Report from the Commission to the Council on the movement of material for the propagation of the vine and on the use of official labels and the accompanying documents as foreseen in Article 10.6 of Council Directive 68/193/EEC
Date: 2004-06-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: labelling, marketing, marketing standard, packaging, plant propagation, vineyard, viticulture

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 14.6.2004 
COM(2004) 363 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

on the movement of material for the propagation of the vine and on the use of official 
labels and the accompanying documents as foreseen in Article 10.6 of Council Directive 
68/193/EEC  

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

Article 1(14) last paragraph of Council Directive 2002/11/EC of 14 February 2002 amending 
Directive 68/193/EEC on the marketing of material for the vegetative propagation of the vine 
and repealing Directive 74/649/EEC, lays down that " By 23 February 2004, the Commission 
shall draw up a report, together with proposals, if appropriate, on the movement of material 
for  the  propagation  of  the  vine  and  in  particular  on  the  use  of  official  labels  and  the 
accompanying documents introduced by the Member States”. 

The aim of this report is to evaluate the results of the survey on the movement and on the use 
of official labels and accompanying documents for the marketing of vine propagation material 
and to submit some proposals for improving the legislation concerning the crucial step of vine 
growing and consequently the wine making system. 

To permit the Commission to submit a comprehensive and up-to-date report to the Council, a 
specific questionnaire was circulated to Member States. The text of the questionnaire and the 
answers were examined in co-operation with experts from Member States.  

Herewith  the  evaluation  of  the  fulfilment  of  the  two  requirements  above  mentioned  is 
described. To complete the overview more information is added in the attached Annex. 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

on the movement of material for the propagation of the vine and on the use of official 
labels and the accompanying documents as foreseen in Article 10.6 of Council Directive 
68/193/EEC  

The new Article 10.6 of Council Directive 68/193/EEC of 9 April 1968 on the marketing of 
material  for  the  vegetative  propagation  of  the  vine  introduced  by  Council  Directive 
2002/11/EC  lays  down  that  "By  23  February  2004,  the  Commission  shall  draw  up  a  report, 
together  with  proposals,  if  appropriate,  on  the  movement  of  material  for  the  propagation  of 
the  vine  and,  in  particular,  on  the  use  of  official  labels  and  the  accompanying  documents 
introduced by the Member States". 

The aim of this report is to evaluate the results of the survey on the movement and on the use 
of official labels and the accompanying documents. 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Article 10.1 lays down that Member States shall require that an official label in one 
of the official languages of the Community, conforming to the specification in Annex 
IV,  be  affixed  to  the  outside  of  packages  and  bundles  of  propagating  material  by 
means of the sealing device. The colour of the label shall be white with a diagonal 
violet  stripe  for  initial  propagating  material,  white  for  basic  propagating  material, 
blue for certified material and dark yellow for standard material. 

However,  Article  10.2  lays  down  that  Member  States  may  authorise  producers  in 
their territory to market more than one package or bundle of grafted or rooted vines 
with the same characteristics, using a single label conforming to the specification in 
Annex IV. In such cases, the packages or bundles shall be attached together in such a 
way that if the attachment is damaged on separation it can no longer be put back. The 
label shall be affixed by means of the attachment. No resealing shall be authorised. 

To  permit  the  Commission  to  submit  a  comprehensive  and  up-to-date  report  to  the 
Council,  a  specific  questionnaire  was  circulated  to  Member  States.  The  text  of  the 
questionnaire  and  the  answers  were  examined  in  co-operation  with  experts  from 
Member States. 

2. 

GENERAL INFORMATION 

Four  Member  States  are  exempt  from  applying  Council  Directive  68/193/EEC  by 
virtue of Commission Decision 75/287/EEC due to the fact that the marketing of vine 
propagation  material  is  either  non-existent  or  of  minimal  economic  importance. 
Among  the  remaining  eleven  Member  States,  the  marketing  of  vine  propagation 
material is important in eight Member States and is of minimal economic importance 
in three Member States. 

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Concerning the eleven Member States, five brought into force the relevant national 
implement  Council  Directive  2002/11/EC  amending  Directive 
measures 
68/193/EEC. The other Member States are still in the process of implementing these 
measures. 

to 

The  report  will  be  focused  on  the  activity  carried  out  by  the  eight  Member  States 
where  vine  growing  is  economically  important.  Member  States  have  established  or 
designated  the  authority  responsible  for  the  application  of  the  official  measures  as 
foreseen  by  Article  2.1.H  (hereafter-official  body).  The  legal  provisions  relating  to 
this Directive have been put into practice by means of specific national legislation. 

Overall organisation of the official body 

The  number  of  staff  (inspectors  and  administrative  people  expressed  in  full-time 
equivalents)  employed  by  the  official  body  under  the  provisions  of  Directive 
68/193/EEC and its implementing measures are seen to be adequate in relation to the 
value  of  propagating  material  of  vine  in  the  Member  State  concerned.  Inspectors 
must  have  the  equivalent  of  a  Degree  or  Diploma  in  Agriculture,  Horticulture  or 
related  biological  science  and  relevant  experience.  A  qualification  from  an 
agricultural  school  or  similar  technical  qualifications  is  required  for  auxiliary  staff, 
where  these  are  employed.  In  the  majority  of  Member  States  staff  are  trained  and 
attend regular general and technical refresher courses. 

3. 

IDENTIFICATION OF VARIETY (ARTICLE 5B AND 5C) 

As  foreseen  by  the  relevant  Articles  for  the  acceptance  of  a  new  variety,  the 
conditions  related  to  distinction,  stability  and  homogeneity  are  examined.  The 
requirements  of  Directive  72/169/EEC  on  determining  the  characteristics  and 
minimum  conditions  for  inspecting  vine  varieties  are  applied.  CPVO  (Community 
Plant  Variety  Office),  UPOV  (Union  de  Protection  des  Obtentions  Végétales) 
protocols and OIVV (Office International de la Vigne et du Vin) descriptions are also 
applied where appropriate. 

Propagating  material  of  varieties  officially  accepted  in  other  Member  States  is 
accepted for control and certification in all countries. 

In  the  case  of  the  listing  of  clones,  their  ampelografic  identity  with  the  respective 
variety is examined. 

The listing procedures adopted by Member States are as follows: 

– 

– 

– 

The  candidate  clones  are  chosen  for  good  genetic  and  phytosanitary 
characteristics by the breeder. 

In the case of successful results, the breeder sends an application to the national 
authority in order to list the clone in the National Catalogue. 

The  clones  are  tested  for  their  identity  (trueness  to  type),  stability  and 
homogeneity on the basis of the official description of the relevant variety. The 
quality of the plants submitted should not be less than the standards laid down 

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for  certified  material  in  Council  Directive  68/193/EEC  and  its  implementing 
measures. 

– 

After the approval by the authority, the clone is listed in the National Catalogue 
of vine varieties or in a list of clones. 

The  National  Catalogue  and  the  list  of  clones  are  available  to  the  general  public. 
They are officially updated. 

4. 

CARRYING OUT OF CERTIFICATION/ AUTHORISATION, SURVEY, ETC (ARTICLE 3 TO 
13) 

Each  Member  States'  official  body  makes  annual  work  plans,  which  are  reviewed 
periodically. Formal internal or external assessments of the official body’s work are 
usually  undertaken.  In  the  majority  of  Member  States  inspectors  use  a  manual  for 
inspections. 

The procedures for certification/authorisation for the marketing are put into practice 
in such a way: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

evaluation of requests received for authorisation for the marketing propagating 
material and recording of data. 

field  inspections  usually  carried  out  on  the  whole  plantation  of  different 
categories of plant propagating material. The aim is the control of conditions to 
be fulfilled by the propagating material as regards identity and plant health per 
relevant category. 

inspection  of  propagating  material  of  different  categories  for  checking  the 
fulfilment  of  the  conditions  concerning  identity,  quality  of  material  and  plant 
health laid down by the annexes to the above Directive. 

administrative  checks  carried  out  on  the  fulfillment  of  the  requirements  laid 
down  by  agreement  for  certification,  recording  of  data,  labeling  system, 
delivering  of  other  relevant  documents,  sealing  and  checking  the  declared 
quantities. 

The  fulfilment  of  all  conditions  permits  the  delivering  of  official  labels  or  the 
authorisation for labelling under official control. 

Where necessary, samples are taken during inspections, mainly to check plant health 
(identification of quality harmful organisms). The necessity to check quality aspects 
such  as  the  identity  of  propagating  material  occurs  less  frequently.  A  manual  for 
sampling has been adopted by the majority of the official bodies. 

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5. 

LABELLING  

Vine  propagation  material  can  be  marketed  under  4  categories:  initial  propagating 
material, basic propagating material, certified material and standard material. 

For the standard category, in the majority of Member States labels are printed under 
official control, in one Member State they are printed officially. For certified, basic 
and initial propagating material categories labels are printed under official control in 
4 Member States and in the remaining 4 they are printed officially. 

According  to  the  legislation  in  force  concerning  measures  against  the  spread  of 
harmful  quarantine  organisms  (Council  Directive  2000/29/EC),  it  is  possible  to  put 
the information of plant passport on the certification labels with the exception of one 
Member State where this possibility is not applied. 

As foreseen in Article 10.2, the majority of Member States authorise the marketing 
of more than one package or bundle of grafted or rooted vines using a single label. 

The labelling is made under official control in four Member States and officially in 
the remaining four. 

The  normal  procedure  for  the  traceability  consists  in  starting  from  labels  found  on 
bundles  of  propagating  material  present  on  the  market  and  going  back  through 
documentation (application for control of material or fiscal documents, etc.) to assess 
the fulfilment of all requirements.  

Generally  the  propagating  material  is  not  accompanied  by  an  “accompanying 
document”  except  in  two  Member  States,  in  some  cases  there  is  a  fiscal  or 
transportation document. 

6. 

CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS 

Council  Directive  2002/11/EC  amending  Council  Directive  68/193/EEC  of  9  April 
1968  on  the  marketing  of  material  for  the  vegetative  propagation  of  the  vine 
introduced  a  new  approach  compared  to  the  previous  legislation  in  this  area.  In 
particular: 

– 

– 

– 

The  internal  market  is  now  fully  harmonised  in  this  area  which  is  the  initial 
step of the viticulture system. 

The  new  scientific  knowledge  can  be  transferred  to  the  production  of  vine 
propagating material. 

The  information  to  the  consumers  can  be  improved  and  the  movement  of 
propagating  material  can  be  monitored  through  a  new  label  format  and 
accompanying documents. 

Member States have encountered some difficulties in transposing the Directive, such 
as the implementation of the required new conditions. A specific problem has been 
the  delay  in  transposition  (average  delay  of  8  months,  based  on  the  figures  for  the 

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month  of  December).  Consequently,  it  should  be  possible  to  accomplish  an 
exhaustive  and  more  conclusive  evaluation  on  the  movement  of  material  for  the 
propagation  of  the  vine  and  in  particular,  on  the  use  of  official  labels  and  the 
accompanying  documents  introduced  by  the  Member  States  in  the  medium  term  (5 
years).  The  present  report,  prepared  in  close  co-operation  with  the  Member  States' 
official bodies, should be considered as a preliminary evaluation. 

The  report  has  been  prepared  based  on  the  experience  achieved  under  the  previous 
conditions  laid  down  by  the  above-mentioned  Directive.  This  experience  was 
compared to the brief experience gained to date under the new requirements. 

Although  very  few  problems  have  been  identified  or  reported  to  official  bodies  to 
date, clearly the existence of even a limited number of such cases suggests that some 
technical  aspects  related  to  the  requirements  to  be  met  by  propagating  material 
during the movement and related to the use of labels and accompanying documents 
could  be  further  improved  (e.g.  identification  and  monitoring  of  critical  points  on 
labelling, identification, health and external quality of propagating material). 

One means of assessing whether such improvements occur is through tests and trials. 
Under the provisions laid down by the Directive (Article 16) it is proposed that the 
Commission will continue to ensure that the arrangements for co-ordinating, carrying 
out, inspecting and financing tests and trials are in place. The tests and trials aim at 
harmonising technical methods of examination of propagating material and ensuring 
that  propagating  material  complies  with  the  requirements  and  conditions  of  the 
Directive.  This  aspect  can  be  considered  crucial  in  relation  to  the  accession  of 
Countries  where  viticulture  plays  a  very  important  role  to  improve  the  mutual 
confidence amongst the Member States. 

The main conclusions are that: 

–  Member States should continue their efforts to improve the control system by 

inspecting, sampling and testing to verify compliance with the requirements. 

–  Member States should continue to encourage producers to improve their efforts 
to  fully  understand  their  new  role  and  to  improve  the  quality  level  of  vine 
propagation material, which occupies an important place in agriculture within 
the Community. 

– 

The  official  bodies  of  the  Member  States  are  considering  the  possibility  laid 
down  in  Article  10.3  of  requiring  that  propagating  material  produced  within 
their  territories  should  be  accompanied  by  a  document  to  increase  the 
transparency  of  the  market  for  the  protection  of  the  final  consumer  from  an 
economic point of view  i.e. goods  true to type (confidence in the market and 
economic protection of consumer) and the related practices to achieve this. 

Based  on  the  general  opinion  expressed  by  the  official  bodies  and  on  the  present 
experience,  it  is  not  considered  necessary  to  submit  proposals  on  the  movement  of 
material for the propagation of the vine, and in particular, on the use of official labels 
and the accompanying documents introduced by the member States at the moment.

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ANNEX 

1. 

QUALITY  AND  PLANT  HEALTH  CONDITIONS  FOR  STANDARD  AND  CERTIFIED 
MATERIAL (ARTICLE 3, 10 AND 11) 

The marketing of standard material of rootstocks is not authorised in three Member 
States and the marketing of standard propagation material of vine is not allowed in 
one Member State. 

Member  States  apply  the  technical  conditions  laid  down  by  the  annexes  to  the 
Directive. Stock nurseries, cutting nurseries and propagating materials are subject to 
compulsory control. All types of propagating material are submitted to technical and 
administrative control, including controls on both labels and sealing of material. 

2. 

QUALITY  AND  PLANT  HEALTH  CONDITIONS  FOR  CERTIFIED  MATERIAL  (ARTICLE 3 
AND 11) 

National  certification  schemes  have  been  adopted  since  the  beginning  of  the 
seventies in France and Italy and progressively in the other Member States. 

Member  States  apply  the  technical  conditions  laid  down  by  the  annexes  to  the 
Directive. Stock nurseries, cutting nurseries and propagating materials are subject to 
compulsory  control.  All  types  and  categories  (initial,  basic  and  certified)  of 
propagating material are submitted to technical and administrative control, including 
controls on both labels and sealing of material. 

Member  States  apply  national  certification  systems  in  combination  with  EPPO 
(European Plant Protection Organisation) scheme and OIVV list of characteristics. In 
some  cases  they  give  an  official  reference  to  the  above  scheme.  The  certification 
exercise follows the EPPO list of harmful organisms and applies the EPPO indexing 
methodology and identification methods.  

Less frequently, the breeder himself may carry out premultiplication of the clones. In 
the  majority  of  Member  States  stock  nurseries  for  production  of  basic  category 
material  (rootstock  cuttings  and  rooted  graft  cuttings)  and  cutting  nurseries  where 
production of rooted cuttings and top grafts takes place are controlled by inspectors 
of the central official body, while stock nurseries and cutting nurseries for production 
of  material  of  certified  and  standard  categories  are  controlled  by  officials  of  local 
authorities.  Usually  rooted  cuttings  and  rooted  grafts  of  basic  category  are  sold  to 
nurserymen for planting stock nurseries from which they collect propagating material 
(rootstock cuttings and top graft cuttings) of certified category (clonal origin). 

3. 

TRACEABILITY 

To ensure an appropriate traceability (trace back and trace forward) producers of vine 
propagating  material  are  required  to  submit  a  request  for  the  authorisation  for  the 
marketing  the  above  material.  The  details  that  may  be  recorded  by  official  bodies 
include: 

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– 

– 

– 

– 

Name and relevant addresses of producer. 

Description of variety, type and category of material, places of production. 

Annual  records  of  premises,  varieties/lots  grown  and  origin  of  propagating 
material. 

Administrative  obligations  (register  of  crop  management,  register  of  buying/ 
selling). 

– 

Proper identification of material in the nursery. 

Producers  must  allow  access  for  inspection  and  sampling  purposes  and  co-operate 
generally  with  the  responsible  official  body.  An  identification  number  is  then 
generated.  Inspections  of  the  premises  are  carried  out  by  the  official  bodies  to 
establish that the producer and the material meet the requirements of the Directive. 

The validity of the authorisation is per quantity, per season and/or per year. 

Inspectors work closely with businesses to avoid, where possible, the situation where 
standards deteriorate to the extent that suspension or revocation of an authorisation is 
necessary.  Suspension  may  be  considered  where  there  has  been  a  serious,  but 
temporary,  neglect  of  the  Directive’s  requirements.  A  Notice  is  issued  by  the 
inspector, who checks if standards/procedures have been improved. Downgrading of 
propagating material and/or revocation of authorisation would be considered only in 
extreme  circumstances,  such  as  a  deliberate  disregard  of 
the  Directive’s 
requirements, with little likelihood of improvement. 

The  authorisation  records  are  available  to  the  authorities  but  usually  they  are  not 
available  to  the  public.  However,  the  list  of  authorised  producers  (identification 
number, name, place) is publicly accessible directly or under request in the majority 
of Member States. 

4. 

TESTS AND TRIALS 

Only  in  case  of  doubts  are  samples  taken  from  the  market  and  submitted  for  tests 
and/or  trials  to  check  compliance  with  the  quality  requirements  by  the  majority  of 
Member  States  where  the  production  of  vine  propagation  material  is  an  important 
business. In two Member States tests and trials are carried out routinely. 

Samples  are  examined  by  bodies  which  are  either  the  designated  authority 
responsible  for  the  quality  requirements  laid  down  by  the  Directive  or  bodies  co-
operating  on  the  basis  of  agreements.  Usually  the  bodies  responsible  for  tests  and 
trials follow a quality system. 

The results of sampling revealed only a few cases where quality problems had been 
found.  Concerning  plant  health,  the  most  frequent  cases  refer  to  viruses,  fungi, 
mycoplasms and bacteria (Agrobacterium). 

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5. 

CORRECTIVE ACTION IN THE PROPAGATING MATERIAL OF VINE 

Follow up to inspections or tests and trials: 

The  corrective  action  required  depends  on  the  severity/complexity  of  the  problem. 
For straightforward matters, the inspector visiting the premises may issue immediate 
instructions.  For  more  complex  matters  requiring  a  follow  up  (e.g.  new  pests, 
infringements) the matter is referred to senior inspectors who may, where necessary, 
seek advice from Headquarters (principal inspectors, Ministry and policy colleagues) 
to take the appropriate actions.  

Follow up of complaints from customers: 

The  official  body  requires  direct  corrective  action  (e.g.  treatments,  elimination  of 
material, improvement on survey or cropping, etc.) to be taken by producers if they 
are  located  in  the  same  Member  State.  In  the  case  of  producers  located  in  other 
Member  States,  the  official  body  informs  the  official  body  of  the  Member  State  of 
the producer concerned. 

When complaints about the quality of propagating material are received, the official 
body checks whether the complaint was indeed related or caused by the propagating 
material as it was supplied. If there is evidence that material of incorrect identity or 
labelling, health or quality was supplied, the producer and customer are informed of 
this fact. The producer then has to take measures to solve the problem and is advised 
how to prevent a repetition of the problem. 

It must be emphasised that a very low number of complaints have been received by 
official  bodies  from  customers  where  corrective  action  was  required.  The  most 
frequent cases refer to the absence of labels or accompanying documents or incorrect 
filling  in.  Some  cases  refer  to  quality  problems  like  plant  health  and  complaints 
about labelling (absence of labels, labels with incomplete information) poor growth 
of  rootstocks  and  poor  quality  of  cuttings/young  plants  like  weakness  of  grafting 
point,  diameters,  dried  material.  The  main  categories  of  propagating  material 
involved are respectively certified, standard and basic. 

The  most  frequent  measures  proposed  are:  treatment  against  pests,  withdrawal  of 
material  from  trade,  destruction,  improvement  of  the  internal  quality  system.  The 
official  body  verifies  the  implementation  of  corrective  action  to  be  taken  by 
subsequent inspections and checks. 

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