Directive 2008/90 - Marketing of fruit plant propagating material and fruit plants intended for fruit production (Recast version) - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 267/8

Council Directive 92/34/EEC of 28 April 1992 on the marketing of fruit plant propagating material and fruit plants intended for fruit production (2) has been substantially amended several times (3). Since further amendments are to be made, it should be recast in the interests of clarity.

Fruit production occupies an important place in the agriculture of the Community.

Satisfactory results in the cultivation of fruit depend to a large extent on the quality and plant health of the material used for their propagation and of the fruit plants intended for fruit production.

Harmonised conditions at Community level ensure that purchasers throughout the Community receive propagating material and fruit plants which are healthy and of good quality.

In so far as they relate to plant health, such harmonised conditions must be consistent with Council Directive 2000/29/EC of 8 May 2000 on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community (4).

It is appropriate to establish Community rules for those genera and species of fruit plant which are of major economic importance in the Community, with a Community procedure for adding further genera and species later to the list of genera and species to which this Directive applies. The genera and species listed should be those which are widely grown in Member States and for whose propagating material and/or fruit plants there is a substantial market which covers more than one Member State.

Without prejudice to the plant health provisions of Directive 2000/29/EC, it is not appropriate to apply the Community rules on the marketing of propagating material and fruit plants when it is shown that such products are intended for export to third countries, as the rules applicable there may be different from those contained in this Directive.

In the interest of clarity the necessary definitions should be established. Those definitions should be based on technical and scientific progress and cover the term concerned in a complete and clear manner, in order to facilitate the harmonisation of the internal market taking into account all new opportunities of the market and all new processes used for the production of propagating material. Those definitions should be harmonised with those adopted for the marketing of other propagating material covered by Community legislation.

It is desirable to establish plant health and quality standards for each genus and species of fruit plant based on international schemes which may include, inter alia, provisions for pathogen testing. It is appropriate to provide, therefore, for a system of harmonised rules for the different categories of propagating material and fruit plants to be marketed by reference to those international schemes, where available.

It is consistent with current agricultural practice to require that propagating material and fruit plants are either officially examined or examined under official supervision as foreseen for other species covered by Community legislation.

Genetically modified propagating material and...