Council Decisionof 16 December 2002on the equivalence of field inspections carried out in third countries on seed-producing crops and on the equivalence of seed produced in third countries(Text with EEA relevance)(2003/17/EC)

Council Decision

of 16 December 2002

on the equivalence of field inspections carried out in third countries on seed-producing crops and on the equivalence of seed produced in third countries

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2003/17/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community.

Having regard to Council Directive 66/401/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of fodder plant seed1, and in particular Article 16(1) thereof,

Having regard to Council Directive 66/402/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of cereal seed2, and in particular Article 16(1) thereof,

Having regard to Council Directive 2002/54/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of beet seed3, and in particular Article 23(1) thereof,

Having regard to Council Directive 2002/57/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of seed of oil and fibre plants4, and in particular Article 20(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

(1)

The rules on official seed control in Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Morocco, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Turkey, the United States of America, Uruguay, Yugoslavia and South Africa provide for an official field inspection to be carried out during the period of seed production.

(2)

Those rules provide in principle that seed may be officially certified and seed packages officially closed in accordance with the OECD Schemes for the Varietal Certification of Seed moving in International Trade. The rules also provide for seed sampling and testing in accordance with the methods of the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA), or where appropriate, in accordance with the rules of the Association of Official Seed Analysts (AOSA).

(3)

An examination of those rules and the manner in which they are applied in the aforementioned third countries has shown that the field inspection of seed-producing crops satisfies the conditions laid down in Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 2002/54/EC and 2002/57/EC. The national provisions governing seed harvested and controlled in those countries afford the same assurances as regards the seed's characteristics and the arrangements for its examination, for ensuring seed identification, for marking and for control as the provisions applicable to seed harvested and controlled within the Community, provided that further conditions for seed-producing crops and seed produced, in particular in respect of packages marking, are satisfied.

(4)

Council Decision 95/514/EC of 29 November 1995 on the equivalence of field inspections carried out in third countries on seed-producing crops and on the equivalence of seed produced in third countries5 provides that for a limited period field inspections carried out in certain third countries on seed-producing crops of certain species are considered as equivalent to field inspections carried out in accordance with Community legislation and that seed of certain species produced in those countries is considered as equivalent to seed produced in accordance with Community legislation.

(5)

As Decision 95/514/EC will expire on 31 December 2002, a new decision should be adopted and its scope extended in particular by including Estonia, Latvia and Yugoslavia.

(6)

It appears desirable to limit the period for which equivalence is recognised under this Decision to five years.

(7)

It is appropriate to include in this Decision specific rules concerning relabelling and refastening in the Community incorporating rules similar to those provided by Decision 86/110/EEC6, which is no longer applicable.

(8)

The existing legislation already provides for an obligation for seed, including not finally certified seed, marketed in the Community to indicate whether the seed is chemically treated or the variety has been genetically modified. It is appropriate to provide for detailed rules on the exact indications to be given on the label of certified seed imported under this Decision. It is appropriate for these rules to mirror the ones provided by Decision 95/514/EC. It will be appropriate in future to update the annexes of the present Decision in order to ensure that imported seed is subject to requirements equivalent to any new rules which may be introduced, especially for not finally certified seed.

(9)

Certain amendments to the Annexes to this Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedure for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission7,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: