21/04/2026 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 21 April, the EU Council of Ministers formally adopted the regulation (https://aeur.eu/f/lm5 ) on the production and marketing of forest reproductive material (see EUROPE 13847/8). Germany, Austria and Slovakia voted against the text, while Slovenia abstained. The co-legislators have agreed that national emergency plans will remain voluntary and that their design will be based on simplified requirements. Slovenia and Slovakia have issued statements to explain their vote (https://aeur.eu/f/lm6 ). The regulation still has to be formally adopted by the European Parliament. Its application date has been set at five years, to allow time for more than 25 years of established national practices to be adapted and for the new control system to be put in place. Link to the regulation: https://aeur.eu/f/lm7 (LC)