New developments in potato breeding promise to considerably reduce the duration of developmental programmes, allow access to more genetic variation and permit the development of new varieties with combinations of useful traits.

Currently accepted practices of seed potato production rely on the vegetative multiplication of potato tubers over several generations. However, developments referred to in recital 1 include the propagation of potatoes by seed, so-called true potato seed. Multiplication practices starting from true potato seed promise to shorten considerably the time necessary to produce sufficient numbers of seed potatoes for final users while reducing the risk of accumulating diseases.

As seed tubers derived from true potato seed do not currently fulfil the requirement to have been produced according to accepted practices, provided for in Article 2(b)(i) of Directive 2002/56/EC, it is necessary to gather information on the production and marketing of such seed tubers to understand what quality standards and inspections are required to guarantee the quality and health of those seed tubers and to determine at which stage or under what conditions they may enter the certification scheme. It is therefore appropriate to organise a temporary experiment under Directive 2002/56/EC as regards seed tubers derived from true potato seed under supervision by the relevant authorities.

The health, identity and quality of the seed tubers concerned depend on assuring the quality, identity and health of the innovative initial and intermediate steps in the production process. Information on the health, identity and quality of true potato seed and seedlings grown from such seed should thus be collected and reported to ensure that the seed tubers will comply with the requirements for basic seed potatoes or certified seed potatoes.

There is little knowledge concerning the maintenance of health and sufficient varietal identity and purity throughout the production process of seed tubers derived from true potato seed. The relevant information should therefore be collected and reported. After some years the information gathered concerning varietal identity and varietal purity of the material used for the experiment may need to be reviewed to identify any potential issues which might affect the identification and quality of that material.

Member States participating in the experiment should allow the marketing of seed tubers derived from true potato seed. As a consequence of the innovative production process, producers should be released from certain requirements provided for in Directive 2002/56/EC, in particular as regards minimum sizes of such seed tubers to be placed on the market, varietal aspects, maximum number of generations in the field and the presence of external blemishes.

In addition to the general conditions provided for in Directive 2002/56/EC, specific conditions should be set out for the marketing of seed tubers under the experiment. Those conditions should ensure the collection of sufficient information for the assessment of the experiment. It is, therefore, necessary to provide for rules on registration, traceability, labelling, performance testing and reporting.

Given the experimental nature of the measure provided for in this Decision, the quantity of seed potatoes to be certified should be limited.

To allow Member States to verify that the maximum quantity is not exceeded, producers intending to produce seed tubers or to plant seedlings under the experiment should be obliged to declare the quantities they intend to produce or plant.

In order to get an overview of the progress of the experiment, participating Member States should each year present to the Commission and the other Member States a report with the quantities marketed. At the end of the experiment they should present a final report containing, in particular, the results of field and lot inspections and information on the health, identity and quality of true potato seed and seedlings grown from such seed.

In order to allow producers and suppliers to produce and market a sufficient quantity of seed tubers under the experiment and to permit the competent authorities to inspect that material and collect sufficient and comparable information to be used for the preparation of the final report, the experiment should have a duration of 7 years, which is the maximum duration provided for in Article 19 of Directive 2002/56/EC.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,