Hemp-seed certification

27.11.2018

Question for written answer E-005994-18
to the Commission
Rule 130
Luke Ming Flanagan (GUE/NGL)

For Irish farmers, the choices in the purchase and marketing of Cannabis Sativa seeds are governed by the rules laid down in Directive 2002/57/EC.

As of 1 January 2018, the Commission has been implementing the decision (EU) 2017/478 to release Ireland from the obligation to apply Directive 2002/57/EC, with the exception of Article 17, to the sale and marketing of the Cannabis Sativa seed variety.

Irish farmers have sourced seeds from the USA and Switzerland, which are within the definition of industrial hemp, with THC levels below the legally permissible amount of 0.2%. Not only would these varieties be of major benefit to Irish producers, but they would also be of major benefit to those Irish citizens who need cannabinoid medicines — an equally important matter

Can Irish farmers apply and be granted a licence to grow the Cannabis Sativa seeds that are not currently included in the EU plant variety database? If so, what requirements of Article 17 need to be met?