Council Directive 2002/57/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of seed of oil and fibre plants

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Council Directive 2002/57/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of seed of oil and fibre plants

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2002/57/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of seed of oil and fibre plants THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament (1 ),

Having consulted the Economic and Social Committee,

Whereas:

(1) Council Directive 69/208/EEC of 30 June 1969 on the marketing of seed of oil and fibre plants (2 ) has been frequently and substantially amended (3 ). For reasons of clarity and rationality the said Directive should be consolidated.

(2) The production of oil and fibre plants occupies an important place in the agriculture of the Community.

(3) Satisfactory results in the cultivation of oil and fibre plants depend to a large extent on the use of appropriate seed.

(4) Greater productivity will be achieved in the cultivation of oil and fibre plants within the Community if for the choice of the varieties permitted to be marketed the Member States apply uniform rules which are as strict as possible. A common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species is therefore provided in the Council Directive 2002/53/EC (4 ).

(5) It is desirable to establish a uniform certification scheme for the Community based on the experience gained in the application of schemes in the Member States and those of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. In the context of the consolidation of the internal market, the Community scheme should cover the production of seed with a view to marketing and to marketing within the Community, and should offer no possibilities for the Member States to derogate unilaterally from the scheme in a way that would hinder the free movement of seed within the Community.

(6) As a general rule, seed of oil and fibre plants should be allowed to be marketed only if it has been officially examined and certified, in accordance with the rules for certification, as basic seed or certified seed. The choice of the technical terms basic seed and certified seed is based on already existing international terminology. It should be possible under specific conditions to place on the market bred seed of generations prior to basic seed and seed as grown.

(7) Community rules should not apply to seed shown to be intended for export to third countries.

(8) In order to improve not only the genetic quality of Community seed of oil and fibre plants but also its external characteristics, certain requirements should be laid down as to analytical purity and germination.

(9) In order to ensure the identity of the seed, Community rules on packaging, sampling, sealing and marking must be established. To this end the labels should give the particulars needed both for official verification and for the information of the user and should clearly show the Community nature of the certification of the certified seed of the various categories.

(10) Rules for the marketing of chemically treated seed, seeds suitable for organic growing as well as for the conservation by use in situ of varieties threatened with genetic erosion, should be introduced.

(11) Derogations must be permitted under certain conditions, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 14 of the Treaty. Member States making use of the derogations must mutually assist each other as regards inspection.

(12) In order to ensure that both ...

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