1.The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission, shall determine whether:
(a)the official examinations of varieties carried out in the third country afford the same assurances as those provided for in Article 7 and carried out in the Member States;
(b)the checks on practices for the maintenance of the varieties carried out in the third country afford the same assurances as those carried out by the Member States;
(c)in the cases referred to in Article 36, the field inspections in the third country satisfy the conditions laid down in Annex I;
(d)vegetable seed harvested in a third country and affording the same assurances as regards its characteristics and the arrangements for its examination, for ensuring identity, for marking and for control, is equivalent in these respects to basic seed, certified seed or standard seed harvested within the Community and complying with the provisions of this Directive.
2.Paragraph 1 shall also apply in respect of any new Member State from the date of its accession to the date on which it is to bring into force the laws, regulations or administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive.