2009/109/EC: Commission Decision of 9 February 2009 on the organisation of a temporary experiment providing for certain derogations for the marketing of seed mixtures intended for use as fodder plants pursuant to Council Directive 66/401/EEC to determine whether certain species not listed in Council Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 2002/55/EC or 2002/57/EC fulfil the requirements for being included in Article 2(1)(A) of Directive 66/401/EEC (notified under document number C(2009) 724) (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2009-02-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: derogation from EU law, fodder plant, marketing standard, seed, weights and measures

L 40/26

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Official Journal of the European Union

11.2.2009

(Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is not obligatory)

II

DECISIONS

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 9 February 2009

on the organisation of a temporary experiment providing for certain derogations for the marketing
of seed mixtures intended for use as fodder plants pursuant to Council Directive 66/401/EEC to
determine whether certain species not
listed in Council Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC,
the requirements for being included in Article 2(1)(A) of
2002/55/EC or 2002/57/EC fulfil

Directive 66/401/EEC

(notified under document number C(2009) 724)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2009/109/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

lanceolata, Trifolium fragiferum, Trifolium glanduliferum,
Trifolium hirtum,
Trifolium
squarrosum, Trifolium subterraneum, Trifolium vesiculosum,
and Vicia benghalensis (hereinafter species referred to in
recital 1).

Trifolium michelianum,

Having regard to Council Directive 66/401/EEC of 14 June
seed (1), and in
1966 on the marketing of
particular Article 13a thereof,

fodder plant

(2)

Whereas:

(1)

Traditional knowledge of farmers combined with recent
results from research indicate that some species of Legu­
minosae and Plantago lanceolata not
listed in Council
Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC (2), 2002/55/EC (3)
or 2002/57/EC (4)
(hereinafter the existing legislation),
in particular when used in mixtures with species
covered by the existing legislation, are interesting for
fodder production permitting a balanced feeding of
animals throughout
the same time
contributing to the rehabilitation of soils in non-arable
or marginal cropping lands. It is the case for Biserrula
pelecinus, Lotus glaber, Lotus uliginosus, Medicago italica,
Medicago littoralis, Medicago murex, Medicago polymorpha,
Medicago rugosa, Medicago scutelatta, Medicago truncatula,
Plantago
Ornithopus

compressus, Ornithopus

the year while at

sativus,

(1) OJ 125, 11.7.1966, p. 2298/66.
(2) OJ 125, 11.7.1966, p. 2309/66.
(3) OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 33.
(4) OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 74.

in Article 4(2)

In the absence of

In accordance with the second indent of Article 13(1) of
Directive 66/401/EEC only seeds of plant species listed in
the existing legislation, with the exception of the varieties
of Council Directive
mentioned
2002/53/EC (5), may be marketed throughout
the
intended for use as
Community in seed mixtures
the possibility to
fodder plants.
market mixtures containing seed of the species referred
to in recital 1, farmers wishing to make use of those
species, have to transport and sow them as individual
species, or in certain cases, prepare mixtures themselves
In
at
there is an increased risk that
addition,
the different
species
included in the mixture will be unevenly
distributed on the field since the mixtures are not
prepared by professionals.

involving additional cost and work.

the farm,

(3)

To allow the species referred to in recital 1 to be
marketed in such mixtures it would be necessary to
amend Article 2(1)(A) of Directive 66/401/EEC by
including those species in that provision.

(5) OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 1.

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 40/27

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

such an amendment

referred to in recital 1.

to
to decide about
In order
Article 2(1)(A) of Directive 66/401/EEC,
it is necessary
to gather information on the marketing of mixtures
containing the species
In
particular it needs to be verified, whether, where those
species are used in mixtures, it is possible to confirm by
official post-control that the percentage of seed of each
component indicated on the label of the package corres­
ponds to the composition of the mixture and whether
in all
mixtures of
packages marketed. In the absence of that information,
it would be impossible to guarantee to users that the
seed of mixtures containing species
referred to in
recital 1 will provide high-quality results.

the same lot are homogeneous

is

It
therefore appropriate to organise a temporary
experiment to verify whether the species referred to in
recital 1 fulfil the requirements for being included in
Article 2(1)(A) of Directive 66/401/EEC.

Member States participating in the experiment should be
released from the obligations set out in the second indent
of Article 13(1) of Directive 66/401/EEC with respect to
the species referred to in recital 1. They should allow the
placing on the market of mixtures containing those
species under certain conditions.

It is appropriate to provide for specific requirements for
the certification of the species referred to in recital 1 in
order to ensure that the seed of these species fulfils the
same requirements in all participating Member States.
These requirements should be based on the conditions
set out in OECD Certification Schemes for the Varietal
Certification or the Control of Seed Moving in Inter­
national Trade (hereinafter: OECD Schemes) or in the
national standards of the Member State in which the
seed is produced.

In addition to the general conditions provided for in
Commission Decision 2004/371/EC of 20 April 2004
on conditions for the placing on the market of seed
mixtures intended for use as fodder plants (1), specific
the marketing of
for
conditions
conditions
experiment. Those
mixtures under
information
should ensure the collection of sufficient
for the assessment of the experiment.
It is, therefore,
necessary to provide for rules on labelling, monitoring
and reporting.

should be set out

the

Given the experimental nature of the measure provided
the
for by this Decision, a maximum quantity for
marketing of seed mixtures should be fixed, taking into
account the need to test different mixtures using existing
facilities.

(10)

(11)

(12)

To allow Member States to verify that the maximum
firms intending to produce
quantity is not exceeded,
such seed mixtures
to the
should
Member States concerned the quantities they intend to
produce. Member States should have the possibility to
the marketing of seed mixtures where they
prohibit
consider this necessary in view of
the need to test
different mixtures without
exceeding the maximum
quantity.

communicate

In order to allow suppliers to produce and market a
sufficient quantity of seed and to permit the competent
authorities to inspect that material and collect sufficient
and comparable
the
preparation of the report, the experiment should take
place over a period of at least five marketing seasons.

information to be used for

in this Decision are in
The measures provided for
accordance with
Standing
the
Committee on Seeds and Propagating Material for Agri­
culture, Horticulture and Forestry,

opinion

the

of

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Subject matter

italica, Medicago

A temporary experiment is organised at Community level to
assess whether the following species: Biserrula pelecinus, Lotus
littoralis,
glaber, Lotus uliginosus, Medicago
Medicago murex, Medicago polymorpha, Medicago rugosa, Medicago
scutelatta, Medicago truncatula, Ornithopus compressus, Ornithopus
sativus, Plantago lanceolata, Trifolium fragiferum, Trifolium glandu­
liferum,
Trifolium
squarrosum, Trifolium subterraneum, Trifolium vesiculosum, and
referred to in
Vicia
Article 1), can be marketed as or in seed mixtures, for the
those species
purpose of deciding whether some or all of
in
should
Article 2(1)(A) of Directive 66/401/EEC.

Trifolium michelianum,

Trifolium hirtum,

fodder plants

benghalensis

(hereinafter

included

in the

list of

species

the

be

Article 2

Participation of Member States

Any Member State may participate in the experiment.

Member States which decide to participate in the experiment
(hereinafter: participating Member States)
inform the
Commission accordingly.

shall

(1) OJ L 116, 22.4.2004, p. 39.

They may terminate their participation at any time by informing
the Commission accordingly.

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Article 3

Release

For the purposes of

the experiment, mixtures of seed
1.
referred to in Article 1, with or
containing the species
without
listed in Directives 66/401/EEC,
66/402/EEC, 2002/55/EC or 2002/57/EC, may be placed on
the market under the conditions provided for in Articles 4
and 5.

seed of

species

2.
Participating Member States are released from the obli­
gations provided for in the second indent of Article 13(1) of
Directive 66/401/EEC.

Article 4

Conditions concerning seed of the species referred to in
Article 1

Seed of the species referred to in Article 1 shall satisfy the
following conditions:

(a)

it belongs to a variety listed in a national catalogue of a
Member State or in the OECD List of Varieties Eligible for
the Seed Certification;

(b) it is certified in accordance with Annex I;

(c)

it fulfils the conditions set out in point 1 of Annex II.

Article 5

Conditions concerning mixtures under the experiment

In addition to the
in Decision
2004/371/EC, mixtures under the experiment shall fulfil the
conditions set out in point 2 of Annex II.

conditions provided for

A Member State may prohibit the placing on the market of a
seed mixture, if it considers that, in view of the purpose of the
experiment, it is not appropriate that additional quantities of the
seed mixture concerned are placed on the market.
It shall
immediately inform the firm or firms concerned.

Article 7

Monitoring

The Authority referred to in point (A)(I)(c)(2) of Annex IV to
Directive 66/401/EC of the participating Member States shall
monitor the experiment.

Article 8

Reporting obligations

Participating Member States shall, for each year, present to
1.
the Commission and the other Member States a report
the
including a list of
experiment and the quantity marketed for each of
these
mixtures by 31 March of
the following year. The Member
States may decide to include in the report any other relevant
information.

species used in mixtures under

2.
At the end of the experiment and in any case at the end
of their participation, participating Member States shall by 31
March of the following year, present to the Commission and the
other Member States a report including the information referred
to in point 3 of Annex II. The report may include other infor­
mation they consider relevant in view of the purpose of the
experiment.

Article 9

Time period

The experiment shall start on 1 June 2009 and end on 31 May
2014.

Article 6

Quantitative restrictions

Article 10

Addressees

Participating Member States shall ensure that

1.
the total
quantity of seed to be used in mixtures under the experiment
does not exceed 1 000 tonnes per year.

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 9 February 2009.

Participating Member States shall ensure that firms declare
2.
to the authority referred to in point (A)(I)(c)(2) of Annex IV to
Directive 66/401/EEC the quantity of seed mixtures they intend
to produce.

For the Commission

Androulla VASSILIOU
Member of the Commission

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Official Journal of the European Union

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ANNEX I

SPECIES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 1 AND CONDITIONS FOR THEIR CERTIFICATION

Species

Minimum
germination
(% of pure seeds (a))

Minimum
analytical purity
(% by weight)

Maximum content of
seeds of other plant
species
(% by weight)

Maximum content of seeds
of other plant species in a
sample of the weight
specified in column 7

Maximum weight
of a lot
(tonnes)

Minimum weight of a
sample to be drawn
from a lot
(grams)

1

2

Biserrula pelecinus

70 (including
hard seeds)

Lotus uliginosus

Lotus glaber

Medicago murex

Medicago polymorpha

Medicago rugosa

Medicago scutellata

Medicago italica

Medicago littoralis

75 (40)

75 (40)

70 (30)

70 (30)

70 (20)

70

70 (20)

70

Medicago truncatula

70 (20)

Ornithopus compressus

Ornithopus sativus

Plantago lanceolata

Trifolium fragiferum

75 (including
hard seeds)

75 (including
hard seeds)

75

70

Trifolium glanduliferum

70 (30)

Trifolium hirtum

Trifolium. michelianum

Trifolium squarrosum

Trifolium subterraneum

Trifolium vesiculosum

70

75 (30)

75 (20)

80 (40)

70 (including
hard seeds)

3

98

97

97

98

98

98

98

98

98

98

90

90

85

98

98

98

98

97

97

98

Vicia benghalensis

80 (20)

97 (b)

4

0,5

0,5

0,5

2,0

2,0

2,0

2,0

2,0

2,0

2,0

1,0

1,0

1,5

1,0

1,0

1,0

1,0

1,5

0,5

1,0

1,0

5

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

(c) (d) (e)

6

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

5

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

20

7

30

25

30

50

70

180

400

100

70

100

120

90

20

40

20

70

25

150

250

100

1 000

(a) Up to the maximum quantity indicated, hard seed present shall be regarded as seed capable of germination.
(b) A maximum total of 6 % by weight of seeds of Vicia pannonica, Vicia villosa or related cultivated species in another relevant species shall not be regarded as an impurity.
(c) Seeds of Avena fatua and Avena sterilis shall not be present in a sample of the prescribed weight.
(d) The presence of one seed of Cuscuta spp. in a sample twice the prescribed weight shall not be regarded as an impurity where a second sample of twice the prescribed

weight is free of any seeds of Cuscuta spp.

(e) The presence of seeds of Rumex spp. other than Rumex acetosella and Rumex maritimus shall not exceed 10 in a sample with the prescribed weight.

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ANNEX II

CONDITIONS OF THE EXPERIMENT

1. Conditions for seed of species referred to in Article 1.

(a) Field inspection shall be carried out in accordance with the OECD Schemes, where the species are covered by those
Schemes or, if this is not the case, in accordance with the national standards of the Member State in which the
seed is produced.

(b) Member States shall ensure that all seed lots are subject to field inspection, sampling and seed analysis in
accordance with Directive 66/401/EEC before their mixture, whether officially or under official supervision.

2. Conditions for mixtures under the experiment.

(a) Seed samples shall be taken at random from the lots of seed mixtures under the experiment by official seed
samplers. These samples shall be used as control samples for checking the composition of the mixtures under the
experiment in accordance with Article 4 of Decision 2004/371/EC.

The level and the intensity of the sampling and inspections carried out in accordance with Article 4 of Decision
2004/371/EC shall be suitable for the purposes of the experiment.

(b) In addition to the information required in accordance with Directive 66/401/EEC and Decision 2004/371/EC, the

official label shall include the following information:

(i) the botanical names of all species referred to in Article 1 (including varieties, where appropriate) included in

the mixture under the experiment;

(ii) the percentage composition by weight of the various components shown by species referred to in Article 1

and, where appropriate, by variety;

(iii) a reference to this Decision.

Where the information referred to in points (i) and (ii) is not legible on the official label, the mixture under the
experiment may be placed on the market with the name of the mixture provided that the information referred to
in points (i) and (ii) has been notified in writing to the purchaser and officially recorded.

3. Information to be recorded.

(a) name of the species (including varieties, where relevant) used in mixtures under the experiment;

(b) quantity of each seed mixture under the experiment placed on the market during the authorised period and the

Member State for which the seed mixture was intended;

(c) composition of mixtures under the experiment marketed;

(d) procedures (standards) followed for certification of species referred to in Article 1 (OECD Schemes or national

standards);

(e) results of the field inspection and laboratory tests for certification of species referred to in Article 1, where they are

carried out in Member States;

(f)

information about imports under OECD Schemes as regards, in particular, quantity, composition of seed mixtures
under the experiment, country of origin and labelling;

(g) results of the tests carried out in accordance to points (a) and (b) of paragraph 2 on control samples;

(h) a cost benefits analysis to be used to support or not the aim of the experiment.