On Tuesday, 19 March, the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture adopted its position on the proposal revising the rules concerning the production and marketing of plant reproductive material.
The draft report by Herbert Dorfmann (EPP, Italian), which amends the European Commission’s proposal, was adopted with 25 votes in favour, 2 against, and 17 abstentions. The compromise amendments (https://aeur.eu/f/bej ) among certain political groups have been ratified (see EUROPE 13368/9).
On the subject of the rules applied to plant reproductive materials (PRM) marketed by conservation networks, the EPP, S&D, Greens/EFA, and The Left compromise amendments were adopted. They provide for the introduction of an annex with maximum quantities of seeds—maximum quantities that would fall outside the scope of the minimum rules applied to these networks (controls on certain harmful organisms, obligation to keep a register, etc.). Irène Tolleret (Renew Europe, French), who voted against this annex and abstained during the final vote, said she feared “a large parallel market in seeds that are exempt from the standards ensuring satisfactory quality”, which carries a greater risk of distortion of competition and fraudulent practices.
Furthermore, she strongly opposes the definition of small packets (intended for those who own nurseries), which opens the door to excessively large quantities of seeds that do not have to comply with the minimum rules.
With regard to seeds exchanged in kind between farmers, compromise amendments establish the option of providing financial compensation during these transactions, “which also distorts the regulation and contributes to the creation of a parallel market that has no quality control”, lamented Ms Tolleret.
On the subject of sustainability criteria, the plan is for there to be a transition period of 13 years before fruit and vegetables may be subject to the new ‘value for sustainable cultivation and use’ criteria.
The other report by Mr Dorfmann, which supports the proposal on forest reproductive material, was also adopted (32 votes in favour, 1 against, and 9 abstentions). Both reports will be examined by the European Parliament during the plenary session held from 22 to 25 April. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)