Proposal for a Council Decision on the equivalence of field inspections carried out in third countries on seed producing crops and on the equivalence of seed produced in third countries
Date: 2002-10-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: OECD, mutual recognition principle, plant health control, plant health legislation, seed, third country

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Proposal for a Council Decision on the equivalence of field inspections carried out in third
countries on seed producing crops and on the equivalence of seed produced in third countries

(2003/C 45 E/12)

COM(2002) 576 final

(Submitted by the Commission on 23 October 2002)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Council Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 2002/54/EC and 2002/57/EC on the marketing of seed
(fodder plants, cereals, beet, oil and fibre plants) provide for the Council to determine whether field
inspections carried out in third countries on seed producing crops satisfy the conditions laid down in
Community legislation and whether seed produced in these countries is equivalent to seed produced in the
Community.

By virtue of Council Decision 95/514/EC, this equivalence was determined in twenty countries. Decision
95/514/EC will expire on 31 December 2002.

On the basis of the information collected by the Commission services within the Standing Committee on
Seeds and obtained from Community comparative trials, these countries continue to afford the same
guarantees.

Furthermore, following official requests submitted by Estonia, Latvia and Yugoslavia to the Commission
and the examination of the available documentation, the Commission service feels satisfied on the
readiness of these three countries to produce seed equivalent to seed produced in the Community.

The present proposal renews the equivalence until 31 December 2007 for all the third countries referred
to in Decision 95/514/EC (other than Switzerland, covered since 1 June 2002 by ‘The Agreement between
the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products’), and add Estonia,
Latvia and Yugoslavia.

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 66/401/EEC of 14 June
fodder plant seed (1), and in
1966 on the marketing of
particular Article 16(1) thereof,

Having regard to Council Directive 2002/57/EC of 13 June
2002 on the marketing of seed of oil and fibre plants (4),
and in particular Article 20(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to Council Directive 66/402/EEC of 14 June
1966 on the marketing of cereal seed (2), and in particular
Article 16(1) thereof,

Whereas:

Having regard to Council Directive 2002/54/EC of 13 June
2002 on the marketing of beet seed (3), and in particular
Article 23(1) thereof,

(1) OJ 125, 11.7.1966, p. 2298/66. Directive as last amended by the

Directive 2001/64/EC (OJ L 234, 1.9.2001, p. 60).

(2) OJ 125, 11.7.1966, p. 1309/66. Directive as last amended by the

Directive 2001/64/EC (OJ L 234, 1.9.2001, p. 60).

(3) OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 12.

(1) The rules on official seed control in Argentina, Australia,
the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Bulgaria, Canada, Chile,
Croatia, Hungary,
Israel, Latvia, Morocco, New Zealand,
Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Turkey, the United
States of America, Uruguay, Yugoslavia and South Africa
provide for an official field inspection to be carried out
during the period of seed production.

(4) OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 74. Directive as amended by the Directive

2002/68/EC (OJ L 195, 24.7.2002, p. 32).

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(2) Those rules provide in principle that seed may be officially
certified and seed packages officially closed in accordance
with the OECD Schemes for the Varietal Certification of
Seed moving in International Trade. Those rules also
provide for seed sampling and testing in accordance with
the methods of the International Seed Testing Association
(ISTA), or where appropriate, in accordance with the rules
of the Association of Official Seed Analysts (AOSA).

laid

down

in Directives

(3) An examination of those rules and the manner in which
they are applied in those third countries has shown that
the field inspection of seed producing crops satisfies the
conditions
66/401/EEC,
66/402/EEC, 2002/54/EC and 2002/57/EC. The national
provisions governing seed harvested and controlled in
those countries afford the same assurances as regards the
seed's characteristics and the arrangements for its exam-
ination, for ensuring seed identification, for marking and
for control, as the provisions applicable to seed, harvested
and controlled within the Community, provided that
further conditions for seed producing crops and seed
produced,
in particular in respect of packages marking,
are satisfied.

field inspections carried out

(4) Council Decision 95/514/EC of 29 November 1995 on the
equivalence of
in third
countries on seed producing crops and on the equivalence
of seed produced in third countries (1) provides that for a
limited period field inspections carried out in certain third
countries on seed-producing crops of certain species are
considered as equivalent to field inspections carried out
in accordance with Community legislation and that seed
of certain species produced in those countries is considered
as
to seed produced in accordance with
Community legislation.

equivalent

(5) As Decision 95/514/EC will expire on 31 December 2002,
a new decision should be adopted and its scope extended
to Estonia, Latvia and Yugoslavia.

(6) It appears desirable to limit the period for which equiv-
alence is recognized under this Decision to five years.

(7) Certain amendments to the Annexes to this Decision
should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision
1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the
procedure
implementing powers
exercise of
conferred on the Commission (2),

the

for

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

listed in that Annex, shall be considered equivalent to field
inspections
in accordance with Directives
66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 2002/54/EC and 2002/57/EC
provided that they:

carried

out

(a) are carried out officially by the Authorities listed in Annex
I, or under the official supervision of those Authorities,

(b) satisfy the conditions laid down in point A of Annex II to

this Decision.

Article 2

Seed of the species specified in Annex I, produced in the third
countries listed in that Annex and officially certified by the
Authorities listed in that Annex shall be considered equivalent
to seed complying with Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC,
2002/54/EC and 2002/57/EC, if it satisfies the conditions laid
down in point B of Annex II to this Decision.

Article 3

1. Where equivalent seed is ‘relabelled and refastened’ in the
Community, within the meaning of OECD Schemes for the
Varietal Certification of Seed moving in International Trade,
the
66/402/EEC,
2002/54/EC and 2002/57/EC concerning the reclosing of
packages produced in the Community shall apply by analogy.

of Directives

66/401/EEC,

provisions

The first subparagraph shall be without prejudice to the OECD
rules applicable to such operations.

2.
EC labels shall not be used for re-labelling within the
Community, except for the following types of seed packages
for which EC labels may be used:

(a) packages containing a blend of seed from two or more
packages of seed of the same variety and category where
at least one of the original packages contained seed of EC
production and was
labelled in accordance with EC
requirements, provided that

(i) the seed of one or more of the component lots did not
satisfy before blending the EC standards or other
conditions as regards germination,

Article 1

(ii) the blend is homogenous, and

Field inspections concerning the seed production crops of the
species specified in Annex I carried out in the third countries

(iii) there is an indication on the label of each country of

production;

(1) OJ L 296, 9.12.1995, p. 13. Decision as

last amended by

Commission Decision 2002/276/EC (OJ L 96, 13.4.2002, p. 28).

(2) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

(b) small EC packages within the meaning of Directives

66/401/EEC or 2002/54/EC.

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Article 4

those
Amendments to the Annexes, with the exception of
concerning column 1 of
the table in Annex I, shall be
adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 5.

The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall be set at one month.

Article 6

Article 5

This Decision shall apply from 1 January 2003 to 31 December
2007.

The Commission shall be assisted by the Standing
1.
Committee on Seeds and Propagating Material for Agriculture,
Horticulture and Forestry.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph Articles 4 and
7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply.

Article 7

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

ANNEX I

COUNTRIES, AUTHORITIES AND SPECIES

Country

1

Authority

2

Species referred to in the
following Directives

3

Argentina

Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Pesca y
Alimentación, Buenos Aires

Australia

A.F.F.A. Grains Section, Canberra

Bulgaria

Executive Agency for variety testing, field inspection and
seed control, Sofia

Canada

Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa

Chile

Servicio Agricola y Ganadero, Santiago

Czech Republic

Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in
Agriculture, Praha

Estonia

Estonian Plant Production Inspectorate, Saku, Harjumaa,

Croatia

State Institute for Seed and Seedlings, Osijek

66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

2002/54/EC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

2002/54/EC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

2002/54/EC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC — other than
Zea mays and Sorghum spp.
2002/57/EC

2002/54/EC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

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1

2

3

Hungary

Israel

Latvia

National Institute for Agricultural Quality Control,
Budapest

Ministry of Agriculture, Bet-Dagan

Ministry of Agriculture, Riga

Morocco

Service de Controle des Semences et des Plants, Rabat

New Zealand

Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Wellington

2002/54/EC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC

66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

2002/54/EC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

Poland

Seed Inspection Service General Inspectorate, Warszawa

2002/54/EC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC — other than
Zea mays
2002/57/EC

Romania

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Bucuresti

Slovenia

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Ljubljana

Slovakia

Central Control and Testing Institute in Agriculture,
Bratislava

Turkey

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ankara

United States of America

USDA, Beltsville, Maryland

Uruguay

Ministerio de Ganadería Agricultura y Pesca, Montevideo

Yugoslavia

Federal Ministry of Economic and Internal Trade,
Belgrade

South Africa

National Department of Agriculture, Pretoria

2002/54/EC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

2002/54/EC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

2002/54/EC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

2002/54/EC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

2002/54/EC
66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC
2002/57/EC

66/401/EEC
66/402/EEC — only
in
respect of Zea mays and
Sorghum spp.
2002/57/EC

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ANNEX II

A. Conditions relating to field inspections carried out in third countries on seed producing crops

1. Field inspections shall be carried out in accordance with national rules for the application of the OECD Schemes

for the Varietal Certification of Seed moving in International Trade as follows:

— sugar beet and fodder beet seed, in the case of Beta vulgaris referred to in Directive 2002/54/EC,

— grass and legume seed, in the case of the species referred to in Directive 66/401/EEC,

— crucifer seed and other oil and fibre species seed,

in the case of the species referred to in Directives

66/401/EEC and 2002/57/EC,

— cereal seed, in the case of the species referred to in Directive 66/402/EEC, other than Zea mays and Sorghum

spp.,

— maize and sorghum seed, in the case of Zea mays and Sorghum spp. referred to in Directive 66/402/EEC.

2. Seed not finally certified shall be packed in officially closed packages which bear a special label provided for this

purpose by the OECD.

3. Seed not finally certified shall be accompanied, without prejudice to the certificate provided by the OECD

schemes, by an official certificate giving the following information:

— reference number of the seed used to sow the field and name of the Member State or third country which

certified that seed,

— area cultivated,

— quantity of seed,

— the attestation that the conditions that have to be satisfied by the crops from which the seed comes have been

fulfilled.

B. Conditions relating to seed produced in third countries

1. Seed shall be officially certified and its packages officially closed and marked in accordance with national rules for
the application of the OECD Schemes for the Varietal Certification of Seed moving in International Trade as
follows; the seed lots shall be accompanied by the certificates required under those OECD schemes:

— sugar beet and fodder beet seed, in the case of Beta vulgaris referred to in the Directive 2002/54/EC,

— grass and legume seed, in the case of the species referred to in Directive 66/401/EEC,

— crucifer seed and other oil or fibre species seed, in the case of the species referred to in Directives 66/401/EEC

and 2002/57/EC,

— cereal seed, in the case of the species referred to in Directive 66/402/EEC, other than Zea mays and Sorghum

spp.,

— maize and sorghum seed, in the case of Zea mays and Sorghum spp. referred to in Directive 66/402/EEC.

Moreover, seed shall satisfy the conditions of Community rules other than those relating to varietal identity and
varietal purity.

2. Seed shall satisfy the following conditions:

2.1. The conditions which seed shall satisfy in accordance with the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 are laid

down in the following Directives:

— Directive 66/401/EEC, Annex II,

— Directive 66/402/EEC, Annex II,

— Directive 2002/54/EC, Annex I (B),

— Directive 2002/57/EC, Annex II.

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2.2. For the purpose of the examination to check whether the above mentioned conditions have been satisfied,
samples shall be taken officially in accordance with the ISTA rules and their weights shall conform to the
weight stipulated under such methods, taking into account those specified in the following Directives:

— Directive 66/401/EEC, Annex III, columns 3 and 4,

— Directive 66/402/EEC, Annex III, columns 3 and 4,

— Directive 2002/54/EC, Annex II, second line,

— Directive 2002/57/EC, Annex III, columns 3 and 4.

2.3. The examination shall be carried out officially in accordance with the rules established under the ISTA rules.

2.4. By way of derogation from subparagraph 2.2 and 2.3, seed sampling and seed testing may be carried out in
accordance with the ‘Derogatory experiment on seed sampling and seed analysis’ set out in Annex V (A) to
the Decision adopted by the OECD Council on 28 September 2000 on the OECD Schemes for the Varietal
Certification of Seed moving in International Trade.

3. Seed shall satisfy the following additional conditions in respect of package marking:

3.1. The following official information shall be given:

— a statement that the seed satisfies the conditions of Community rules other than those relating to varietal

identity and varietal purity: ‘the seed complies with EC rules and standards’,

— a statement that the seed has been sampled and tested in accordance with current international methods:
‘Sampled and analysed according to ISTA rules for orange or green certificates by . . ., (name or initials of
the ISTA seed testing station)’,

— date of official closing,

— where seed lots have been ‘relabelled and refastened’ within the meaning of the OECD schemes, also a
the most recent date of reclosing and the Authorities

this operation took place,

that

statement
responsible therefore,

— country of production,

— declared net or gross weight or declared number of pure seeds or, in the case of beet seed, clusters, and

— where weight is indicated and granulated pesticides, pelleting substances or other solid additives are used,
the nature of the additive and also the approximate ratio between the weight of pure seed and the total
weight.

This information may be given either on the OECD label or on an additional official label which shall give
the name of the service and the country. Any suppliers' labels shall be drawn up in such a manner that they
cannot be confused with the additional official label.

3.2. In the case of seed of a variety which has been genetically modified, any label or document, official or
otherwise, which is affixed to or accompanies the seed lot, shall clearly indicate that the variety has been
genetically modified and provide for any other information as may be determined in the authorisation
procedure required under Community law.

3.3. An official notice placed inside the package shall give at least the reference number of the lot, the species and
the variety; in addition, in the case of beet seed, it shall be stated where appropriate whether the seed is
monogerm or precision seed.

This notice is not necessary if the minimum information is printed indelibly on the package or if an adhesive
label or a label of non-tear material is used.

3.4. Any chemical treatment of the seed and the active substance shall be noted either on the official label or on

a special label as well as on the container or inside it.

3.5. All information required for official labels, for official notices and for packages shall be given in at least one

of the official languages of the Community.

4. The seed lots shall be accompanied by an orange or green ISTA certificate giving the information relating to the

conditions in paragraph 2.

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5. In the case of basic seed of varieties which are exclusively maintained within the Community, the seed of the

preceding generations shall have been produced within the Community.

In the case of basic seed of other varieties, the seed of the preceding generations shall have been produced under
the responsibility of the persons responsible for the maintenance breeding, referred to in the Common Catalogue
of Varieties of Agricultural Plant Species either within the Community or in a third country which has been
granted, under Decision 97/788/EC (1), the equivalence of checks on practices for the maintenance of varieties
carried out in third countries.

6. Basic seed shall have been produced and officially controlled and certified:

— either within the Community, or

— in a third country which has been granted equivalence under this Decision for the production of basic seed of the
species concerned, provided that it has been produced from seed produced in accordance with paragraph 5.

7. In the case of Canada and the United States of America, by way of derogation from:

— paragraphs 2.2 and 2.3,

— paragraph 3.1., second indent, and

— paragraph 4,

sampling, testing and issue of seed analysis certificates may be carried out by officially recognised seed testing
laboratories according to the Rules of the AOSA. In this case:

— the following statement shall be given under paragraph 3.1.: ‘Sampled and analysed according to AOSA by

. . .’ (name or initials of the officially recognised seed testing laboratory), and

— the certificates required under paragraph 4 shall be issued by the officially recognised seed testing laboratory

under the responsibility of the Authorities listed in Annex I.

(1) OJ L 322, 25.11.1997, p. 39. Decision as last amended by Decision 2002/580/EC (OJ L 184, 13.7.2002, p. 26).