Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the 'Proposal for a Council Directive amending Council Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 66/403/EEC, 69/208/EEC and 70/458/EEC on the marketing of beet seed, fodder plant seed, cereal seed, seed potatoes, seed of oil and fibre plants and vegetable seed and the common catalogue of varieties of vegetable species'
9. 3. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 73/45 Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council Directive amending Council Directives 66/403/EEC, 69/208/EEC and 70/458/EEC on the marketing of beet seed, fodder plant seed, cereal seed, seed potatoes, seed of oil and fibre plants and vegetable seed and the common catalogue of varieties of vegetable species’ 66/402/EEC, 66/401/EEC, 66/400/EEC, (98/C 73/10) On 11 September 1997 the Council decided, under Articles 43 and 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to consult the Economic and Social Committee on the above-mentioned proposal. The Section for Agriculture and Fisheries, which was responsible for preparing the work on this matter, adopted its opinion on 7 November 1997. The rapporteur was Mr Nilsson. At its 350th plenary session on 10 and 11 December 1997 (meeting of 10 December) the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 106 votes in favour, with two dissenting votes and five abstentions. 1. Gist of the Commission proposal The Commission proposes that the trial schemes 1. 1. authorized since 1989 (Decision 89/540/EEC, last amended by Decision 96/336/EEC) in order to streamline procedures and find better alternatives for official seed certification be placed on a permanent footing. The Commission is therefore proposing that the relevant directives be amended. 1. 2. The Commission also proposes to facilitate the addition of new species in the catalogue of varieties, and to simplify changes, since developments in the crossing of species are producing new names and hybrids. 2. 2. The proposal is consistent with the provisions applied on a trial basis for several years, from which positive lessons have been learned. 2. 3. Inspection in the field is one of the key monitoring procedures in the certification system. Such inspection on both an official and unofficial basis must therefore operate under objective, independent conditions that ensure consistently reliable results. The findings of inspections carried out by 2. 3. 1. unofficial inspectors must be confirmed by the au- thorities responsible for certifying that seed requirements have been respected. 2. Comments on the Commission proposal The Committee supports the Commission pro- 2. 1. posal. 2. 4. The Commission proposal can be considered to satisfy this criterion by prescribing detailed rules so that procedures can now be simplified on a permanent basis. Brussels, 10 December 1997. The President of the Economic and Social Committee Tom JENKINS