THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 2002/53/EC of 13 June 2002 on the common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species(1), and in particular Article 7(2)(a) and (b) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Commission Directive 2003/90/EC(2) was adopted to ensure that the varieties the Member States include in their national catalogues comply with the guidelines established by the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) as regards the characteristics to be covered as a minimum by the examination and the minimum conditions for examining the varieties, as far as such guidelines had been established. For other varieties that Directive provides that the guidelines of the International Union for the Protection of new Varieties of Plants (UPOV) are to apply.
(2) The CPVO and UPOV have since established further guidelines for a number of other species or have updated existing ones.
(3) Directive 2003/90/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.
(4) The measures provided for in this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Seeds and Propagating Material for Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 1).
OJ L 254, 8.10.2003, p. 7. Directive as amended by Directive 2005/91/EC (OJ L 331, 17.12.2005, p. 24).