The European Commission's proposal for plant reproductive material law, also known as the “seed regulation”, was voted down by the European Parliament.
MEPs cited concerns that the directive would give the Commission too much power and failed to meets its core objectives such as simplifying the rules and promoting innovation. MEPs voted to reject the regulation by 650 votes to 15.
Reacting to the news our head of horticulture Ben Raskin said. “We welcome the rejection of the proposed EU seed directive by MEPs. We share their concern over the legislation which will directly affect many small growers, growers’ associations and gardeners at both a professional and amateur level, and it is great to see that MEPs have agreed with our position in such overwhelming numbers”.
However, despite this victory it is unclear at this stage what the future of the regulation holds. The European Commission now needs to clarify it plans to reac to the MEPs vote.“Although we are pleased with the MEPs vote, it is now crucial that Owen Paterson and the Council of Ministers recognise the need for the significant changes to be made to this proposal, in order to support both biodiversity and small and medium sized growers in the UK and across Europe,” says Ben.
“The proposed directive as it stands could have a devastating effect on small and medium sized seed suppliers, driving many out of the market, and could impact significantly on the range of seed varieties available to amateur and professional growers. We believe that the control and supply of seeds should not lie in the hands of a few large companies – we want to see a set of flexible, proportionate rules that exempt home gardeners and small commercial growers from the demands placed on major agricultural food producers, and that encourage biodiversity and conservation of heritage and unusual seed varieties with little regulatory burden.”
