Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 69/208/EEC on the marketing of seed of oil and fibre plants" (COM(2002) 232 final — 2002/0105 (CNS))
Date: 2002-07-17
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: approval, labelling, marketing standard, oleaginous plant, seed, testing, textile plant

C 241/64

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

7.10.2002

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council Directive
amending Directive 69/208/EEC on the marketing of seed of oil and fibre plants’

(COM(2002) 232 final — 2002/0105 (CNS))

(2002/C 241/12)

On 21 June 2002 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 37
of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was responsible for
preparing the Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 21 June 2002. The rapporteur
was Mr Sabin.

At its 392nd Plenary Session (meeting of 17 July 2002), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the
following opinion with 126 votes in favour, no dissenting votes and one abstention.

1.

Introduction

1.1.
The Council adopted Directive 69/208 on the market-
ing of seed of oil and fibre plants on 30 June 1969, reflecting
the fact that the production of these plants occupied a major
place in EU farming. As a result, farmers had to obtain certified
seed in order to be sure of varietal identity and purity. In order
to keep in step with technological developments in the oil
plant sector, the Commission decided, on 27 June 1995, to
organise a temporary experiment on the marketing of hybrid
seed and varietal associations of swede rape and turnip rape,
in the context of Directive 69/208, in order to establish the
conditions that these types of seed must satisfy. As the trial
period has come to an end, the Commission is proposing
to regularise the marketing of these hybrids and varietal
associations by including them in the scope of Directive 69/
208.

2. Content of the proposal

2.1.
Directive 69/208 concerns the marketing within the
Community of seed of oil and fibre plants intended for
agricultural production but excluding use for ornamental
purposes.

2.2.
The seed of these plants may not be placed on the
market unless it has been officially certified as ‘basic seed’ or
‘certified seed’, in accordance with the conditions laid down in
Annex II. Provision is made for derogations. The Directive also
stipulates that each Member State must draw up an official list
of the varieties of oil and fibre plants officially accepted on its
territory.

2.4.
The temporary experiment, authorised by the Com-
mission on 27 June 1995 (1), authorised the marketing of seed
of hybrids and varietal associations of swede rape and turnip
rape, while also establishing the conditions for seed pro-
duction. These relate mainly to the conditions for male sterility,
minimum varietal purity and the minimum distance for
isolation from neighbouring sources of pollen. The labelling
conditions are similar to those stipulated in Directive 69/208.

The Commission’s proposal aims to regularise the
2.5.
provisions of this temporary experiment by including them in
Directive 69/208. As the maximum legal duration of a
temporary experiment is seven years, the Commission pro-
poses implementing these new measures from 30 June 2002.

3. General comments

3.1.
The Committee takes due note of the Commission
proposal, which broadens the scope of application of Directive
69/208 to include all hybrids and varietal associations of oil
and fibre plants.

The Committee would point out

3.2.
that for almost
30 years, seed breeding has played a crucial role in improving
the yield of oil plants. Thanks to genetic improvement it has
also been possible to respond rapidly to new constraints on
swede rape regarding the elimination of erucic acid and the
reduction of glucosinolate levels.

3.3.
‘F1 hybrid’ development is a new approach for seed
breeders. It paves the way for faster work on criteria such as
potential yield, oil content, resistance to disease (e.g. Phoma)
and also for major reductions in nitrogen fertilising.

It also specifies the conditions for the packaging and

2.3.
labelling of certified seed.

(1) Decision 95/232/EC (OJ L 154, 5.7.1995) as amended by Decision

99/84/EC (OJ L 27, 2.2.1999).

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 241/65

3.4.
This breeding method is based, from a genetic point of
view, on the heterosis effect. It is therefore necessary to
maintain a high level of genetic diversity when practising this
method. In 2000, hybrids were used on 15 to 20 % of the land
cultivated with swede rape in France and in the order of 15 %
in Germany (1). Varietal associations, meanwhile, provide
breeders with a temporary solution until hybrid varieties are
ready. Varietal associations accounted for less than 10 % of
areas cultivated with swede rape in France in 2000 (2).

As the Committee has already stated in its opinion (3)
3.5.
on a ‘New impetus for a plan for plant protein crops in the
Community’, support must be given to the research and
development of new varieties in order to improve the pro-
ductivity of these plants. For this reason, the Committee
welcomes the Commission’s initiative, whose aim is to include
the marketing of hybrids and varietal associations of oil and
fibre plants within the scope of Directive 69/208 by 30 June
2002.

4. Specific comments

4.1.
The seed of hybrid varieties or varietal associations is
targeted cross breeding using
produced with the help of
pollination between a sterile male line and another male line.
In this context, the practices used to secure varietal purity are
very important, although the practice of cross-pollination and

( 1) Data obtained from AMSOL (a French oil-plant seed sector

association) and GNIS (a French seed trade grouping).

( 2) Data obtained from AMSOL (French oil-plant seed sector associ-

ation).

( 3) EESC opinion CES 26/2002 (OJ C 80 of 3.4.2002)

Brussels, 17 July 2002.

unpredictable weather conditions make it impossible to obtain
100 % varietal purity. The annex to the decision establishing
the Commission’s temporary experiment focuses on means of
producing certified seed with a view to guaranteeing the
varietal identity and purity of seed lots.

Although these issues fall under the committee pro-
4.2.
cedure (Standing Committee on Seeds), the European Econ-
omic and Social Committee would stress that the Commission
does not provide a review of the various criteria used or their
relevance to varietal identity and purity.

4.3.
The Committee calls on the Commission to present its
conclusions on the criteria to be used to define varietal purity
before 30 June 2002, bearing in mind that this element is set
to become increasingly important as more work is done to
enhance the genetic potential of varieties.

5. Conclusions

5.1.
The Committee welcomes the Commission proposal
to make the temporary experiment with marketing hybrid
varieties and varietal associations of oil plants permanent, as
this measure may go some way towards helping the European
Union to make good its major shortage of plant-protein-rich
materials.

5.2.
The Commission should nonetheless present a report
on this temporary experiment, and more specifically on the
criteria used to guarantee varietal identity and purity in seed
lot production. The Committee would stress that the pressure
to achieve results in the seed production sector makes it
necessary to bring practice up to date using the most effective
techniques.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke FRERICHS