- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (16/02/2020)
- Original (As adopted by EU)
When the UK left the EU, legislation.gov.uk published EU legislation that had been published by the EU up to IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.). On legislation.gov.uk, these items of legislation are kept up-to-date with any amendments made by the UK since then.
Legislation.gov.uk publishes the UK version. EUR-Lex publishes the EU version. The EU Exit Web Archive holds a snapshot of EUR-Lex’s version from IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.).
EU Directives are published on this site to aid cross referencing from UK legislation. Since IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.) no amendments have been applied to this version.
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Articles 43 and 100 thereof;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission;
Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament(1);
Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee;
Whereas fodder plant production occupies an important place in the agriculture of the European Economic Community;
Whereas satisfactory results in fodder plant cultivation depend to a large extent on the use of appropriate seed; whereas to this end certain Member States have for some time restricted the marketing of fodder plant seed to high-quality seed; whereas they have been able to take advantage of the systematic plant selection work carried out over several decades which has resulted in the development of sufficiently stable and uniform fodder plant varieties which, by reason of their characters, promise to be of great value for the purposes in view;
Whereas greater productivity will be achieved in Community fodder plant cultivation if for the choice of the varieties permitted to be marketed the Member States apply uniform rules which are as strict as possible;
Whereas it is, however, justifiable to restrict marketing to certain varieties only if the user can be sure of actually obtaining seed of those varieties;
Whereas certain Member States have for this purpose been applying certification schemes which are intended by official control to ensure identity and varietal purity;
Whereas such a scheme already exists at international level; whereas the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has established a scheme for the varietal certification of herbage seed moving in international trade;
Whereas it is desirable to establish a uniform certification scheme for the Community based on the experience gained in the application of that scheme and of national schemes for this product;
Whereas the scheme should apply to marketing both in other Member States and on domestic markets;
Whereas, as a general rule, fodder plant seed, for whatever use it is intended as grown, 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 or if, in the case of certain genera and species, it has been officially examined and approved as commercial seed; whereas the choice of the technical terms ‘basic seed’ and ‘certified seed’ is based on already existing international terminology;
Whereas there should be approval for commercial seed in order to take into account the fact that not all genera and species of fodder plant of importance for cropping have as yet produced either the desired varieties or sufficient quantities of seed of the existing varieties to meet all the needs of the Community; whereas it is therefore necessary, in the case of certain, genera and species, to approve fodder plant seed which is not of a named variety, but which satisfies the regulations in all other respects;
Whereas fodder plant seed which is not placed on the market should not, in view of its minor economic importance, be subject to Community rules; whereas Member States must retain the right to make such seed subject to special provisions;
Whereas Community rules should not apply to seed shown to be intended for export to third countries;
Whereas, in order to improve not only the genetic quality of Community fodder plant seed but also its external characters, certain requirements should be laid down as to analytical purity and germination;
Whereas, in order to ensure the identity of the seed, Community rules on packaging, sampling, sealing and marking must be established; whereas to this end the labels should give the particulars needed both for official control 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;
Whereas certain Member States need blends of fodder plant seed of several genera and species for special uses; whereas, in order to take these needs into account, Member States should be authorised to approve such blends subject to certain conditions;
Whereas, in order to ensure that both the requirements as to the quality of the seed and the provisions for ensuring its identity are complied with during marketing, the Member States must make provision for appropriate control arrangements;
Whereas seed satisfying these requirements should, without prejudice to Article 36 of the Treaty, be subject to no marketing restrictions other than those provided for in Community rules;
Whereas, during a first stage, until a common catalogue of varieties has been established, the restrictions allowed should include in particular the right of Member States to restrict the marketing of certified seed to those varieties which are of value for cropping and use in their own territory;
Whereas, subject to certain conditions, seed multiplied in another country from basic seed certified in a Member State should be recognised as equivalent to seed multiplied in that Member State;
Whereas, on the other hand, provision should be made for authorising the marketing within the Community of fodder plant seed harvested in third countries only if such seed affords the same assurances as seed officially certified, or officially approved as commercial seed, within the Community and complying with Community rules;
Whereas, during periods in which there are difficulties in obtaining supplies of certified seed of the various categories or of commercial seed, seed satisfying less stringent requirements should temporarily be permitted to be marketed;
Whereas, in order to harmonise the technical methods of certification used in the various Member States and to enable comparisons to be made in the future between seed certified within the Community and that coming from third countries, Community test fields should be established in Member States to permit annual post-control of seed of the various categories of ‘certified seed’;
Whereas the Commission should be entrusted with the task of adopting certain measures for the application of this Directive; whereas, in order to facilitate implementation of the proposed measures, a procedure should be provided for establishing close co-operation between Member States and the Commission within a Standing Committee on Seeds and Propagating Material for Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry;
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As adopted by EU): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was first adopted in the EU. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different versions taken from EUR-Lex before exit day and during the implementation period as well as any subsequent versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation.
The dates for the EU versions are taken from the document dates on EUR-Lex and may not always coincide with when the changes came into force for the document.
For any versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation the date will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. For further information see our guide to revised legislation on Understanding Legislation.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: