Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 2002/54/EC and 2002/57/EC as regards examinations carried out under official supervision and equivalence of seed produced in third countries’COM(2004) 263 final - 2004/0086 CNS
Date: 2004-09-15
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: Community certification, agronomic research, marketing, plant health control, plant health legislation, plant propagation, seed

23.3.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 74/55

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council Directive
amending Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 2002/54/EC and 2002/57/EC as regards examinations
carried out under official supervision and equivalence of seed produced in third countries’

COM(2004) 263 final - 2004/0086 CNS

(2005/C 74/10)

On 29 April 2004, the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under
Article 37 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the abovementioned 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 6 July 2004. The rapporteur working
without a study group was Mr Bros.

At its 411th plenary session of 15 and 16 September 2004 (meeting of 15 September), the European
Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 85 votes to one, with three abstentions.

1. Introduction

decision, pending the application of the new provisions (imple-
mentation of directives).

1.1
In the period 1998-2003 the Commission authorised
the Member States to carry out a temporary experiment on
seed sampling and seed testing carried out on the basis of the
Community legislation on the marketing of seed. Analysis of
the results showed that:

— under specified conditions there could be a simplification of
the procedures for official seed certification without any
significant decline in the quality of the seed compared with
that achieved under the system for official seed sampling
and seed testing;

— field inspections under official

supervision could be
extended to all the crops for the production of certified
seed;

— the proportion of the areas to be checked and inspected by

official inspectors could be reduced.

1.2
The changes to the rules applicable to seed moving in
international trade (OECD system) were adopted. The scope of
the Community seed equivalence in respect of seed harvested
in third countries could therefore be extended to all the various
kinds of seeds meeting the characteristics and the examination
requirements laid down in the various Community directives
on the marketing of seeds.

2.2
At the same time Directives 66/401/EEC (marketing of
fodder plant seed), 66/402/EEC (marketing of cereal seed),
2002/54/EC (marketing of beet
and 2002/57/EC
(marketing of seed of oil and fibre plants) must be adapted to
the conclusions of the experiment and the following changes
incorporated:

seed)

— the introduction of an examination under official supervi-

sion for the various categories of seed;

— the definition of the examination under official supervision
(inspections in the field or in a seed testing laboratory
authorised by the national body responsible for seed certifi-
cation);

— sampling for the purposes of certification can be done offi-
cially or under official supervision. The arrangements for
seed sampling under official supervision are set out (qualifi-
cations, checks on sampling practices and sanctions);

— the equivalence regime may be extended to seed harvested
in third countries and complying with Community charac-
teristics and requirements
(inspection and certification
system).

1.3
The Committee wishes to examine the Commission
proposal in the light of the development of the rules proposed
but also with a view to maintaining high quality requirements
for seed and with regard to plant-health issues.

3. General comments

2. The Commission proposal

The Commission proposes to extend to 31 March 2005
2.1
the experiment on inspections under official supervision (Deci-
sion 98/320/EC) in order to keep the Community conditions
concerning the marketing of seed produced pursuant to that

The main objective of the Commission proposal is to
3.1
simplify supervisory procedures in the seed sector. The delega-
tion of supervision is already practised in many Member States.
The Committee therefore supports the Commission's initiative.
However, it would point out that the Commission should have
submitted a new directive containing all the constituent parts
of the four directives concerned, which would have made the
changes easier to understand and would have ensured that the
measures in question were coherently harmonised.

C 74/56

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

23.3.2005

3.2
The Commission's decision concerning an experiment in
inspections under official supervision expires on 31 July 2004.
There will therefore be a legal void during the co-decision
legislative proposal. The
procedure on the Commission's
Committee therefore calls on the Commission to change its
Decision 98/320/EC in order to prevent such a legal void
occurring.

The Commission also proposes that the experimental
3.3
phase be extended to 31 March 2005 in order to allow the
changes to the directives concerned to be implemented. The
Committee would like to point out that this deadline is too
short, given the time required for implementation, approxi-
mately ten months. The Committee therefore proposes that the
deadline be extended to 31 July 2005.

3.4
The Committee is not in a position to express a view on
the appropriateness of the technical data concerning conditions
for field inspections (e.g. the change in the sampling rate) or on
the number of laboratory samples required. The Committee
would stress, however, that a common denominator is needed
for all the Member States. The data expressed in the form of a
range should therefore, rather, be expressed as a minimum
sampling percentage.

3.5
The delegation of official supervision to authorised
persons will make for more effective procedures. The Commis-
sion must ensure that the systems for supervising certification
remain effective. Currently, the Commission is carrying out
Community-wide comparative tests and exchanges of practice.
The amount earmarked for these activities (between € 500,000
and € 600,000) is insufficient in the light of the objective. The
Committee calls on the Commission to allocate additional
financial resources to these measures aimed at harmonisation
of supervisory systems.

The Committee would point out that, during the acces-
3.6
sion negotiations with the new Member States,
transitional
periods were agreed for varieties not included in the catalogue,
as they do not meet Community criteria. The Committee draws

Brussels, 15 September 2004.

the Commission's attention to these varieties which may be
marketed only in the countries concerned (Cyprus, Latvia,
Malta and Slovenia). This derogation period should be backed
by additional guarantees, e.g. regarding sample sizes and the
presence of wild oats (Avena fatua).

3.7
The Committee draws the Commission's attention to
disputes concerning the marketing of batches of poor-quality
the single
seed in the Member States. The completion of
market will also require traceability of batches of seed for
producers and effective coordination between the certification
agencies and the seed producers.

3.8 With regard to extending the scope of equivalence to
third countries,
the
thus
Committee points out
the Commission will have to
negotiate reciprocal equivalence with the third countries.
Equivalence must be based on identical standards. Similarly,
equivalence of supervisory systems for maintenance must be
required in order to ensure an identical level of quality.

complying with OECD rules,
that

4. Conclusions

The Committee endorses the Commission's proposal,
4.1
which is conducive to simplification of supervisory procedures,
while not reducing the required level of quality for seed
production. However, the Committee stresses that the Commis-
sion must continue to analyse the performance of supervisory
systems.

4.2
From a legislative point of view, the Committee stresses
that the Commission should have taken the opportunity to
present a legislative proposal bringing together all the directives
dealing with the marketing of cereal seed, fodder plant seed,
beet seed and seed of oil plants.

4.3
The Committee considers that the extension requested
to 31 March 2005 will allow insufficient time for the imple-
is therefore
law.
mentation of
proposed that the extension be to 31 July 2005.

the directives in national

It

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Roger BRIESCH