The national rules for the certification of forest reproductive material in Canada, Croatia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States of America provide for an official field inspection to be carried out during the collection and processing of seed and the production of planting stock.

According to those rules, the systems for the approval and registration of basic material and the subsequent production of reproductive material from this basic material should follow the OECD Scheme for the certification of forest reproductive material moving in international trade (OECD Forest seed and plant scheme). In addition, those rules require seed and planting stock of the ‘source identified’ and ‘selected’ categories to be officially certified and the seed packages officially closed in accordance with the OECD Forest seed and plant scheme.

An examination of those rules has shown that the conditions for approval of basic material satisfy the requirements laid down in Directive 1999/105/EC. Furthermore, to the exception of conditions regarding seed quality, species purity and planting stock quality, the rules of these third countries afford the same assurances as regards the conditions applicable to seed and planting stock of the ‘source identified’ and ‘selected’ categories as those set out in Directive 1999/105/EC. It follows that the rules for certification of forestry material of the ‘source identified’ and ‘selected’ categories in Canada, Croatia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States of America should be considered as equivalent to those set out in Directive 1999/105/EC, provided that the additional conditions as regards seed and planting stocks, are satisfied.

The rules of these aforementioned third countries cannot, however, be considered as equivalent for the ‘qualified’ and ‘tested’ categories to which the OECD Forest seed and plant scheme does not apply. It is therefore appropriate to limit the scope of this Decision to reproductive material falling into the ‘source identified’ and ‘selected’ categories.

The definitions set out in Directive 1999/105/EC should be used for the purposes of this Decision in view of ensuring consistency between the two acts.

It is appropriate for the additional conditions for seed and planting stocks in respect of quality and species purity as set out by this Decision to mirror the ones provided by Directive 1999/105/EC.

In order to guarantee the same level of traceability as that foreseen in Directive 1999/105/EC, it is appropriate to include in this Decision rules concerning the issuing of a Master Certificate for seed and planting stock upon entry to the Community. This Master Certificate should be based on the official OECD Certificate of Provenance and should indicate that the material is imported under an equivalence regime,