THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Articles 43 and 100 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament ( 1 ),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee ( 2 ),

Whereas, for the reasons given below, certain Directives on the marketing of seeds and propagating material should be amended;

Whereas the present provisions of those Directives relating to the marking of seeds and propagating material do not take into account technical progress in respect of methods of labelling; whereas they should therefore be amended;

Whereas in the case of certain Directives an accelerated procedure should be provided for amending the list of species with regard to descriptions and hybrids resulting from the crossing of species;

Whereas, in principle, seed which is intended for certification as ‘certified seed’ must have been produced from basic seed; whereas, however, by way of derogation, the said Directives permit, in the case of seed of certain species, certification as ‘certified seed’ where the seed has been poduced from pre-basic seed which has been subject to official examination; whereas this latter facility is not sufficient for some species, particularly as regards the species for which certification as ‘certified seed of the second generation’ is permitted; whereas, therefore, this facility should be extended provided that sufficient guarantees are laid down;

Whereas experience with regard to supplies of fibre flax seed shows that it is necessary to retain the category of ‘certified seeds of the third generation’ for a further four years; whereas this extension should also allow Member States to take all necessary steps to ensure in the near future adequate supplies of fibre flax seed of the categories ‘certified seed of the first generation’ and ‘certified seed of the second generation’;

Whereas Council Directive 70/457/EEC of 29 September 1970 on the common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species ( 3 ), as last amended by Directive 73/438/EEC ( 4 ), and Council Directive 70/458/EEC of 29 September 1970 on the marketing of vegetable seed ( 5 ), as last amended by Directive 76/307/EEC ( 6 ), provide that from 1 July 1977 the equivalence of the official examination of varieties and the checks on practices for the maintenance of varieties carried out in third countries can no longer be established nationally by Member States; whereas Directive 70/458/EEC provides that from 1 July 1977 the equivalence of seeds harvested in third countries can no longer be established nationally by Member States;

Whereas, however, it is likely that examinations concerning the granting of these equivalences on a Community basis will not be completed within the abovementioned periods in all those cases where national equivalences have been granted; whereas it should therefore be possible to decide by an accelerated procedure on a possible extension of these periods in certain cases in order to avoid disturbing traditional trade patterns,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

1. In Article 2, the following paragraphs shall be added:

‘1a.  Amendments to be made to the list of species referred to in paragraph 1 (A) in the light of the development of scientific or technical knowledge concerning the descriptions and hybrids resulting from the crossing of species covered by this Directive shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21.

1b.  Member States may be authorized in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21 to permit, by way of derogation from paragraph 1 (C) (a), to be certified as certified seed seeds of self-pollinating or apomictic species which have been entered for certification as basic seed and which have been produced directly from a generation prior to basic seed but which has not been officially examined. This provision shall not apply to hybrid seeds. Certification as certified seed may only occur if this is requested by the applicant for certification with the agreement of the breeder and if an official post-control test based on samples taken officially and carried out at the latest during the growing season of the entered seeds shows that the seeds from the previous generation have met the requirements for basic seed in respect of varietal identity and purity. In this case the breeder shall, when the samples are taken, state the total area which has been under production of seed of the previous generation. These conditions may be amended in the light of development of scientific or technical knowledge in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21.

Member States shall require that the official labels for seeds marketed in accordance with the authorization referred to in the first subparagraph be marked: “passed for marketing in … (Member State concerned) only”; in addition Member States may require in this case that the official labels also be marked: “intended for further multiplication only”.’

2. The following shall be substituted for Article 10:

‘Article 10

1.  Member States shall require that packages of basic seed, certified seed and commercial seed, except where seed of the last two categories takes the form of small EEC B packages:

2.  Member States may provide for exceptions to paragraph 1 in the case of small packages of basic seed where they are marked: “passed for marketing in: … (Member State concerned) only”.’

3. In Article 10b, the following shall be substituted for ‘officially sealed and marked’: ‘closed and marked officially or under official supervision’.

4. In the first and second indents of Article 14 (1), the following shall be substituted for ‘officially marked and sealed’: ‘marked and closed officially or under official supervision’.

5. In Annex IV (A) (I), the following shall be added under (a):

‘12.	Where at least germination has been retested, the words “retested … (month and year)” and the service responsible for such retesting may be indicated. Such information may be given on an official sticker attached to the official label.’

6. In Annex IV (A) (I), the following shall be added under (b):

‘9.	Where at least germination has been retested, the words “retested … (month and year)” and the service responsible for such retesting may be indicated. Such information may be given on an official sticker attached to the official label.’

7. In Annex IV (A) (I), the following is added under (c):

‘7.	Where at least germination of all the components of the mixture has been retested, the words “retested … (month and year)” and the service responsible for such retesting may be indicated. Such information may be given on an official sticker attached to the official label label.’

1. In Article 2, the following paragraphs shall be added:

‘1a.  Amendments to be made to the list of species referred to in paragraph 1 (A) in the light of the development of scientific or technical knowledge concerning the descriptions and hybrids resulting from the crossing of species covered by this Directive shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21.

1b.  Member States may be authorized in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21 to permit, by way of derogation from paragraph 1 under F (a) or G (a), to be certified as certified seed of the first generation or certified seed of the second generation seeds of self-pollinating species which have been entered for certification as basic seed and which have been produced from a generation prior to basic seed but which has not been officially examined. This provision shall not apply to hybrid seeds. Certification as certified seed may only occur if this is requested by the applicant for certification with the agreement of the breeder and if an official post-control test based on samples taken officially and carried out at the latest during the growing season of the entered seed shows that the seeds from the previous generation have met the requirements for basic seed in respect of varietal identity and purity. In this case the breeder shall, when the samples are taken, state the total area which has been under production of seeds of the previous generation. These conditions may be amended in the light of development of scientific or technical knowledge in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21.

Member States shall require that the official labels for seeds marketed in accordance with the authorization referred to in the first subparagraph be marked: “passed for marketing in … (Member State concerned) only”; in addition Member States may require in this case that the official labels also be marked “intended for further multiplication only”.’

2. The following shall be substituted for Article 10:

‘Article 10

1.  Member States shall require that packages of basic seed and certified seed of all kinds:

2.  Member States may provide for exceptions to paragraph 1 in the case of small packages where they are marked: “passed for marketing in … (Member State concerned) only”.

3.  In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21, Member States may be authorized to retain until 30 June 1980 provisions allowing the marketing of cereal seeds the packaging of which includes the prescribed information but in a different layout from that provided for in the sixth sentence of paragraph 1 (a).’

3. In Article 14 (1), the following shall be substituted for ‘officially marked and sealed’: ‘marked and closed officially or under official supervision’.

4. In Annex IV (A), the following shall be added under (a):

‘10.	Where at least germination has been retested, the words “retested … (month and year)” and the service responsible for such retesting may be indicated. Such information may be given on an official sticker attached to the official label.’

5. In Annex IV (A), the following shall be added under (b):

‘7.	Where at least germination of all the components of the mixture has been retested, the words “retested … (month and year)” and the service responsible for such retesting may be indicated. Such information may be given on an official sticker attached to the official label.’

— with Article 6 and Article 7 (5) on 1 July 1977,

— with Article 5 (2) on 1 July 1978,

— with the other provisions of this Directive not later than 1 July 1979.