Regulation (EEC) No 2358/71 of the Council of 26 October 1971 on the common organisation of the market in seeds
Modified by
  • Act of Accession of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland(adapted by Council Decision of 1 January 1973), 172B373D0101(01), March 27, 1972
  • (adapted by Council Decision of 1 January 1973), 373D0101(01), January 1, 1973
  • Regulation (EEC) No 597/73 of the Council of 26 February 1973, 373R0597, March 2, 1973
  • Regulation (EEC) No 1014/73 of the Council of 27 March 1973, 373R1014, April 20, 1973
  • Regulation (EEC) No 1707/73 of the Council of 26 June 1973, 373R1707, June 29, 1973
  • Regulation (EEC) No 1119/74 of the Council of 29 April 1974, 374R1119, May 10, 1974
  • Regulation (EEC) No 671/75 of the Council of 4 March 1975, 375R0671, March 20, 1975
  • Council Regulation (EEC) No 1167/77 of 17 May 1977, 377R1167, June 3, 1977
  • Council Regulation (EEC) No 1346/78 of 19 June 1978, 378R1346, June 22, 1978
  • Council Regulation (EEC) No 234/79 of 5 February 1979, 379R0234, February 9, 1979
  • Council Regulation (EEC) No 2878/79 of 17 December 1979, 379R2878, December 21, 1979
  • Council Regulation (EEC) No 1968/80 of 22 July 1980, 380R1968, July 26, 1980
  • Act of Accession of Greece, 179H, November 19, 1979
  • Council Regulation (EEC) No 3808/81 of 21 December 1981, 381R3808, December 31, 1981
  • Council Regulation (EEC) No 1581/83 of 14 June 1983, 383R1581, June 22, 1983
  • Council Regulation (EEC) No 3768/85 of 20 December 1985, 385R3768, December 31, 1985
  • Council Regulation (EEC) No 1355/86 of 24 March 1986, 386R1355, May 7, 1986
  • Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3997/87 of 23 December 1987Corrigendum, OJ No L 229, 18. 8. 1988, p. 46 (3997/87), 387R3997387R3997R(02), December 31, 1987
  • Council Regulation (EEC) No 1239/89 of 3 May 1989, 389R1239, May 11, 1989
  • Council Regulation (EEC) No 1740/91 of 13 June 1991, 391R1740, June 26, 1991
  • Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3695/92 of 21 December 1992, 392R3695, December 22, 1992
  • Commission Regulation (EC) No 3375/93 of 9 December 1993, 393R3375, December 10, 1993
  • Council Regulation (EC) No 3290/94 of 22 December 1994, 394R3290, December 31, 1994
  • Act of Accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland(adapted by Council Decision 95/1/EC, Euratom, ECSC), 194N395D0001, August 29, 1994
  • (adapted by Council Decision 95/1/EC, Euratom, ECSC), 395D0001, January 1, 1995
  • Council Regulation (EC) No 192/98 of 20 January 1998, 398R0192, January 27, 1998
  • Council Regulation (EC) No 1103/97of 17 June 1997on certain provisions relating to the introduction of the euro, 397R1103, June 19, 1997
  • Council Regulation (EC) No 1405/1999of 24 June 1999amending Regulation (EEC) No 2358/71 on the common organisation of the market in seeds and fixing the aid granted in the seeds sector for the 2000/2001 and 2001/2002 marketing years, 399R1405, June 30, 1999
  • Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2000of 23 October 2000amending Regulation (EEC) No 2358/71 on the common organisation of the market in seeds, 300R2371, October 27, 2000
  • Council Regulation (EC) No 154/2002of 21 January 2002amending Regulation (EEC) No 2358/71 on the common organisation of the market in seeds and fixing the aid granted in the seeds sector for the 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 marketing yearsCorrigendum to Council Regulation (EC) No 154/2002 of 21 January 2002 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2358/71 on the common organisation of the market in seeds and fixing the aid granted in the seeds sector for the 2002/03 and 2003/04 marketing years(Official Journal of the European Communities L 25 of 29 January 2002), 302R0154302R0154R(01), January 29, 2002
Corrected by
  • Corrigendum, OJ No L 229, 18. 8. 1988, p. 46 (3997/87), 387R3997R(02), August 18, 1988
  • Corrigendum to Council Regulation (EC) No 154/2002 of 21 January 2002 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2358/71 on the common organisation of the market in seeds and fixing the aid granted in the seeds sector for the 2002/03 and 2003/04 marketing years, 302R0154R(01), July 14, 2004
Regulation (EEC) No 2358/71 of the Councilof 26 October 1971on the common organisation of the market in seeds THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Articles 42 and 43 thereof;Having regard to the proposal from the Commission;Having regard to the Opinion of the European ParliamentOJ No C 11, 5. 2. 1971, p. 30.;Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social CommitteeOJ No C 36, 19. 4. 1971, p. 38.;Whereas the operation and development of the common market in agricultural products must be accompanied by the establishment of a common agricultural policy to include in particular a common organisation of agricultural markets, which may take various forms, depending on the product concerned;Whereas the situation of the market in seeds is characterised by the need to keep prices competitive with world prices for these products; whereas appropriate measures should therefore be taken to stabilise the market and to ensure a fair income to the producers concerned;Whereas provision should therefore be made for granting a production aid for certain seeds; whereas, in view of the way in which they are produced, provision should be made for a system fixing a standard rate of aid per quintal of seeds produced;Whereas the common organisation of the market in seeds involves the introduction of a single trading system at the external frontiers of the Community; whereas the Common Customs Tariff automatically applies from 1 January 1970 in pursuance of the Treaty, and this system makes it possible to dispense with all other protective measures; whereas, however, the Community should be enabled to take all necessary measures without delay so as not to leave the Community market without defence against disturbances which may arise due to imports or exports;Whereas the competent authorities must be in a position constantly to follow trade movements in order to assess market trends and to apply the measures laid down in this Regulation as necessary; whereas, to that end, provision should be made for the issue of import and export licences accompanied by the lodging of a deposit guaranteeing that the transactions for which such licences are requested are effected; whereas, however, imports following duly registered growing contracts should be exempt from this deposit;Whereas, in respect of hybrid maize for sowing, it is necessary to avoid disturbances on the Community market caused by offers made on the world market at abnormally low prices; whereas to this end reference prices should be fixed for this product and a countervailing charge should be added to the customs duties when free-at-frontier offer prices plus customs duties are lower than the reference prices;Whereas in the internal trade of the Community the levying of any customs duty or any charge having equivalent effect and the application of any quantitative restriction or any measure having equivalent effect are automatically prohibited from January 1970 under the provisions of the Treaty;Whereas the provisions of the Treaty which allow the assessment of aids granted by Member States and the prohibition of those which are incompatible with the common market should be made to apply to seeds;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 Management Committee;Whereas the transition from the system in force in the Member States to that established by this Regulation should be effected as smoothly as possible; whereas, therefore, transitional measures may prove to be necessary;HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1A common organization of the market in seeds shall be established and shall cover the following products:
CN codeDescription
07129011Hybrid sweet corn for sowing
07131010Peas (Pisum sativum) for sowing
07132010Chickpeas (garbanzos) for sowing
07133110Beans of the species Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper or Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek for sowing
07133210Small red (Adzuki) beans (Phaseolus or Vigna angularis) for sowing
07133310Kidney beans, including white pea beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), for sowing
07133910Other beans for sowing
07134010Lentils for sowing
07135010Broad beans (Vicia faba var. major) and horse beans (Vicia faba var. equina, Vicia faba var. minor) for sowing
07139010Other dried leguminous vegetables, for sowing
10019010Spelt for sowing
ex100510Hybrid maize for sowing
10061010Rice in the husk (paddy or rough) for sowing
10070010Hybrid grain sorghum for sowing
12010010Soya beans, whether or not broken, for sowing
12021010Ground-nuts, not roasted or otherwise cooked, in shell, for sowing
12040010Linseed, whether or not broken, for sowing
12050010Rape or colza seeds, whether or not broken, for sowing
12060010Sunflower seeds, whether or not broken, for sowing
ex1207Other oil seeds and oleaginous fruits, whether or not broken, for sowing
1209Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing
Article 2The marketing year for seeds shall begin on 1 July of each year and end on 30 June of the following year.
Article 31.Where the situation on the Community market for one or more of the products listed in the Annex and its foreseeable development do not ensure producers a fair income, aid may be granted for the production of basic seed or certified seed.This aid, which shall be uniform throughout the Community for each species or group of varieties, shall be fixed every two years before 1 August for the marketing year beginning in the following year and for the subsequent marketing year. However, the aid for the 1978/79 and 1979/80 marketing years shall be fixed before 1 July 1978. If, for the two-year period for which aid has been fixed, the stability of the market in the Community appears to be seriously threatened, the Council, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission, may order the aid for the second year of the period in question to be modified. This modification must be made before the start of the marketing year concerned and in good time to allow action as regards production.2.The amount of aid shall be fixed per quintal of seeds produced, taking into account:(a)the need to ensure a balance between the volume of production required in the Community and the amount that can be marketed;(b)prices for these products on third-country markets.3.The amount of aid shall be fixed in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 43 (2) of the Treaty.4.The Council, acting in accordance with the voting procedure laid down in Article 43 (2) of the Treaty on a proposal from the Commission, shall adopt general rules for the granting of aid and decide, where appropriate, on amendments to the Annex.4a.The maximum quantity of seed on which the aid is payable in the Community shall be fixed in accordance with the procedure referred to in paragraph 5. That quantity shall be apportioned among the producer Member States.The maximum quantity of seed other than rice seed on which the aid is payable shall be equal to the sum of the quantities relating to each Member State which are established on the basis of the average of the harvested quantities taken into account for the 1996/97 to 2000/01 marketing years, excluding the two extremes, plus 5 %.Where the quantity established for a Member State pursuant to the second subparagraph does not exceed 800 tonnes, an additional quantity of 300 tonnes shall be granted to that Member State.If, for seed other than rice seed, the sum total of the quantities for which aid is applied for in producer Member States exceeds the maximum quantity set for the Community, the aid shall be reduced for the following marketing year in each Member State concerned in proportion to the overrun of its national quantity taking into account the quantities not used by Member States. In this case the Commission shall set the reduction percentages applicable for each producer Member State.5.Detailed rules for the application of this Article shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 11.6.The varieties of Cannabis sativa L. on which the aid provided for in this Articles is payable shall be determined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 11.
Article 3a1.For certain species, with effect from 1 February 1979 all seed multiplication contracts concluded between a seed undertaking or grower in the Community and a seed producer established in a third country may be made subject to compulsory registration with the bodies appointed for that purpose by each Member State.2.Member States shall communicate periodically to the Commission statistical data concerning the registration of multiplication contracts.3.The data relating to the registration of multiplication contracts may be utilized only for the purposes of application of this Regulation.4.The detailed rules of application for this Article, and in particular the definition of the seed multiplication contract and the list of species referred to in paragraph 1, shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 11
Article 41.Imports into the Community of any of the products listed in Article 1 may be made conditional on the submission of an import licence issued by Member States to any applicant irrespective of the place of his establishment in the Community.This licence shall be valid for imports effected within the Community.With the exception of imports effected under duly registered contracts for growing in third countries, the issue of such licences shall be conditional on the lodging of a deposit guaranteeing that importation is effected during the period of validity of the licence; the deposit shall be forfeited in whole or in part if the transaction is not effected, or is only partially effected, within that period.2.The list of products for which import licences are required shall be determined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 11.The period of validity of licences and other detailed rules for the application of this Article shall be determined in accordance with the same procedure.
Article 51.Unless this Regulation provides otherwise, the rates of duty in the Common Customs Tariff shall apply to the products listed in Article 1.2.The general rules for the interpretation of the combined nomenclature and the special rules for its application shall apply to the classification of products covered by this Regulation; the tariff nomenclature resulting from the application of this Regulation shall be incorporated in the Common Customs Tariff.
Article 6Save as otherwise provided for in this Regulation or in provisions adopted pursuant thereto, the following shall be prohibited in trade with third countries:the levying of any charge having equivalent effect to a customs duty,the application of any quantitative restriction or measure having equivalent effect.
Article 71.If, by reason of imports or exports, the Community market in one or more of the products listed in Article 1 is affected by, or is threatened with, serious disturbance likely to jeopardize the achievement of the objectives set out in Article 39 of the Treaty, appropriate measures may be applied in trade with third countries until such disturbance or threat of disturbance has ceased.The Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission in accordance with the voting procedure laid down in Article 43 (2) of the Treaty, shall adopt the general rules for the application of this paragraph and shall define in what cases and within what limits Member States may take protective measures.2.If the situation referred to in paragraph 1 arises, the Commission shall, at the request of a Member State or on its own initiative, decide upon the necessary measures; the Member States shall be notified of such measures, which shall be immediately applicable. If the Commission receives a request from a Member State, is (SIC! it) shall take a decision thereon within three working days following receipt of the request.3.Measures decided upon by the Commission may be referred to the Council by any Member State within three working days of the day on which they were notified. The Council shall meet without delay. It may, acting by a qualified majority, amend or annul the measure in question.4.This Article shall be applied having regard to the obligations arising from agreements concluded in accordance with Article 228 (2) of the Treaty.
Article 8Save as otherwise provided in this Regulation, Articles 92, 93 and 94 of the Treaty shall apply to the production of and trade in the products referred to in Article 1.However, subject to authorization by the Commission, Finland may grant aid respectively:for certain quantities of seedsfor certain quantities of cereal seedproduced solely in this country, because of its specific climatic conditions.Before 1 January 2006 the Commission shall, on the basis of information supplied in good time by Finland, forward to the Council a report on the results of the aid authorised, together with any necessary proposals.
Article 8a
Article 9Member States and the Commission shall communicate to each other the information necessary for implementing this Regulation. Rules for the communication and distribution of such information shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 11.
Article 101.A Management Committee for Seeds (hereinafter called the "Committee") shall be established, consisting of representatives of Member States with a representative of the Commission as Chairman.2.Within the Committee the votes of Member States shall be weighted in accordance with Article 148 (2) of the Treaty. The Chairman shall not vote.
Article 111.The Commission shall be assisted by a Management Committee for Seeds (hereinafter referred to as "the Committee").2.Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply.The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at one month.3.The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
Article 12The Committee may consider any other question referred to it by its Chairman either on his own initiative or at the request of the representative of a Member State.
Article 13This Regulation shall be so applied that appropriate account is taken, at the same time, of the objectives set out in Articles 39 and 110 of the Treaty.
Article 14The provisions governing the financing of the common agricultural policy shall apply to the market in the products listed in Article 1 from the date on which this Regulation enters into force.
Article 15In Article 1 (a) of Regulation No 120/67/EEC,OJ No 117, 19. 6. 1967, p. 2269/67. the heading "10.05 B: Maize, other than hybrid maize for sowing" shall be substituted for the heading "10.05: Maize".
Article 16Should transitional measures be necessary to facilitate the transition from the system in force in Member States or, in respect of hybrid maize for sowing, from the system introduced by Regulation No 120/67/EEC to that established by this Regulation, in particular if the introduction of that system gives rise to substantial difficulties for some products, such measures shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 11. They shall be applicable until 30 June 1973 at the latest.
Article 17This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 May 1972.It shall apply from 1 July 1972.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.ANNEX
Grain measurements are taken on wholly milled rice by the following method:(i)take a sample representative of the batch;(ii)sieve the sample so as to retain only whole grains, including immature grains;(iii)carry out two measurements of 100 grains each and work out the average;(iv)express the results in millimetres, rounded off to one decimal place.The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of a variety is determined by analysing a sample maintained at constant weight. The weight of THC in relation to the weight of the sample must — for the purposes of granting the aid for the 1998/99 to 2000/01 marketing years — not be greater than 0,3 % and — for the purposes of granting the aid for subsequent marketing years — not be greater than 0,2 %. The sample is to consist of the upper third of a representative number of plants selected at random at the end of their flowering period and with stalks and seeds removed.The aid for Lolium perenne for the 2000/2001 and 2001/2002 marketing years is set on a transitional basis for the following three groups of varieties:of high persistence, late or medium late,new varieties and others,of low persistence, medium late, medium early or early.1.CERES2.OLEAGINEAE3.GRAMINEAE4.LEGUMINOSAE
CN codeDescription
10019010Triticum spelta L.
10061010Oryza sativa L.long-grain varieties the grains of which are of a length exceeding 6,0 millimetres and of a length/width ratio of more than or equal to 3other varieties the grains of which are of a length exceeding or not exceeding 6,0 millimetres and of a length/width ratio of less than 3
ex12040010Linum usitatissimum L. (fibre flax)
ex12040010Linum usitatissimum L. (linseed)
ex12079910Cannabis sativa L. (varieties with a tetrahydrocannabinol content not exceeding 0,3 % for the 2000/2001 marketing year and 0,2 % for subsequent marketing years)
ex12092910Agrostis canina L.
ex12092910Agrostis gigantea Roth.
ex12092910Agrostis stolonifera L.
ex12092910Agrostis capillaris L.
ex12092980Arrhenatherum elatius (L.) P. Beauv. ex J.S. and K.B. Prest.
ex12092910Dactylis glomerata L.
ex12092380Festuca arundinacea Schreb.
ex12092380Festuca ovina L.
12092311Festuca pratensis Huds.
12092315Festuca rubra L.
ex12092980Festulolium
12092510Lolium multiflorum Lam.
12092590Lolium perenne L.
ex12092980Lolium x boucheanum Kunth
ex12092980Phleum Bertolinii (DC)
12092600Phleum pratense L.
ex12092980Poa nemoralis L.
12092400Poa pratensis L.
ex12092910Poa palustris and Poa trivialis L.
ex12092980Hedysarum coronarium L.
ex12092980Medicago lupulina L.
ex12092100Medicago sativa L. (ecotypes)
ex12092100Medicago sativa L. (varieties)
ex12092980Onobrichis viciifolia Scop.
ex07131010Pisum sativum L. (partim) (field peas)
ex12092280Trifolium alexandrinum L.
ex12092280Trifolium hybridum L.
ex12092280Trifolium incarnatum L.
12092210Trifolium pratense L.
ex12092280Trifolium repens L.
ex12092280Trifolium repens L. var. giganteum
ex12092280Trifolium resupinatum L.
ex07135010Vicia faba L. (partim) (field beans)
ex12092910Vicia sativa L.
ex12092910Vicia villosa Roth.