On Wednesday 24 April, the European Parliament adopted its position on the rules governing plant reproductive material.
The report by Herbert Dorfmann (EPP, Italian) was adopted in plenary with 431 votes in favour, 104 against and 82 abstentions, with no major changes to the position of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture (see EUROPE 13396/11).
Annex 7a (maximum quantities of reproductive material intended for conservation networks that would be exempt from the legislation) has been confirmed, much to the dismay of the Renew Europe group, which fears that excessive quantities would create a parallel market for conservation activities that would not comply with the rules.
As far as small seed packages are concerned, an EPP amendment has been adopted which slightly reduces the quantities authorised for sale (compared with the position of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture) to a maximum of 10 kg for cereals, 5 kg for fodder plants, 10 kg for seed potatoes, 500 g for legumes, 100 g for vegetables (chervil, asparagus, pumpkins, courgettes, carrots) and 10 individual pieces for fruit and vine cuttings. The EU Council has not yet given a ruling. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)