Council Directive of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of cereal seed (66/402/EEC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Articles 43 and 100 thereof;

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission;

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament;⁽¹⁾

Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee;

Whereas cereal production occupies an important place in the agriculture of the European Economic Community;
Whereas satisfactory results in cereal cultivation depend to a large extent on the use of appropriate seed; whereas to this end certain Member States have for some time restricted the marketing of cereal seed to high-quality seed; whereas they have been able to take advantage of the systematic plant selection work carried out over several decades which has resulted in the development of sufficiently stable and uniform cereal varieties which, by reason of their characters, promise to be of great value for the purposes in view;
Whereas greater productivity will be obtained in Community cereal cultivation if for the choice of the varieties permitted to be marketed the Member States apply uniform rules which are as strict as possible;
Whereas it is, however, justifiable to restrict marketing to certain varieties only if the farmer can be sure of actually obtaining seed of those varieties;
Whereas certain Member States have for this purpose been applying certification schemes which are intended by official control to ensure identity and varietal purity;
Whereas such schemes already exist at international level; whereas the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations has recommended minimum standards for the certification of maize seed in European and Mediterranean countries; whereas, furthermore, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has established a scheme for the varietal certification of herbage seed moving in international trade;
Whereas it is desirable to establish a uniform certification scheme for the Community based on the experience gained in the application of those schemes;
Whereas the scheme should apply to marketing both in other Member States and on domestic markets;
Whereas, as a general rule, cereal seed should be allowed to be marketed only if it has been officially examined and certified, in accordance with the rules for certification, as basic seed or certified seed; whereas the choice of the technical terms ‘basic seed’ and ‘certified seed’ is based on already existing international terminology;
Whereas cereal seed which is not placed on the market should not, in view of its minor economic importance, be subject to Community rules; whereas Member States must retain the right to make such seed subject to special provisions;
Whereas Community rules should not apply to seed shown to be intended for export to third countries;
Whereas, in order to improve not only the genetic quality of Community cereal seed but also its external characters, certain conditions must be laid down as to analytical purity, germination and health status;
Whereas, in order to ensure the identity of the seed, Community rules on packaging, sampling, sealing and marking must be established; whereas to this end the labels should give the particulars needed both for official control and for the information of the farmer and should clearly show the Community nature of the certification;
Whereas certain Member States need blends of cereal seed of various species for special uses; whereas, in order to take these needs into account, Member States should be authorised to approve such blends subject to certain conditions;
Whereas, in order to ensure that both the requirements as to the quality of the seed and the provisions for ensuring its identity are complied with during marketing, the Member States must make provision for appropriate control arrangements;
Whereas seed satisfying these requirements should, without prejudice to Article 36 of the Treaty, be subject to no marketing restrictions other than those provided for in Community rules, except in those cases where Community rules provide for tolerances in respect of harmful organisms;
Whereas, during a first stage, until a common catalogue of varieties has been established, the restrictions allowed should include in particular the right of Member States to restrict the marketing of certified seed to those varieties which are of value for cropping and use in their own territory;
Whereas, subject to certain conditions, seed multiplied in another country from basic seed certified in a Member State should be recognised as equivalent to seed multiplied in that Member State;
Whereas, on the other hand, provision should be made for authorising the marketing within the Community of cereal seed harvested in third countries only if such seed affords the same assurances as seed officially certified in the Community and complying with Community rules;
Whereas, during periods in which there are difficulties in obtaining supplies of certified seed of the various categories, seed satisfying less stringent requirements should temporarily be permitted to be marketed;
Whereas, in order to harmonise the technical methods of certification used in the various Member States and to enable comparisons to be made in the future between seed certified within the Community and that coming from third countries, Community test fields should be established in Member States to permit annual post-control of seed of the various categories of ‘certified seed’;
Whereas the Commission should be entrusted with the task of adopting certain measures for the application of this Directive; whereas, in order to facilitate implementation of the proposed measures, a procedure should be provided for establishing close co-operation between Member States and the Commission within a Standing Committee on Seeds and Propagating Material for Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry;

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

This Directive shall apply to the production with a view to marketing, and to the marketing, of cereal seed within the Community.

Article 1a

For the purposes of this Directive ‘marketing’ shall mean the sale, holding with a view to sale, offer for sale and any disposal, supply or transfer aimed at commercial exploitation of seed to third parties, whether or not for consideration.

Trade in seed not aimed at commercial exploitation of the variety, such as the following operations, shall not be regarded as marketing:

the supply of seed to official testing and inspection bodies;
the supply of seed to providers of services for processing or packaging, provided the provider of services does not acquire title to seed thus supplied.

The supply of seed under certain conditions to providers of services for the production of certain agricultural raw materials, intended for industrial purposes, or seed propagation for that purpose, shall not be regarded as marketing, provided the provider of services does not acquire title to either the seed thus supplied or the product of the harvest. The supplier of seed shall provide the Certification Authority with a copy of the relevant parts of the contract made with the provider of services and this shall include the standards and conditions currently met by the seed provided.

The conditions for the application of this provision shall be determined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21.

Article 2

For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply:

Cereals: plants of the following species intended for agricultural or horticultural production other than production for ornamental purposes:

Avena sativa L.	Oats
Hordeum vulgare L.	Barley
Oryza sativa L.	Rice
Phalaris canariensis L.	Canary grass
Secale cereale L.	Rye
Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench	Sorghum
Sorghum sudanense (Piper) Stapf.	Sudan grass
X Triticosecale Wittm.	Triticale
Triticum aestivum L. emend. Fiori et Paol.	Wheat
Triticum durum Desf.	Durum wheat
Triticum spelta L.	Spelt wheat
Zea mays L. (partim)	Maize except popcorn and sweet corn

This definition shall also cover the following hybrids resulting from the crossing of species referred to above.

Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench × Sorghum sudanense (Piper) Stapf.

Hybrids resulting from the crossing of Sorghum and Sudan grass.

Unless otherwise specified, seed of the aforementioned hybrids shall be subject to the standards or other conditions applicable to seed of each of the species from which they are derived.

Varieties, hybrids and inbred lines of maize and Sorghum spp.:
1. Open-pollinated variety: a sufficiently uniform and stable variety;
2. Inbred line: a sufficiently uniform and stable line, obtained either by artificial self-fertilization accompanied by selection over several successive generations or by equivalent operations;
3. Simple hybrid: the first generation of a cross, defined by the breeder, between two inbred lines;
4. Double hybrid: the first generation of a cross, defined by the breeder, between two simple hybrids;
5. Triple-cross hybrid: the first generation of a cross, defined by the breeder, between an inbred line and a simple hybrid;
6. Top Cross hybrid: the first generation of a cross, defined by the breeder, between an inbred line or a simple hybrid and an open-pollinated variety;
7. Intervarietal hybrid: the first generation of a cross, defined by the breeder, between plants grown from basic seed of two open-pollinated varieties.
Basic seed (oats, barley, rice, canary grass, rye triticale, wheat, durum wheat and spelt wheat, other than hybrids in each case): seed
1. which has been produced under the responsibility of the breeder according to accepted practices for the maintenance of the variety;
2. which is intended for the production of seed either of the category ‘certified seed’ or of the categories ‘certified seed, first generation’ or ‘certified seed, second generation’;
3. which, subject to the provisions of Article 4 (1) (a), satisfies the conditions laid down in Annexes I and II for basic seed; and
4. which has been found by official examination or in the case of the conditions laid down in Annex II, either by official examination or by examination carried out under official supervision to satisfy the conditions set out in (a), (b) and (c).
Basic seed (hybrids of oats, barley, rice, rye, wheat, durum wheat, spelt wheat and self-pollinating triticale)
1. which is intended for the production of hybrids;
2. which, subject to the provisions of Article 4, satisfies the conditions laid down in Annexes I and II for basic seed; and
3. which has been found by official examination or, in the case of the conditions laid down in Annex II, either by official examination or by examination carried out under official supervision to satisfy the conditions set out in (a) and (b).
Basic seed (maize (SIC! maize and) Sorghum spp.):
1. Basic seed of open-pollinated varieties: seed
  1. which has been produced under the responsibility of the breeder according to accepted practices for the maintenance of the variety;
  2. which is intended for the production of seed of this variety of the category ‘certified seed’ or of Top Cross hybrids or of intervarietal hybrids;
  3. which, subject to the provisions of Article 4, satisfies the conditions laid down in Annexes I and II for basic seed; and
  4. which has been found by official examination or, in the case of the conditions laid down in Annex II, either by official examination or by examination carried out under official supervision to satisfy the conditions set out in (a), (b) and (c).
2. Basic seed of inbred lines: seed
  1. which, subject to the provisions of Article 4, satisfies the conditions laid down in Annexes I and II for basic seed; and
  2. which has been found by official examination or, in the case of the conditions laid down in Annex II, either by official examination or by examination carried out under official supervision to satisfy the conditions set out in (a).
3. Basic seed of simple hybrids: seed
  1. which is intended for the production of double hybrids, triple-cross hybrids or Top Cross hybrids;
  2. which, subject to the provisions of Article 4, satisfies the conditions laid down in Annexes I and II for basic seed; and
  3. which has been found by official examination or, in the case of the conditions laid down in Annex II, either by official examination or by examination carried out under official supervision to satisfy the conditions set out in (a) and (b).
Certified seed (canary grass, other than hybrids, rye, sorghum, sudan grass, maize and hybrids of oats, barley, rice, wheat, durum wheat, spelt wheat and self pollinating triticale): seed
1. which has been produced directly from basic seed or, if the breeder so requests, from seed of a generation prior to basic seed which can satisfy and has been found by official examination to satisfy the conditions laid down in Annexes I and II for basic seed;
2. which is intended for purposes other than the production of cereal seed;
3. which, subject to the provisions of Article 4 (1) (b) and (2), satisfies the conditions laid down in Annexes I and II for certified seed; and
4. which has been found by official examination or by examination carried out under official supervision to satisfy the conditions set out in (a), (b) and (c).
Certified seed of the first generation (oats, barley, rice, triticale, wheat, durum wheat and spelt wheat, other than hybrids in each case): seed
1. which has been produced directly from basic seed or, if the breeder so requests, from seed of a generation prior to basic seed which has been found by official examination to satisfy the conditions laid down in Annexes I and II for basic seed;
2. which is intended either for the production of seed of the category ‘certified seed, second generation’ or for purposes other than the production of cereal seed;
3. which satisfies the conditions laid down in Annexes I and II for certified seed of the first generation; and
4. which has been found by official examination or by examination carried out under official supervision to satisfy the conditions set out in (a), (b) and (c).
Certified seed of the second generation (oats, barley, rice, triticale, wheat, durum wheat and spelt wheat, other than hybrids in each case): seed
1. which has been produced directly from basic seed, from certified seed of the first generation or, if the breeder so requests, from seed of a generation prior to basic seed which has been found by official examination to satisfy the conditions laid down in Annexes I and II for basic seed;
2. which is intended for purposes other than the production of cereal seed;
3. which satisfies the conditions laid down in Annexes I and II for certified seed of the second generation; and
4. which has been found by official examination or by examination carried out under official supervision to satisfy the conditions set out in (a), (b) and (c).
Official measures: measures taken
1. by State authorities, or
2. by any legal person whether governed by public or by private law, acting under the responsibility of the State, or
3. in the case of ancillary activities which are also subject to State control, by any natural person duly sworn for that purpose,
provided that the persons mentioned under (b) and (c) derive no private gain from such measures.

1a.

Amendments to be made to the list of species referred to in paragraph 1(A) shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21.

1b.

Amendments to be made to paragraph 1 (C) (Ca), (E), (F) and (G) for the purpose of including hybrids of canary grass, rye and triticale in the scope of this Directive shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21.

1c.

The different types of varieties, including the components, eligible for certification under the provisions of this Directive, may be specified and defined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21. In accordance with the same procedure the definitions in paragraph 1 (B) shall be adapted accordingly.

1d.

Member States may be authorized in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21 to permit, by way of derogation from paragraph 1 under F (a) or G (a), to be certified as certified seed of the first generation or certified seed of the second generation seeds of self-pollinating species which have been entered for certification as basic seed and which have been produced from a generation prior to basic seed but which has not been officially examined. This provision shall not apply to hybrid seeds. Certification as certified seed may only occur if this is requested by the applicant for certification with the agreement of the breeder and if an official post-control test based on samples taken officially and carried out at the latest during the growing season of the entered seed shows that the seeds from the previous generation have met the requirements for basic seed in respect of varietal identity and purity. In this case the breeder shall, when the samples are taken, state the total area which has been under production of seeds of the previous generation. These conditions may be amended in the light of development of scientific or technical knowledge in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21.

Member States shall require that the official labels for seeds marketed in accordance with the authorization referred to in the first subparagraph be marked: ‘passed for marketing in … (Member State concerned) only’; in addition Member States may require in this case that the official labels also be marked ‘intended for further multiplication only’.

1e.

Until 30 June 1987, Member States may be authorized, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21, to permit the marketing of seed of specific varieties of rye, chiefly intended for use as fodder, which do not satisfy the conditions laid down:

in Annex II as regards germination,

Member States may:

include several generations in the basic seed category and subdivide this category by generation;
provide that official examinations in respect of germination and analytical purity not be carried out on all lots during certification unless there is doubt whether the conditions laid down in Annex II in these respects have been satisfied.
during a transitional period of not more than three years after the entry into force of the laws, regulations or administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive, and by way of derogation from paragraph 1 (E), (F) and (G), certify as certified seed seed which is of direct descent from seed officially controlled in a Member State under the scheme in operation at that time and which affords the same assurances as basic seed certified in accordance with the principles of this Directive; this provision shall apply correspondingly to the certified seed of the first generation referred to in paragraph 1 (G).
be authorized, on request and according to the procedure laid down in Article 21, to officially certify seed of autogamous species of the categories ‘certified seed, first generation’ or ‘certified seed, second generation’ until30 June 1989 at the latest:
- when, instead of the official field inspection prescribed in Annex I, a field inspection, officially controlled by spot-checks on at least 20 % of the crops of each species, is carried out;
- provided that, in addition to the basic seed, at least the two generations of pre-basic seed immediately preceding that category, have been found by an official examination carried out in (SIC! in the) Member State concerned, to satisfy the conditions laid down in Annexes I and II as to the varietal identity and varietal purity of basic seed.

When the examination under official supervision set out in paragraphs (1)(C)(d), (1)(Ca)(c), (1)(D)(1)(d), (1)(D)(2)(b), (1)(D)(3)(c), (1)(E)(d), (1) (F)(d) and (1)(G)(d) is carried out, the following requirements shall be complied with:

Field inspection
1. The inspectors shall:
  1. have the necessary technical qualifications;
  2. derive no private gain in connection with the carrying out of the inspections;
  3. have been officially licensed by the seed certification authority of the Member State concerned and this licensing shall include either the swearing-in of inspectors or the signature by inspectors of a written statement of commitment to the rules governing official examinations;
  4. carry out inspections under official supervision in accordance with the rules applicable to official inspections.
2. The seed crop to be inspected shall be grown from seed, which has undergone official post-control, the results of which have been satisfactory.
3. A proportion of the seed crops shall be checked by official inspectors. That proportion shall be at least 5 %.
4. A proportion of samples from the seed lots harvested from the seed crops shall be drawn for official post control and, where appropriate, for official laboratory seed testing in respect of varietal identity and purity.
5. The Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the national provisions governing examination under official supervision, adopted pursuant to this Directive. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Penalties may include the withdrawal of the licence provided for in (a)(iii), from officially licensed inspectors who are found guilty of deliberately or negligently contravening the rules governing official examinations. The Member States shall ensure that any certification of the seed examined is annulled in the event of such contravention unless it can be shown that such seed still meets all relevant requirements.
Seed testing
1. Seed testing shall be carried out by seed-testing laboratories which have been authorised for that purpose by the seed certification authority of the Member State concerned under the conditions set out in (b) to (d).
2. The seed-testing laboratory shall have a seed analyst-in-charge who has direct responsibility for the technical operations of the laboratory and has the necessary qualifications for technical management of a seed-testing laboratory.
  Its seed analysts shall have the necessary technical qualifications obtained in training courses organised under conditions applicable to official seed analysts and confirmed by official examinations.
  The laboratory shall be maintained in premises and with equipment officially considered by the seed certification authority to be satisfactory for the purpose of seed testing, within the scope of the authorisation.
  It shall carry out seed testing in accordance with current international methods.
3. The seed-testing laboratory shall be:
  1. an independent laboratory;
    or
  2. a laboratory belonging to a seed company.
  In the case referred to in (ii), the laboratory may carry out seed testing only on seed lots produced on behalf of the seed company to which it belongs, unless it has been otherwise agreed between that seed company, the applicant for certification and the competent seed certification authority.
4. The seed-testing laboratory’s performance of seed testing shall be subject to appropriate supervision by the seed certification authority.
5. For the purposes of the supervision referred to in (d) a proportion of the seed lots entered for the official certification shall be check-tested by official seed testing. That proportion shall in principle be as evenly spread as possible over natural and legal persons entering seed for certification, and the species entered, but may also be oriented to eliminate specific doubts. That proportion shall be at least 5 %.
6. The Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the national provisions governing examination under official supervision, adopted pursuant to this Directive. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Penalties may include the withdrawal of the authorisation provided for in (a), from officially authorised seed-testing laboratories which are found guilty of deliberately or negligently contravening the rules governing official examinations. The Member States shall ensure that any certification of the seed examined is annulled in the event of such contravention unless it can be shown that such seed still meets all relevant requirements.

Further measures applicable to the carrying out of examinations under official supervision may be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21.

Article 3

Member States shall provide that cereal seed may not be placed on the market unless it has been officially certified as ‘basic seed’, ‘certified seed’, ‘certified seed, first generation’ or ‘certified seed, second generation’.

The Member States shall, for the purposes of certification and marketing, fix the maximum moisture content of basic seed and certified seed of all kinds.

The Member States shall ensure that the official examinations of seed are carried out in accordance with current international methods, insofar as such methods exist.