Niveau juridique : Union européenne
La Commission européenne réunit au sein de ce comité les représentants des états membres. C’est un espace de discussion pour l’application des réglementations existantes avec processus de comitologie, pour les actes d’exécution notamment.
Lors de la réunion du 8 mars 2022, on notera plus particulièrement les items suivants :
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A .02 Presentation by France of a request to be authorised to prescribe appropriate cultivation conditions for varieties made herbicide-tolerant under Article16 (2) of Directive 2002/53 on the common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species.
France presented its request to be authorised to lay down specific growing conditions for herbicide tolerant varieties of sunflower which was submitted to the Commission on 9 February 2022. It is based on the decision of the Conseil d’État on herbicide tolerant varieties (HTVs) which have been obtained by in vivo mutagenesis.
This concerns sunflower varieties which contain an acetolactatesynthase (ALS) inhibitor and are known under the names “ClearfieldPlus” and “ExpressSun”. The scopr of the French request strictly follows the ruling of the Conseil d’État and is further based on several scientific reports from ANSES (Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail) and INRAE(Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement) which see a risk of herbicide resistance in weeds with potential risks for health and environment.
Therefore, according to the French authorities the conditions of the safeguard clause under Article16(2) of Directive 2002/53/EC are met and it is proposed to lay down three cultivation measures for the growing of HTVs in the French territory. The conditions include the preparation of a false seedbed, the prohibition of growing soybean before and after HTVs of sunflower and the prohibition to grow HTV of sunflower three years after a HTV of sunflower. An exemption would include the use of the HTV for research and selection processes. The French authorities informed that 202 varieties are concerned.
Several Member States asked to be careful and raised questions on the approach of France as why the restrictions were limited to sunflower (scope), why a difference was made between in vivo and in vitro mutagenesis and spontaneous mutations and whether this was the right legislation where the herbicide use needs to be addressed. One Member State informed about reduction in use of herbicide when HTVs were grown. The question of addressing growing conditions in general for the production of seeds of HTVs was raised.
The discussion will be continued during the next PAFF meeting and colleagues responsible for GMOs and plant protection products will be invited.
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A.06 Update on the revision of the legislation on plant reproductive material.
The Commission gave an update on the revision of the PRM legislation. Some Member States asked if they could send additional information and data also in writing. Further a Member State asked how vegetable propagating material and ornamentals would be handled in the future. The Commission stated that any additional information can be of value for the revision of the PRM legislation and could be taken into account. Further the Commission highlighted that the data and information are of importance to have valid arguments for potential changes of the legislation.
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A.08 Update on the unique EU plant variety IT system and new common catalogue database.
The Commission presented the recent updates on the EU Plant Variety portal, including:
(i) the conclusions based on the outcomes of the second Member States’survey
(ii) the approval of the new Common Catalogue Use Case Specification and
(iiii) the organization of the next Stakeholders Working Group Meeting.
Some Member States requested more details and information. The Commission confirmed that the existing system will be maintained until the new IT system is operational and only data will be inlcuded which are also available on Member State level.
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C.02 Exchange of views on a draft Commission Decision amending Commission Directive 2003/90/EC as regards the temporary derogation for organic varieties of agricultural plant species suitable for organic production.
The Commission presented the latest draft. Several Member States agreed in general to the approach and raised minor points to be changed in the document : a more clear differentiation between DUS and VCU tests in recital 3, more appropriate wording for the relative uniformity requirement between similar varieties and further check of the characteristics in the Annex. The Commission agreed to integrate these points in the document and await the finalization of the internal consultation before circulating a new draft to the Member States for opinion by written consultation.
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C.03 Exchange of views on a draft Commission Decision amending Commission Directive 2003/90/EC as regards the temporary derogation for organic varieties of vegetable species suitable for organic production.
The Commission presented the latest draft. Several Member States agreed in general to the approach and raised minor points to be changed in the document : a more clear differentiation between DUS and VCU tests in recital 3, more appropriate wording for the relative uniformity requirement between similar varieties and further check of the characteristics in the Annex. The Commission agreed to integrate these points in the document and await the finalization of the internal consultation before circulating a new draft to the Member States for opinion by written consultation.
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