The EU Council and Parliament have reached a provisional deal on a major overhaul of EU rules governing the production and marketing of plant reproductive material (PRM).
The new rules aim to increase agro-biodiversity, support conservation and locally adapted varieties, and provide greater flexibility for different purposes of use for breeders, other professional operators and non-professional operators. They also seek to ensure that plant reproductive material placed on the EU market is of high and reliable quality, and adapted to the environmental and climate challenges Europe faces.
The proposal replaces several 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 production methods 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 and locally adapted varieties and PRM 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 agreement ensures more practical and less burdensome approaches both for national authorities and professional operators. It was concluded that the examination of new varieties for their value for sustainable cultivation and use (VSCU) will remain mandatory for agricultural plants (except for turf grasses), potato and vine. It also covers 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. It also refines the rules on the derogations, keeping these areas within the scope of the regulation with lighter rules.
The provisional agreement needs to be endorsed by the Council and the Parliament, before being formally adopted and entering into force, and will start to apply four years later.
