Commission Regulation (EC) No 1452/2003 of 14 August 2003 maintaining the derogation provided for in Article 6(3)(a) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 with regard to certain species of seed and vegetative propagating material and laying down procedural rules and criteria relating to that derogation
Date: 2003-08-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: derogation from EU law, organic farming, plant propagation, potato, seed, seedling

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1452/2003

of 14 August 2003

maintaining the derogation provided for in Article 6(3)(a) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91
with regard to certain species of seed and vegetative propagating material and laying down
procedural rules and criteria relating to that derogation

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(6)

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 of 24
June 1991 on organic production of agricultural products and
indications referring thereto on agricultural products and food-
stuffs (1), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No
599/2003 (2), and in particular the second and third indent of
point (b) of Article 6(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Article 6(3) of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 provides
for a derogation by which Member States may authorise,
during a transitional period expiring on 31 December
2003, the use in organic production of seed and vegeta-
tive propagating material not produced by the organic
production method, where the producers are unable to
obtain propagating material from the organic production
method.

Community legislation of relevance for seed and vegeta-
tive propagating material is also applicable according to
Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91.

Maintaining biodiversity is an important principle of
organic farming and it should therefore be ensured that
farmers have a big range of cultivars and varieties to
choose among, including local cultivars and varieties.

It is clear that for certain species grown within the
Community, there will not be adequate amounts of orga-
nically produced seed and vegetative propagating mate-
rial available after 31 December 2003.

It is therefore necessary to maintain the possibility to
seed and vegetative propagating material not
use
obtained by the organic production method if it is not
possible to obtain seed or vegetative propagating mate-
rial produced by the organic production method.

(1) OJ L 198, 22.7.1991, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 85, 2.4.2003, p. 15.

For the species for which there will be adequate amounts
of organically produced seed or vegetative propagating
material of a significant number of varieties available it
should not be possible to use seed or vegetative propa-
gating material not obtained by the organic production
method. Accordingly, a list of the species excluded from
the scope of the derogation should be established.

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

The application of the derogation with regard to vegeta-
tive propagating material, other than seed potatoes,
should fall under the discretion of the Member States,
until appropriate criteria can be adopted at Community
level.

It is important to make the supply and demand for seed
and vegetative propagating material produced by the
organic production method more transparent in order to
stimulate increased production and use of seed and vege-
tative propagating material produced by this method.

Each Member State should therefore ensure that a data-
base, in which seed and seed potatoes produced by the
organic production method and respecting the general
criteria for production of seed and vegetative propa-
gating material can be registered,
is established and is
made available to the users. In this context, and in order
to facilitate access to information, it is appropriate to
develop a harmonised model for the registration form to
be used by the supplier of seed for the registration of
seed and seed potatoes in the databases.

Each Member State should ensure the publication of a
report on their granting of authorisations, for the infor-
mation of all stakeholders, Member States and the
Commission.

The system should be re-examined thoroughly after the
first two years of experience in order to assess to what
extent organically produced seed and vegetative propa-
gating material have been used by the farmers. In this
context the Commission should consider the opportu-
nity of developing a database at Community level.

(12)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of the Committee set up in
accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EEC) No
2092/91,

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HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER I

GENERAL RULES

Article 1

Maintenance of the derogation

1.
The derogation provided for in Article 6(3)(a) of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 2092/91, according to which Member States
may authorise the use of seed or vegetative propagating mate-
rial not obtained by the organic production method, subject to
the conditions set out in that Article, is maintained after 31
December 2003 as regards species not listed in the Annex to
this Regulation.

For the application of the derogation concerning seed or seed
potatoes referred to in the first subparagraph, procedural rules
and criteria are set out in Articles 3 to 14.

2.
Species for which it is established, in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 14 of Regulation (EEC) No
2092/91, that organically produced seed or seed potatoes are
available in sufficient quantities and for a significant number of
varieties in all parts of the Community are set out in the Annex
to this Regulation.

The species listed in the Annex are not entitled to authorisa-
tions pursuant to the derogation referred to in paragraph 1
unless it is justified by one of the purposes referred to in Article
5(1)(d).

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Regulation:

(a) the definitions in Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 shall apply;

(b) ‘supplier’ means an operator who markets seed or seed

potatoes to other operators.

CHAPTER II

APPLICATION OF THE DEROGATION

Article 3

for phytosanitary purposes by the

prescribed in accordance with Council Directive 2000/29/
EC (1)
competent
authority of the Member State for all varieties of a given
species in the area where the seed or seed potatoes are to
be used, and

(b) produced without the use of genetically modified organisms

and/or any products derived from such organisms.

Article 4

Authorities or bodies responsible for granting author-
isations

Inspection authorities or bodies referred to in Article 9 of
Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 are responsible for granting the
authorisation referred to in Article 5 of the present Regulation,
unless the Member State designates other authorities or bodies
supervised by the Member State concerned.

Article 5

Conditions for granting authorisations

1.
Authorisation to use seed or seed potatoes not obtained
by the organic production method may only be granted in the
following cases:

(a) if no variety of the species which the user wants to obtain

is registered in the database provided for in Article 6;

(b) if no supplier is able to deliver the seed or seed potatoes
before sowing or planting in situations where the user has
ordered the seed or seed potatoes in reasonable time;

(c) if the variety which the user wants to obtain is not regis-
tered in the database, and the user is able to demonstrate
that none of the registered alternatives of the same species
are appropriate and that
the authorisation therefore is
significant for his production;

(d) if it is justified for use in research, test in small-scale field
trials or for variety conservation purposes agreed by the
competent authority of the Member State.

Use of seed or seed potatoes not obtained by the organic
production method

Member States may, pursuant
to the procedure set out in
Article 5, authorise the use of seed or seed potatoes not
obtained by the organic production method, provided that the
seed or seed potatoes are:

(a) not treated with plant protection products, other than those
accepted for treatment of seed in part B of Annex II, to
Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91, unless chemical treatment is

The authorisation shall be granted before the sowing of

2.
the crop.

The authorisation shall be granted only to individual users
3.
for one season at a time and the authority or body responsible
for the authorisations shall register the quantities of seed or
seed potatoes authorised.

(1) OJ L 169, 10.7.2000, p. 1.

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By way of derogation from paragraph 3, the competent
4.
authority of the Member State may grant to all users a general
authorisation for a given

— species when and in so far as the condition laid down in

paragraph 1(a) is fulfilled, or

— variety when and in so far as the conditions laid down in

paragraph 1(c) are fulfilled.

Such authorisations shall be clearly indicated in the database.

Authorisation may only be granted during periods for

5.
which the database is updated in accordance with Article 7(3).

CHAPTER III

RULES ON REGISTRATION OF SEED OR SEED POTATOES
OBTAINED BY THE ORGANIC PRODUCTION METHOD

Article 6

Database

1.
Each Member State shall ensure that a computerised data-
base is established for the listing of the varieties for which seed
or seed potatoes obtained by the organic production method
prescribed in Article 6(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 are
available on its territory.

2.
The database shall be managed either by the competent
authority of the Member State or by an authority or body
designated for this purpose by the Member State, hereinafter
referred to as ‘manager of the database’. Member States may
also designate an authority or a private body in another
country.

3.
Each Member State shall inform the Commission and the
other Member States of the authority or private body desig-
nated to manage the database.

Article 7

Registration

1.
Varieties for which seed or seed potatoes produced by the
organic production method are available shall be registered in
the database at the request of the supplier.

2.
Any variety which has not been registered in the database
shall be considered as unavailable with regard to the applica-
tion of Article 5 of the present Regulation.

3.
Each Member State shall decide in which period of the
year the database has to be regularly updated for each species
or group of species cultivated on its territory. The database
shall hold information on this.

Article 8

Conditions for registration

1.

For registration, the supplier must be able to:

(a) demonstrate that he or the last operator, in cases where the
supplier is only dealing with prepackaged seed or seed
potatoes, has been subject to the inspection system referred
to in Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91;

(b) demonstrate that the seed or seed potatoes to be placed on
the market comply with the general requirements applic-
able to seed and vegetative propagating material;

(c) make available all the information required under article 9
of this Regulation, and undertake to update this informa-
tion at the request of the manager of the database or when-
ever such updating is necessary to ensure that the informa-
tion remains reliable.

2.
The manager of the database may, with the approval by
the competent authority of the Member State, refuse a suppli-
er's application for registration or delete an already accepted
registration if the supplier does not comply with the require-
ments set out in paragraph 1.

Article 9

Registered information

For each registered variety and for each supplier, the data-

1.
base shall contain at least the following information:

(a) the

scientific name of

the

species

and the variety

denomination;

(b) the name and contact details of

the supplier or his

representative;

(c) the area where the supplier can deliver the seed or seed
potatoes to the user in the usual time needed for the
delivery;

(d) the country or region in which the variety is tested and
approved for the purpose of the common catalogue of vari-
eties of agricultural plant species and vegetable species;

(e) the date from which the seed or seed potatoes will be

available;

(f) the name and/or code number of the inspection authority
or body in charge of the inspection of the operator as
referred to in Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91.

The supplier shall immediately inform the manager of the
2.
database if any of the registered varieties are no longer avail-
able. The amendments shall be recorded in the database.

Besides the information specified in paragraph 1,

3.
database shall contain a list of the species listed in the Annex.

the

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Article 10

Access to information

1.
The information in the database shall be available
through the Internet, free of cost, to the users of seed or seed
potatoes and to the public. Member States may decide that
users who are registered according to Article 8(1)(a) of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 2092/91 shall obtain, at request, an extract of
data concerning one or several groups of species from the data-
base manager.

2.
The Member States shall ensure that all users who are
registered according to Article 8(1)(a) of Regulation (EEC) No
2092/91 are informed, at least once a year, about the system
and how to obtain the information in the database.

Article 11

Registration fee

Each registration may be subject to the levying of a fee, which
shall represent the cost of introducing and maintaining the
information in the database. The competent authority of the
Member State shall approve the level of the fee practised by the
manager of the database.

CHAPTER IV

REPORT AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 12

Annual report

(d) the total quantity of seed or seed potatoes involved:

(e) the chemical

treatment
referred to in Article 3(a).

for phytosanitary purposes, as

2.
For authorisations according to Article 5(4) the report
shall contain the information referred to in paragraph 1(a) and
the period for which the authorisations were in force.

Article 13

Summary report

The competent authority of the Member State shall, before 31
March each year, collect the reports and send a summary report
covering all authorisations of
the Member State from the
previous calendar year to the Commission and to the other
Member States. The report shall cover the information specified
in Article 12. The information shall be published in the data-
base. The competent authority may delegate the task of
collecting the reports to the manager of the database.

Article 14

Information upon request

from a Member State or

the Commission,
Upon request
detailed information on authorisations granted in individual
cases shall be made available to other Member States or to the
Commission.

Article 15

Revision

1.
The authorities or bodies designated to grant authorisa-
tions in accordance with Article 4 shall register all authorisa-
tions, and shall make this information available in a report to
the competent authority of
the Member State and to the
manager of the database.

The report shall contain, for each species concerned by an
authorisation according to Article 5(1), the following informa-
tion:

(a) the

scientific name of

the

species

and the variety

denomination;

(b) the justification for the authorisation indicated by a refer-

ence to Article 5(1)(a), (b), (c) or (d);

(c) the total number of authorisations;

Before 31 July 2006 the Commission will examine the avail-
ability and use of seed or vegetative propagating material
obtained by the organic production method and the effective
implementation of the present regulation and will, if necessary,
make the appropriate amendments.

Article 16

Entry into force and application

into force on the 20th day
This Regulation shall enter
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2004.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 14 August 2003.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

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The Commission is currently investigating this issue with the Member States in order to establish a list of species to be
included in the Annex, in accordance with the opinion of the Committee set up in accordance with Article 14 of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 2092/91.

ANNEX