Council agrees negotiating position on new rules for plant reproductive material

The Council agrees on a mandate to begin negotiations with the European Parliament on a major overhaul of EU rules governing the production and marketing of plant reproductive material (PRM). This marks an important step towards modernising a legislative framework that, in some cases, has not been significantly changed since the 1960s.

The new rules aim to increase agrobiodiversity, support niche and locally adapted varieties, and provide greater flexibility for different purposes of use for breeders, other professional operators and non-professional operators. It also seeks to ensure that plant reproductive material placed on the EU market is of high and reliable quality, adapted to the environmental and climate challenges Europe faces.

Today’s agreement allows us to move forward with a modern, coherent and future-proof framework for plant reproductive material. With this mandate, we are ready to engage constructively with the European Parliament to deliver rules that support innovation, strengthen biodiversity and provide farmers across Europe with the high-quality material they need for the challenges ahead.

The proposal replaces ten existing sector-specific directives with a single, harmonised regulation to create a more flexible, innovation-friendly and environmentally resilient system.

The new rules seek to:

• create a simpler and clearer set of rules across the Union, reducing divergences in implementation and ensuring a level playing field;
• support scientific and technological progress, enabling the use of digital tools, biomolecular techniques and modern breeding techniques that were not envisaged in the original 1960s legislation;
• reduce administrative burden for competent authorities and operators through harmonised procedures, clearer responsibilities and digital documentation;
• ensure the availability of high-quality PRM adapted to evolving agricultural and environmental conditions, allowing quicker uptake of varieties suited to climate change, pests and diseases;
• promote food and feed security, safeguard plant genetic resources and protect biodiversity, including through lighter rules for conservation varieties and material intended for organic production; and
• improve coherence with the EU’s plant health and official controls legislation, integrating PRM more closely into the EU’s horizontal control framework and strengthening traceability.

The draft regulation covers seed and all other forms of material used for the vegetative propagation of plants. It does not cover, inter alia, forest reproductive material, PRM intended for ornamental purposes, PRM exported to third countries, organic heterogenous material, PRM used by gene banks for the conservation of plant genetic resources and PRM used for official testing, breeding or scientific purposes.

Main changes introduced by the Council

While the two main pillars of the current legislation, the registration of varieties and the certification of PRM were left unchanged, the Council adjusted the proposal to ensure it is more practical and less burdensome both for competent authorities and professional operators. In particular, it agreed that the examination of new varieties for their value for sustainable cultivation and use (VSCU) will be mandatory for agricultural species (except for turf grasses), potatoes and vine. The Council also agreed on a balanced solution on official controls by excluding variety registration from the scope of the regulation on official controls and granting other more specific horizontal exemptions to avoid unnecessary red tape. Furthermore, it refined the rules on the derogations, including for non-professional use, and seed exchanges, keeping these areas within the scope of the regulation but adding stronger safeguards and a review clause to assess their application after five years.

Next steps

Negotiations between the Council presidency and the European Parliament are expected to start at the beginning of next year to agree on a final text.

Background

The European Commission presented its proposal for a new PRM regulation in July 2023 as part of a package revising long-standing legislation on plant and forest reproductive material.