2008/971/EC: Council Decision of 16 December 2008 on the equivalence of forest reproductive material produced in third countries

This Decision determines the conditions under which forest reproductive material of the ‘source identified’ and ‘selected’ categories produced in a third country listed in Annex I shall be imported into the Community. It applies, provided that the conditions set out in Annex II and in Directives 2000/29/EC and 2001/18/EC are satisfied.

Definitions set out in Article 2 of Directive 1999/105/EC shall apply to this Decision.

1 Systems for approval and registration of basic material and subsequent production of reproductive material from this basic material, under control of third country authorities set out in Annex I to this Decision, or under official supervision of these authorities, applied in the third countries listed in that Annex, shall be considered equivalent to those carried out by the Member States in accordance with Directive 1999/105/EC.

2 Seed and planting stock of the ‘source identified’ and ‘selected’ categories of species listed in Annex I to Directive 1999/105/EC, produced in the third countries listed in Annex I to this Decision and officially certified by the third country authorities listed in that Annex, shall be considered equivalent to seed and planting stock complying with Directive 1999/105/EC, provided that the conditions laid down in Annex II to this Decision are satisfied.

When seed and planting stock enter into the Community, the supplier importing this material shall inform the official body of that Member State in advance of the import. The official body shall issue a Master Certificate based on the official OECD Certificate of Provenance before the material is placed on the market. The Master Certificate shall indicate that the material has been imported under an equivalence regime.

This Decision shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from 1 January 2009.

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.