L 193/60 Official Journal of the European Communities 20.7.2002 COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2002/56/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of seed potatoes THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament (%), Having consulted the Economic and Social Committee, Whereas: o) Council Directive 66/403/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of seed potatoes (%) has been frequently and substantially amended (3). For reasons of clarity and rationality the said Directive should be codified. Potato production occupies an important place in the agriculture of the Community. Satisfactory results in potato cultivation depend to a large extent on the use of appropriate seed potatoes. Greater productivity will be achieved in Community potato cultivation if for the choice of the varieties permitted to be marketed the Member States apply uniform rules which are as strict as possible, in particular as regards health status. A common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species is therefore provided for in Council Directive 2002/53/EC (*. It is desirable to establish a uniform certification scheme for the Community based on the experience gained in the application of schemes in the Member States and that of the Economic Commission for Europe. In the context of the consolidation of the Internal Market, the Community scheme should cover the production of seed with a view to marketing and to marketing within the Community, and should offer no possibilities for the Member States to derogate unilaterally in a way that would hinder the free movement of plants within the Community. (") Opinion delivered on 9 April 2002 (not yet published in the Official Journal). () OJ 125, 11.7.1966, p. 2320/66; as last amended by Commission Decision 1999/742/EC (O] L 297, 18.11.1999, p. 39). (®) See Annex VI, part A. (*) See page 1 of this Official Journal. (6) (10) As a general rule, seed potatoes should be allowed to be marketed only if they have been officially examined and certified, in accordance with the rules for certification, as basic seed potatoes or certified seed potatoes. The choice of the technical terms ‘basic seed potatoes’ and ‘certified seed potatoes’ is based on already existing international terminology. It should be possible, under specified conditions, to place on the market bred seed potato of generations prior to basic seed potato and seed potato as grown. Member States may subdivide the categories of seed potatoes into grades satisfying different requirements. It seems appropriate to provide that Community grades and their requirements may be established in an accelerated procedure. In this respect it should be left to Member States to decide the extent to which they apply these grades to their own production. In the light of modern advances in propagation techniques, it is appropriate to lay down a Community procedure for the establishment of specific rules applicable to the marketing of seed potatoes produced by techniques involving micropropagation. Community rules should not apply to seed potatoes shown to be intended for export to third countries. In order to improve not only the genetic value and health status of Community seed potatoes but also their external characteristics, provision should be made for tolerances in respect of impurities, blemishes and diseases in seed potatoes. Member States may be authorised, in respect of the marketing of seed potatoes in all or part of their territories, to take more stringent measures than provided for in Annex I against particular virus diseases which do not exist in those regions or which appear particularly harmful to crops in those regions. It has appeared that the scope of this provision should be extended to harmful organisms other than virus diseases. In order to ensure the identity of the seed potatoes, Community rules on packaging, sealing and marking must be established. To this end the labels should give the particulars needed both for official verification and