Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

The Rapporteur welcomes the European Commission proposal, which aims to update Council Decision 2003/17/EC that grants equivalence to certain non-EU countries as regards field inspections and production of seed of certain species that are carried out in accordance with Council Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 2002/54/EC, 2002/55/EC and 2002/57/EC. The legal basis of this act is the Article 43(2) of the TFEU. That equivalence system contributes to the maintenance of the continuous supply of high quality seed in the Union.

The Republic of Moldova has been included in the list of non-EU countries since 2018. Similarly, Ukraine joined this list in 2020 for seeds of different agricultural crops.

The requesting countries have their seed laboratories accredited by the International Seed Testing Association. This provides additional assurance on the quality of the inspections and the seed produced in those countries and their compliance with Union legislation.

Moreover, both Ukraine and Moldova have been admitted to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Seed Schemes for the Varietal Certification of Seed moving in International Trade, with respect to the seeds of the requested agricultural crops.

Lastly, the Commission examined Ukraine's and Moldova’s relevant legislation, carried out audits of systems of official controls and seed certification, and found them appropriate to the EU legislation.

The Rapporteur supports the Commission’s proposal and suggest adopting it with the two factual and technical amendments related to the inspections. These amendments aim to ensure, in the long term, products entering single market fully comply with EU production requirements.

As set out in the Commission’s proposal, all conditions are met in order to grant the equivalence to the Ukraine and Moldova. Given the evolving needs of the agricultural sector and international trade in high-quality seed production, as well as the importance of fostering global collaboration, the proposal should enhance the trade of seeds that complies with the Union regulations.