Brussels, Belgium
March, 2009
Source: European Commission, DG
'Health and Consumers'
http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/seed_conf/index_en.htm
DG 'Health and Consumers' will
organise the above conference in order to communicate and
discuss the results of the evaluation of the EU legislation on
seeds and propagating material (S&PM) and the way forward. The
idea is to have a clear view on the position of the various
stakeholder groups with regard to the recommendations made in
the evaluation report. This input should help the Commission in
the elaboration of its action plan for the review of Community
legislation on the marketing of S&PM and the identification of
issues on which the impact assessment should focus.
Seed makes food, feed, fibre, flowers and fuel. The objective of
the legislation (comprising 12 Directives) is to ensure the free
movement of high-quality seed and plant propagating material
(S&PM) of plant varieties that meet the expectations of its
users.
Since the first adoption of the legislation in the 1960s, new
priorities, such as good agricultural practice, sustainability
and protection of the environment including the protection of
genetic diversity and food safety have come to the fore.
Equally, new breeding techniques have been developed and the
structure of S&PM has changed, developing into a global
business. The implementation of the legislation and its
robustness with regard to potential new challenges, as well as
its relevance and utility were evaluated by an external
consultant in 2007-2008 with a view to paving the way for
revision of the legislation.
Robert Madelin
Director General |
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