Legislation on seeds in the European Union

25.11.2020

Question for written answer  E-006443/2020
to the Commission
Rule 138
Joëlle Mélin (ID)

The policy of developing a common market within the EU brought to an end the wide diversity of seed varieties that had existed previously, with many varieties having been used for centuries.

The EU has chosen to establish common definitions for seed varieties in order to facilitate their free movement. Hence, this strategy aims to standardise seeds and impose numerous rules on trade in seeds. However, by making it mandatory for agricultural plant seeds to be certified before they can be marketed, and stipulating that these seeds must have satisfactory and reliable agronomic characteristics, the seed market has become the private preserve of the major industrial groups that have filed the most patents, blocking, as a consequence, the marketing of many seed types now held in their portfolio.

Through this strategy, farmers have lost the right to market their own seeds since, although well suited to the local environment and farming conditions, their seeds do not meet the criteria set by the EU.

With countries pressing for a return to a local and healthy form of farming to be permitted, will the Commission review its regulations so that farmer-saved seeds can once more be used and marketed?