplers shall
be
samplers. Their
performance of seed sampling shall be subject to proper
supervision by the competent seed certification authority.

assimilated

official

seed

to

The Member States which participate in the experiment
shall compare the seed samples drawn officially with
those of the same seed lot drawn under official supervi-
sion.

6.
The certification number required for the official
labels prescribed under the Directives referred to in
Article 1(1), or other appropriate alternatives, shall enable
the Member States and the Commission to identify seed
lots which have been sampled under official supervision.

7. Where a Member State participates in the experi-
ment, an appropriate proportion of the samples supplied
by that Member State for Community comparative trials
shall represent samples drawn under the experiment. The
details shall be determined in the respective technical
protocols for the Community comparative trials.

Article 3

Seed testing shall be carried out by seed testing labo-
1.
ratories which have been authorised for that purpose by
the competent seed certification authority of the Member
State concerned under the conditions set out in para-
graphs 2 to 5.

2.
The laboratory shall have a seed analyst-in-charge
who has direct responsibility for the technical operations
of the laboratory and has the necessary qualifications for
technical management of a seed testing laboratory.

Its seed analysts shall have the necessary technical quali-
fications obtained in training courses organised under
and
to official
applicable
conditions
confirmed by official examinations.

seed analysts

The laboratory shall be maintained in premises and with
equipment officially considered by the competent seed
certification authority to be satisfactory for the purpose of
seed testing, within the scope of the authorisation.

It shall carry out seed testing in accordance with current
international methods.

3.

The laboratory shall be:

(a) an independent laboratory,

or

5.
For the purposes of the supervision referred to in
paragraph 4 a proportion of the seed lots entered for the
official certification under the experiment shall be check-
sampled by official seed samplers. That proportion shall
in principle be as evenly spread as possibly over natural
and legal persons entering seed for certification, but may
also be orientated to eliminate specific doubt. That
proportion shall be at least 5 %.

(b) a laboratory belonging to a seed company.

In the case referred to in point (b), the laboratory may
carry out seed testing only on seed lots produced on
behalf of the seed company to which it belongs, unless it
has been otherwise agreed between the seed company to
which it belongs, the applicant for certification and the
competent seed certification authority.

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12. 5. 98

their

In respect of

responsibilities vis-(cid:133)-vis

the
4.
competent seed certification authority, the seed analysts
referred to in the first and second subparagraphs of para-
graph 2 shall be assimilated to corresponding official
analysts.

5.
The laboratory’s performance of seed testing shall be
subject to proper supervision by the competent seed certi-
fication authority.

6.
For the purposes of the supervision referred to in
paragraph 5 a proportion of the seed lots entered for the
official certification under the experiment shall be check-
tested by official seed testing. That proportion shall in
principle be as evenly spread as possible over natural and
legal persons entering seed for certification but may also
be oriented to eliminate specific doubts. That proportion
shall be at least 7 % in the case of seeds of cereals and
10 % in the case of seeds of other species.

The Member States which participate in the experiment
shall compare the seed samples tested officially with those
of the same seed lot tested under official supervision.

7.
The reference number of the lot required for the
official labels prescribed under the Directives referred to
in Article 1(1), or other appropriate alternatives, shall
enable the Member States and the Commission to iden-
tify seed lots which have been tested under official super-
vision.

8. Where a Member State participates in the experi-
ment, an appropriate proportion of the samples supplied
by that Member State for Community comparative trials
shall represent samples tested under the experiment. The
details shall be determined in the respective technical
protocols for the Community comparative trials.

Article 5

1. Member States shall inform the Commission and the
other Member States within three months of the date of
notification of this Decision:

(a) whether

they have decided to participate in the

experiment,

(b) in the case of participation solely in respect of seed
sampling or solely in respect of seed testing, the scope
thereof,

(c)

in the case of participation subject to restrictions to
certain species, categories, regions or to other restric-
tions, the scope thereof.

If Member States decide to cease participating in the
experiment, they shall inform the Commission and the
other Member States within three months.

shall

to the Commission
2. Member States
before the end of each year the results of the checks
carried out in accordance with Article 2(5) and Article
3(6).

report

3.
In the light of the results referred to in paragraph 2
as well as the results from the comparative trials referred
to in Article 2(7) and Article 3(8), the proportion of seed
lots to be check-sampled by official seed samplers within
the meaning of Article 2(5) or the proportion of seed lots
to be check-tested by official seed testing within the
meaning of Article 3(6) may be revised in accordance with
the procedure laid down in Article 21 of Directives 66/
400/EEC, 66/401/EEC and 66/402/EEC and Article 20 of
Directive 69/208/EEC.

Article 6

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 27 April 1998.

Article 4

The experiment and the release referred to in Article 1
shall expire on 30 June 2002.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission