Seed marketing : beets, fodder, cereals, potatoes, etc...

This proposal sought to amend Directives 66/400/EEC to 66/403/EEC, 69/208/EEC, 70/457/EEC et 70/458/EEC, defining the conditions under which beet seed, fodder plant seed, cereal seed, seed potatoes, seed of oil and fibre plants and vegetable seed could be marketed in the Community and included in the common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species. With a view to the operation of the Internal Market, the provisions of these directives enabling the Member States to make unilateral derogations from certain rules were no longer appropriate and they had to be deleted. In addition, the proposal extended the scope of the directives to the production and, where appropriate, the utilisation of seed. Lastly, in the light of the experience gained and scientific and technical progress, it also clarified and updated certain provisions and created a legal basis taking into account of the developments in the field of genetically modified varieties of chemically treated seed. �