2002/280/EC: Commission Decision of 15 April 2002 amending Decision 98/320/EC 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 (Text with EEA relevance) (notified under document number C(2002) 1404)
Date: 2002-04-15
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Community certification, EU Member State, sampling, seed, testing

L 99/22

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

16.4.2002

COMMISSION DECISION

of 15 April 2002

amending Decision 98/320/EC on the organisation of a temporary experiment on seed sampling
to Council Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC and
and seed testing pursuant

69/208/EEC

(notified under document number C(2002) 1404)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2002/280/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 98/96/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 2001/64/EC (4), and in particular Article
13a thereof,

Having regard to Council Directive 66/402/EEC of 14 June
1966 on the marketing of cereal seed (5), as last amended by
Directive 2001/64/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 (6), as last
amended by Directive 98/96/EC, and in particular Article 12a
thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Under Commission Decision 98/320/EC (7) provision
was made for a temporary experiment at Community
level to assess whether seed sampling and seed testing
under official supervision may constitute improved alter-
natives to the procedures for official seed certification
required under Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC, 66/
402/EEC and 69/208/EEC, without leading to a signifi-
cant decline in the quality of the seed.

The Commission is still collecting data in order to
update and complete the information already supplied
by the Member States participating in the experiment in
relation to the results of that participation. It is also still

(3)

(4)

(5)

collecting data on the samples supplied by the Member
States and tested in Community comparative trials.

Current international practices including those adopted
by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) and the International Seed Testing
Association (ISTA) continue to permit temporary experi-
ments on seed sampling and seed testing.

Consequently the temporary experiment
should be
extended and Decision 98/320/EC should therefore be
amended accordingly.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in
accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee
for Agriculture,
on Seeds and Propagating Material
Horticulture and Forestry,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

In Article 4 of Decision 98/320/EC the date ‘30 June 2002’ is
replaced by the date ‘31 July 2004’.

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 2

Done at Brussels, 15 April 2002.

For the Commission

David BYRNE

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ 125, 11.7.1966, p. 2290/66.
(2) OJ L 25, 1.2.1999, p. 27.
(3) OJ 125, 11.7.1966, p. 2298/66.
(4) OJ L 234, 1.9.2001, p. 60.
(5) OJ 125, 11.7.1966, p. 2309/66.
(6) OJ L 169, 10.7.1969, p. 3.
(7) OJ L 140, 12.5.1998, p. 14.