20. 1. 78 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 16/23 COUNCIL DIRECTIVE of 19 December 1977 amending Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 68/193/EEC, 69/208/EEC, 70/458/EEC and 70/457/EEC on the marketing of beet seed, fodder plant seed, cereal seed, material for the vegetative propagation of the vine, seed of oil and fibre plants, vegetable seed and on the common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species (78/55/EEC) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 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 Parlia- ment (1), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2), Whereas, for the reasons given below, certain Direc- tives on the marketing of seeds and propagating mate- rial should be amended ; Whereas the present provisions of those Directives relating to the marking of seeds and propagating mate- rial do not take into account technical progress in respect of methods of labelling ; whereas they should therefore be amended ; Whereas in the case of certain Directives an acceler- ated procedure should be provided for amending the list of species with regard to descriptions and hybrids resulting from the crossing of species ; Whereas, in principle, seed which is intended for certi- fication as ‘certified seed’ must have been produced from basic seed ; whereas, however, by way of deroga- tion, the said Directives permit, in the case of seed of certain species, certification as ‘certified seed’” where the seed has been poduced from pre-basic seed which has been subject to official examination ; whereas this latter facility is not sufficient for some species, particu- larly as regards the species for which certification as ‘certified seed of the second generation’ is permitted ; whereas, therefore, this facility should be extended provided that sufficient guarantees are laid down ; Whereas experience with regard to supplies of fibre flax seed shows that it is necessary to retain the cate- (1) OJ No L 183, 1. 8. 1977, p. 64. (2) OJ No C 180, 28. 7. 1977, p. 29. gory of ‘certified seeds of the third generation’ for a further four years ; whereas this extension should also allow Member States to take all necessary steps to ensure in the near future adequate supplies of fibre flax seed of the categories ‘certified seed of the first generation’ and ‘certified seed of the second genera- tion’; Whereas Council Directive 70/457/EEC of 29 September 1970 on the common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species (%), as last amended by Directive 73/438/EEC(*), and Council Directive 70/458/EEC of 29 September 1970 on the marketing of vegetable seed (%), as last amended by Directive 76/307/EEC (%), provide that from 1 July 1977 the equivalence of the official examination of varieties and the checks on practices for the maintenance of - varieties carried out in third countries can no longer be established nationally by Member States ; whereas Directive 70/458/EEC provides that from 1 July 1977 the equivalence of seeds harvested in third countries can no longer be established nationally by Member States ; Whereas, however, it is likely that examinations concerning the granting of these equivalences on a Community basis will not be completed within the abovementioned periods in all those cases where national equivalences have been granted; whereas it should therefore be possible to decide by an acceler- ated procedure on a possible extension of these periods in certain cases in order to avoid disturbing traditional trade patterns, HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: Article 1 Council Directive 66/400/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of beet seed(’), as last amended by Directive 76/331/EEC (}), shall be amended as follows : OJ No L 225, 12. 10. 1970, p. 1. O] No L 356, 27. 12. 1973, p. 79. OJ No L 225, 12. 10. 1970, p. 7. OJ No L 72, 18. 3. 1976, p. 16. OJ No 125, 11. 7. 1966, p. 2290/66. O] No L 83, 30. 3. 1976, p. 34.