SHORT JUSTIFICATION The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety calls on the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development to reject the Commission proposal for a regulation on the production and making available on the market of plant reproductive material based, in particular, on the following reasons: · The “One size fits all” approach Due to its broad variety, plant reproductive material is currently regulated by 12 directives, enabling legislation to be adapted to each specific case. Consequently, there is a risk that the “one size fits all” approach taken does not meet the different requirements of existing plant reproductive material and the needs of operators, consumers and competent authorities. Moreover, during the consultations held prior to this legislative proposal being drafted, both the sectors concerned and the Member States were of the opinion that the existing legislative structure was generally satisfactory, although they were open to it being reviewed when appropriate. In proposing that all the current directives be unified in one single legislative act, the Commission is not acting in response to a specific request from the Parties concerned. · Delegated and implementing acts Given the significant number of delegated and implementing acts foreseen in the proposal, it is very difficult to properly assess the future impact of the regulation. · Scope The proposal also covers forest reproductive material which is currently regulated by Council Directive 1999/105/EC of 22 December 1999 on the marketing of forest reproductive material. Apart from the fact that this specific sector is already covered by EU legislation, there is no apparent link with food safety (which has been one of the main arguments brought forward by the Commission when presenting the package in May 2013). In previous discussions, Members of the Committee for the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety also expressed concerns in relation to plant reproductive material for ornamental purposes and propagating material intended for sale to home gardeners, the poor quality of the Commission’s impact assessment, the extended remit of the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO), vague definitions and unnecessary administrative burdens placed on Member States and operators (potentially leading to reduced choices and less transparency for consumers). Finally, many Members emphasised that EU legislation on plant reproductive material needs to facilitate and encourage the maintenance of biodiversity in agriculture and horticulture.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 12:33:04 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015