COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union concerning the position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the production and marketing of forest reproductive material, amending Regulations (EU) 2016/2031 and 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 1999/105/EC (FRM Regulation)
Date: 2026-04-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission
Subjects: forest, forest conservation, market approval, marketing standard, plant health legislation, plant propagation, plantation, seed, seedling, silviculture

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 23.4.2026  COM(2026) 149 final 2023/0228 (COD)  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union  concerning the position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the production and marketing of forest reproductive material, amending Regulations (EU) 2016/2031 and 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 1999/105/EC (FRM Regulation)  
 
2023/0228 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 

concerning the 

position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and 
of the Council on the production and marketing of forest reproductive material, 
amending Regulations (EU) 2016/2031 and 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council and repealing Council Directive 1999/105/EC (FRM Regulation) 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and 
to the Council 
(document COM(2023) 415 final – 2023/0228 COD): 

6 July 2023 

Date  of  the  opinion  of  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee: 

13 December 2023 

Date of the position of the European Parliament, first reading: 

24 April 2024 

Date of transmission of the amended proposal: 

N.A. 

Date of adoption of the position of the Council: 

21 April 2026 

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSAL FROM THE COMMISSION 

The  main  objective  of  the  proposal  concerns  the  production  and  marketing  of  high-quality 
forest reproductive material (FRM) in the Union and the functioning of the internal market in 
the FRM sector.  

The  proposal  strengthens  the  requirements  for  the  assessment  of  the  sustainability 
characteristics of the parent trees to speed up the climate change adaptation of forests. It aims 
to  enhance  the  conservation  of  forest  genetic  resources  by  introducing  simplified  rules  that 
enable  the  selection  of  genetically  diverse  parent  trees.  It  also  provides  the  opportunity  for 
Member  States  to  draw  up  contingency  plans  for  ensuring  a  sufficient  supply  of  FRM  for 
reforestation of areas affected by fires and other disasters. These measures aim to help create 
resilient forests and restore forest ecosystems, while supporting the production of wood and 
biomaterials as well as climate adaptation and mitigation.  

Finally,  the  proposal  aligns  the  legislation  with  technological  and  scientific  developments 
(innovative processes to  produce FRM, bio-molecular techniques and digitalisation), as well 
as  with  other  relevant  legislation  (e.g.  the  Plant  Health  Regulation  (EU)  2016/2031)  and 
establishes  well-structured  official  control  systems  based  on  the  principles  of  the  Official 
Controls Regulation (OCR) (Regulation (EU) 2017/625). 

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3. 

COMMENTS ON THE POSITION OF THE COUNCIL 

The  position  of  the Council  as  adopted  at  first  reading  fully  reflects  the  political  agreement 
reached  between  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  8  December  2025.  The 
Commission supports this agreement, the main points of which are set out below. 

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• 

On official controls (Articles 28, 29, 30 and 36): the compromise text agreed by the 
European Parliament and the Council extends the scope of application of the OCR to 
the FRM Regulation to Article 13 of the OCR, on written records of official controls, 
by  including  that  provision  in  Article  36  of  the  FRM  Regulation.  In  addition,  the 
compromise text reproduces further OCR provisions in a simplified form in the FRM 
Regulation, including on official  certification, as  a new paragraph in  Article 20; on 
Commission controls in Member States, as a new Article 30; on penalties, as a new 
Article 34; and on transparency of official controls, as a new Article 29. 

Regarding  the  approval  of  basic  material  for  forest  genetic  resources  (FGR) 
conservation purposes (Article 6): the European Parliament and the Council agreed 
on  the  Commission’s  compromise  proposal  (deleting  Commission  proposal  Article 
18  and  redrafting  Article  6).  The  Member  States  may  authorise  professional 
operators  to  approve  basic  material  for  the  purpose  of  conservation  of  FGR.  The 
Member States may also decide on the inclusion of that basic material in the national 
register (only basic material listed in the national register can be marketed).  

On  the  marketing  requirements  for  FRM  concerning  quality  pests  (Article  5): 
the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  agreed  on  the  Parliament  amendment  on 
the inclusion of an additional provision under Article 5(1) point (d) requiring that for 
FRM to be marketed it must be free from quality pests, or the presence of such pests 
on that FRM is so low that those pests do not adversely affect its quality. The final 
this  provision,  slightly  adapted  and  accompanied  by  a 
agreement  retains 
corresponding definition under Article 3, point 47, to ensure that the related controls 
to assess whether there are symptoms of quality pests are conducted on a risk basis 
and limited to visual inspections, thereby mitigating potential administrative burdens. 

On contingency plans (Article 9): the European Parliament and the Council agreed 
on  a  compromise  close  to  the  Council’s  mandate  where  contingency  plans  remain 
voluntary. At the Parliament’s request,  the list  of elements  that may be included in 
the  plan(s)  has  been  extended.  Additionally,  an  empowerment  to  the  Commission 
was  added  under  Article  9(4)  for  the  latter  to  specify  the  elements  to  support  the 
establishment and implementation of the contingency plans. 

On  the  date  of  application  of  the  Regulation  (Article  39):  the  European 
Parliament  and  the  Council  agreed  to  set  the  date  of  application  at  five  years  after 
entry into force of the FRM Regulation in accordance with the Council’s mandate. 

4. 

CONCLUSION 

The Commission supports the results of the inter-institutional negotiations and can therefore 
accept the Council's position at first reading. 

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