HARMONISATION OF THE SEED REGULATORY FRAMEWORK AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL - European Union

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1 HARMONISATION OF THE SEED REGULATORY FRAMEWORK AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL - European Union Päivi Mannerkorpi European Commission DG Health and Consumers Unit E.1 Biotechnology and Plant Health 1

2 EU in nutshell European Union (EU) (since 1993): now political and economical union of 27 Member States. Three pillars: 1. European Communities (EC) (since 1957, Treaty of Rome): legal person, policies and legislation of internal market. 2. Common foreign and security policy (CFSP) 3. Police and Judical Co-operation in Criminal matters (PJCC) Main EU institutions: - Council of the European Union: 27 governments of MS - European Parliament - Commission of the European Communities (CEC): Main executive body, proposes legislation and ensures that EU policies are properly implemented.

3 EU in nutshell(2) A single internal market for around 500 million citizens

4 EC legislation on marketing of seeds and propagating materials (1) Body of legislation : 12 Directives on seeds and propagating materials (agriculture, vegetables, vine, forestry, ornamentals, fruit), based on international standards since the 1966 s Basic principles: Free marketing of seed and propagating material within the EU with the aim to ensure the quality of seed to farmer. Member States have the right to implement additional or stricter measures on the domestic production. Key elements: Listing of varieties Seed certification

5 EC legislation on marketing of seeds and propagating materials (2) Listing of varieties: - Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) - Satisfactory value for cultivation and use (VCU) for agricultural crops - Rules on Denomination - On basis of information from Member States: Common catalogues for varieties of agricultural plant species and for varieties of vegetable species. Seed certification: Unified system of certification to give the user of seed guarantees in respect of varietal identity and purity, germination capacity and specific purity as well as guaranteeing the seed bought from a plant health point of view. - Field inspection - Seed sampling - Seed testing - Labelling/sealing - Post control

6 EC legislation on marketing of seeds and propagating materials (3) Other related legislation: An EU plant variety protection system since The EU rules based on UPOV standards (1991 Act). At present varieties of plants are protected. In addition: EU rules on Community Plant Health Regime, Plant protection products, GMO's and organic agriculture

7 EC seed legislation on equivalence (1) Basic principle: Seed produced in third countries is considered equivalent to seed produced in accordance with Community legislation, e.g. seed may be marketed within the EU if the seed affords the same assurances as seed officially certified within the Community.

8 EC seed legislation on equivalence (2) Process of seeking equivalence: Request, evaluation, mission and decision by Council Decision 2003/17/EC: Country, authority and plant species listed in Annex I. Coverage of Directive 2003/17/EC: Agricultural crops Cereal seed, Council Directive 66/402/EEC Fodder plant seed, Council Directive 66/401/EEC Beet seed, Council Directive 2002/54 EC Seed of oil and fibre plants, Council Directive 2002/57/EC

9 EC seed legislation on equivalence (3) Field inspections are equivalent if Carried out according to national rules for the Application of the OECD Schemes for the Varietal Certification of Seed moving in International Trade as follows: Cereal seed, Council Directive 66/402/EEC Fodder plant seed, Council Directive 66/401/EEC Beet seed, Council Directive 2002/54 EC Seed of oil and fibre plants, Council Directive 2002/57/EC

10 EC seed legislation on equivalence (4) Seed is equivalent if - Produced in a listed third country (Annex of 2003/17/EC) - Officially certified by the listed authorities (generations prior to basic seed are excluded) - The seed also satisfies the conditions of Community rules other than those relating to varietal identity and purity, additional conditions in respect of package, marking and sampling according to ISTA, weight of samples taking into account the following Directives: Cereal seed,council Directive 66/402/EEC Fodder plant seed, Council Directive 66/401/EEC Beet seed, Council Directive 2002/54 EC Seed of oil and fibre plants, Council Directive 2002/57/EC - The seed lots shall be accompanied by the certificates required under the relevant OECD Schemes. Maintenance abroad of basic seed (not exclusively maintained in the EC) in third country: Equivalence of checks on practices for the maintenance of varieties carried out in third countries (Council Decision 2005/834/EC).

11 Equivalence of seed produced in third countries Plant species Argentina Australia Canada Chile Croatia Israel Morocco USA South Africa Turkey New Zealand Uruguay Serb ia Beet seed Fodder plant seed Cereals (excl. maize and sorghum spp.) Sorghum spp. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * x * * * Maize * * * * * * * * * * * * * Oil and fibre plants Potato seed * * * * * * * * * * * * *

12 Equivalence of checks on practices for the maintenance in third countries Plant species Chile Argentina Australia Canada Switzerland Croatia Israel Japan Republic of Korea Morocco USA South Africa Serbia New Zealand Taiwan Uruguay Montenegro Fodder plant seed Oil and fibre plants Beet seed X X X X X X X x X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Cereals x x x X X X X x X X Vegeta ble seed x x x x x x x x

13 EU seed production (1) EU covers over 20% of world market on seed. EU one of the world s biggest exporters of seed. The value of commercial seed in EU is around 7 bn euro. The production value of plant propagating material is around 5 bn euro. Over employees in private seed sector (ESA 2009). 600 major research centres.

14 EU seed production (2) EU seed market per crop in 2007 (mil., ESA) Cereals, peas and beans Maize Potatoes Vegetables 800 Oil and fibre plants 390 Roots 375 Fodder and grass 375 In total 7 140

15 EU seed production (3) Number of varieties in the Agricultural Common Catalogue MS MS MS MS

16 EU internal market statistics on certified seed (1) EU seed market values (million euro) (MS with at least 2 % of the EU market of certified seeds used on the territory) FR DE IT ES UK PL CZ HU NL DK GR SE RO BE (ISF, 2008)

17 EU internal market statistics on certified seed (2), soft wheat tn Soft wheat certified seeds in tons 2006 BU 8% Other M S 36% FR 22% BU FR IT RO UK Other M S IT 8% UK 11% RO 15% Source: European Seed Certification Agencies Association ESCAA

18 EU internal market statistics on certified seed (3), durum wheat tn Durum w heat certified seeds in tons 2006 (Source: European Seed Certification Agencies Association) ESCAA HU 0% Other M S 1% CY 0% ES 25% IT 61% FR 13% CY ES FR IT HU Other M S

19 EU internal market statistics on certified seed (4), maize tn Maize certified seeds in tons 2006 PL 1% RO 8% Other M S 2% HU 28% FR 53% FR IT HU PL RO Other M S IT 8% Source: European Seed Certification Agencies Association ESCAA

20 Future of EU legislation on seeds? Review of the maketing legislation on seed and propagating material: - External evaluation Evaluation results November European Conference on Ensuring Seed Availability in the 21st Century, March Action plan Impact assessment on possible changes Commission legal proposal

21 Thank you for your attention