Commission Implementing Directive (EU) 2025/1079

Contents

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,Having regard to Council Directive 2002/53/EC of 13 June 2002 on the common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species^note, and in particular Article 7(2), points (a) and (b), thereof,Having regard to Council Directive 2002/55/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of vegetable seed^note, and in particular Article 7(2), points (a) and (b), thereof,Whereas:

(1)Commission Directives 2003/90/EC^note and 2003/91/EC^note aim to ensure that the varieties of agricultural plant species and vegetable species that Member States include in their national catalogues comply with the protocols established by the Community Plant Variety Office (‘CPVO’). In particular, those Directives aim to ensure compliance with the rules concerning the characteristics to be covered as a minimum by the examination and the minimum conditions for examining certain varieties of agricultural plant and vegetable species. For the species not covered by the CPVO protocols, those Directives aim to ensure compliance with the guidelines of the International Union for Protection of New Varieties of Plants (‘UPOV’).

(2)The CPVO has established further protocols and has updated existing ones, in particular as regards red clover, swede rape, turnip rape, asparagus, chilli or pepper, industrial chicory, melon, cucumber and gherkin, marrow or courgette, and lettuce. Those updates should be reflected in Union law.

(3)Directives 2003/90/EC and 2003/91/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(4)The new rules should apply from 1 January 2026. However, in order not to disrupt official examinations, for varieties that are not yet accepted for inclusion in the Common Catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant or vegetable species, official examinations started but not finalised before 1 January 2026 should continue to be made in accordance with Directive 2003/90/EC or Directive 2003/91/EC as they stood before being amended by this Directive.

(5)The measures provided for in this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: