What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

Added:(a) conditions relating to inspections in the production site, carried out in third countries;

Added:(b) in the case of seeds, conditions relating to the issuance by the third country of a certificate provided by the International Seed Testing Association;

Added:(c) conditions relating to seed not yet finally certified;

Added:(d) conditions relating to packaging, sealing and marking of PRM;

Added:(e) conditions relating to the production, identity and marketing of PRM, in addition to the ones provided for by the third country’s legislation, if so needed to address particular aspects concerning the identity and quality of that PRM;

Added:(f) requirements to be fulfilled by the professional operators producing and marketing that PRM.

Added:4. The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, recognise that the controls on variety maintenance carried out in the third country afford the same guarantees as those provided for in Article 72(1), (2) and (4), if varieties registered in a national variety register or in the Union variety register are to be maintained in the third country concerned.

Added:Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 76(2).

Added:Article 40 Labelling and information to be provided for the PRM imported from third countries

Added:1. Pre-basic, basic and certified seeds referred to in Article 39 may only be imported from third countries, if they are accompanied by an OECD label.

Added:Pre-basic, basic and certified material referred to in Article 39 may only be imported from third countries if it is accompanied by an official label issued by the competent authority of the third country concerned.

Added:Those labels shall contain all of the following information:

Added:(a) the indication ‘meets EU rules and standards’;

Added:(b) the species, variety, category and lot number of the PRM concerned;

Added:(c) the date of closure, in case of marketing in containers or packages;

Added:(d) the third country of production and the respective competent authority;

Added:(e) where applicable, the last third country from which the PRM is imported and the last third country where the PRM has been produced;

Added:(f) in the case of seeds, the declared net or gross weight of the imported seeds or declared number of imported lots of seeds;

Added:(g) the name of the person final user, farmer or professional operator importing the PRM. [Am. 197]

Added:2. Standard seed and material referred to in Article 39 may only be imported from third countries, if it is accompanied by an operator’s label containing all of the following information:

Added:(a) the indication ‘meets EU rules and standards’;

Added:(b) the species, variety, category and lot number of the PRM concerned;

Added:(c) the date of closure, in case of marketing in containers or packages;

Added:(d) the third country of production;

Added:(e) where applicable, the last third country from which the PRM is imported and the last third country where the PRM has been produced;

Added:(f) in the case of seeds, the declared net or gross weight of the imported seeds or declared number of imported lots of seeds;

Added:(g) the name of the person final user, farmer or professional operator importing the PRM. [Am. 198]

Added:3. PRM may only be imported into the Union after the electronic submission of the information referred to in paragraph 1 or 2 by the importer to the competent authority of the Member State of import.

Added:4. Member States shall immediately notify the Information management system for official controls (IMSOC), referred to in Article 131 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, of all established non-compliances of the imported PRM concerning the requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2.

Added:CHAPTER III REQUIREMENTS FOR PROFESSIONAL OPERATORS

Added:Article 41 Obligations of professional operators producing PRM

Added:Professional operators, which produce PRM with the aim of commercial exploitation, shall: [Am. 199]

Added:(a) be established in the Union;

Added:(b) be registered in the register referred to Article 65 of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031, in accordance with Article 66 of that Regulation;

Added:(c) be available personally, or designate another person, to liaise with the competent authorities for facilitating the official controls;

Added:(d) identify and monitor the critical points of the production process, or of the marketing, which may influence the identity and quality of PRM;

Added:(e) keep records of the monitoring of the critical points referred to in point (b) (d) and provide them for examination when requested by the competent authorities; [Am. 200]

Added:(f) ensure that lots of PRM remain separately identifiable;

Added:(g) keep updated information on the address of the premises and other locations used for the production of PRM;

Added:(h) make sure that competent authorities have access to the premises and other locations of production, including premises and fields of third contracting parties, and to the records of the monitoring and all related documents;

Added:(i) take measures, where appropriate, for the maintenance of the identity of the PRM in accordance with the requirements of this Regulation;

Added:(j) make available on request of the competent authorities any contracts with third parties.

Added:The requirements laid down in paragraph 1, points (d) and (e), shall not apply to micro-enterprises. [Am. 201]

Added:The activities referred to in Articles 29 and 30 shall not be subject to the provisions of this Article. [Am. 202]

Added:Article 42 Traceability

Added:1. Professional operators shall ensure that PRM is traceable at all stages of production and marketing.

Added:2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, professional operators shall keep information allowing them to identify:

Added:(a) the professional operators, which have supplied them with the seeds and the material concerned;

Added:(b) the persons to whom they have supplied PRM and the PRM concerned, except in case of final users.

Added:On request, they shall make such information available to the competent authorities.

Added:3. Professional operators shall keep records of the PRM and the professional operators and persons referred to in paragraph 2 for 3 years after that material has been respectively supplied to or by them.

Added:3a. The activities referred to in Articles 29 and 30 shall not be subject to the provisions of this Article. [Am. 203]

Added:Article 43 Annual notification of the intended production and certification of pre-basic, basic and certified seed and material

Added:Every year, professional operators shall notify the competent authorities about:

Added:(a) their intention to produce pre-basic, basic and certified material or pre-basic, basic and certified seed, at least one month before the beginning of that production; and [Am. 204]

Added:(b) the production of pre-basic, basic and certified material that started in previous years and continues in the year concerned.

Added:That notification shall state the plant species, varieties and categories concerned and the exact location of production.

Added:CHAPTER IV VARIETY REGISTRATION

Added:SECTION 1 VARIETY REGISTERS

Added:Article 44 Establishment of national variety registers