Key Benefits:
The Prime Minister,
On the report of the Minister of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Rural Affairs,
In view of Council Directive 1999/105/EC of 22 December 1999 on the marketing of reproductive forest materials;
In view of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1597/2002 on the modalities for the application of Council Directive 1999/105/EC with regard to the model of the national lists of basic materials for forest reproduction equipment;
Considering Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1598/2002 setting out the terms and conditions for the application of Council Directive 1999/105/EC with respect to mutual administrative assistance between official bodies;
Having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1602/2002 setting out the terms and conditions for the application of Council Directive 1999/105/EC with respect to the authorization granted to a Member State to prohibit the marketing of reproductive forest materials specified to the end user;
Having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2301/2002 on the terms and conditions for the application of Council Directive 1999/105/EC with regard to the definition of "low quantities of seeds";
Having regard to Council Directive 2001/18/EC of 12 March 2001 on the voluntary release of genetically modified organisms in the environment and repealing Council Directive 90/220/EEC;
Considering the forest code, including articles L. 551-1 to L. 555-4;
In view of the consumer code, including book II;
Considering the penal code, including article R. 610-1;
Having regard to Act No. 2000-321 of 12 April 2000 on the Rights of Citizens in Their Relations with Government;
Considering Decree No. 93-46 of 14 January 1993 on the Standing Technical Committee for the Selection of Plants;
The State Council (section of public works) heard,
Decrete:
Title V of Book V of the Forest Code (regular part) is replaced by the following:
“Chapter I
" Scope of application
"Art. R.* 551-1. - Reproduction materials belonging to forested species are subject to the provisions of this heading, which are listed under section L. 551-1 by order of the Minister for Forests. This list includes at least the species listed in Appendix 1 to Directive 1999/105/EC of 22 December 1999.
"Reproduction forest materials are divided into four categories: "identified, "selected, "qualified and "tested.
"Art. R.* 551-2. - For the purposes of this title:
“Basic equipment, generators of reproduction materials:
" - the source of seeds: trees located in a specified seed harvest area;
" - the settlement: a population delimited by trees whose composition is sufficiently uniform;
" - the seed orchard: a planting of selected clones or families, isolated or treated in such a way as to avoid or reduce the risk of contamination by foreign pollen and managed in such a way as to produce often and abundant seeds that are easy to harvest;
"-family parents: trees used to produce an offspring by free or artificial pollination of an identified parent, used as a maternal parent, from the pollen of a parent (full-brothers) or a number of parents identified or not (half-brothers);
" - the clone: a group of individuals (ramets) obtained by vegetative means from a single original individual (ortet), for example by cutting, micropropagation, grafting, marcottage, division;
" - the clonal mixture: a mixture of clones identified in specified proportions.
"Intake unit: a set of approved basic equipment, identified under a single reference in the national logger record.
“Reproduction equipment:
"-seeds: cones, infrutescences, fruits and seeds for seed production;
" - parts of plants: the cuttings of stems, leaves and roots, explants or embryos intended for micropropagation, buds, marcottes, roots, grafts, planks and any part of plant intended for plant production;
"- plants: plants raised by seed, plant parts or plants from natural seedlings.
"Aboriginal peoples or native seed sources: a seed or seed source is normally renewed on a continuous basis by natural regeneration, or artificially renewed from breeding materials harvested in the same settlement or source of seeds, or if not, in indigenous settlements or very close indigenous seed sources.
"Indigène settlement or source of native seeds: a seed or a seed source is indigenous or artificially obtained from seeds of origin in the same region of origin.
"Owned: for an Aboriginal people or a source of native seeds, the precise place where trees grow. For a non-Aboriginal settlement or a non-Aboriginal seed source, the place where seeds or plants originate in the first place.
"Provenance: the precise place where a tree stands; the origin of a breeding forest equipment is that of the basic material from which it originates.
"Region of origin: for a species, subspecies or a specified variety, the territory or all of the territories subject to sufficiently homogeneous ecological conditions, where seeds are found or sources of seed with similar phenotypic or genetic characters. Where applicable, the delimitation of the regions of origin may take into account the altitudinal limits.
"Seed packaging: all operations to obtain, from harvested products, the products that will actually be sown.
"Production: all phases from the harvest to the delivery of seed, seed and plant parts, including drying and nursery treatment.
"Commercialization: exposure or detention for sale, sale, sale, delivery to a third party including delivery under a service contract.
"Supplier: the National Forestry Office, State nurseries or any person, registered in the agricultural social mutuality as a producer of breeding forest equipment under the heading "specialized productions, the trade register or the trade register and companies, making profession to harvest, raise, market, condition or import forest reproduction materials.
"Official Organization: the Public Authority responsible for the Control of Marketing and Quality of Reproductive Forest Materials: the Ministry of Forests, the Ministry of Competition, Consumption and Suppression of Frauds, the National Forestry Office, the National Interprofessional Group of Seeds and Seeds.
"Vegetative Bulk Multiplication: a technique that allows to increase the number of plants produced from a small quantity of seeds and to amplify the spread of a lot of seedlings without distinction of genotype.
"The list of regions within the meaning of this section is determined by order of the Minister for Forests.
“Chapter II
"Terms of admission of basic equipment and rules relating to the marketing of reproductive forest materials
“Section 1
“Inclusion of basic materials
"Art. R.* 552-1. - The application for admission of basic equipment for registration on the national registry referred to in section R.* 552-2 shall be sent by the owner or manager to the Minister for Forests, in accordance with the terms and conditions established by the Minister for Forests. Within twelve months of receipt of a complete record, the Minister, after the advice of the Standing Technical Committee for the Selection of Plants, shall issue a registration order in the national register. In the absence of a response from the Minister within the time specified, the application for admission is deemed to be rejected.
"For basic materials under the category "tested as defined in Article R.* 552-8, the registration order may have a provisional character for a period of not more than ten years, in all or part of the national territory, if the provisional results of the comparative tests or genetic evaluation suggest that these basic materials will, at the end of the tests, meet the requirements for admission. Interim admission does not interrupt the monitoring of experimentation. Final admission is only pronounced after a new file is submitted.
"Art. R.* 552-2. - The Minister for Forests registered on the National Register of Basic Forest Materials, the materials allowed. This registry includes all information related to the identification of basic equipment admission units, including:
" - the reference identification;
" - the region of origin;
" - the location (the area of latitudes and longitudes for categories "identified and "selected; the precise geographical position for the categories "qualified and "tested";
" - the altitude or the altitudinal slice of the intake units;
" - the indigenous or non-native character;
" - known or unknown origin.
"Art. R.* 552-3. - The basic materials allowed in the categories "selected, "qualified and "tested are subject to inspection by the agents mentioned in the 1st of Article R.* 555-1, at least every 10 years from their admission.
"Art. R.* 552-4. - The delisting of a basic equipment of the national register is proposed by the agents mentioned in the 1st of section R.* 555-1 to the Minister for Forests. The latter shall, after the advice of the Standing Technical Committee for the Selection of Plants, proceed to it if the basic material no longer meets the admission requirements.
"Art. R.* 552-5. - A basic material may be admitted as a "identified" category, if the seed source is located in a region from the gasoline.
"The list of essences for which basic equipment can be allowed in the "identified" category is fixed by order of the Minister for Forests and the Minister for Consumption.
"Art. R.* 552-6. - A basic material may be allowed in the category "selected, if it constitutes a settlement that is located in a single region of origin and whose population has been subject to a phenotypic selection.
"Art. R.* 552-7. - A basic material can be admitted as a "qualified" category, if it is a seed orchard, family parents, a clone or a clonal mixture whose components have been the subject of an individual phenotypic selection.
"Art. R.* 552-8. - A basic material may be allowed in category "tested, if it constitutes a settlement, a seed orchard, family parents, a clone or a clonal mixture. The superiority of reproduction materials in relation to control materials must be demonstrated by comparative tests or by an estimate based on the genetic assessment of the components of the basic materials.
"Art. R.* 552-9. - Orders of the Minister for Forests specify the technical regulations governing admission to the category "selected, "qualified and "tested", which take into account, respectively, the minimum requirements set out in Annexes III, IV and V to Directive 1999/105/EC.
"Art. R.* 552-10. - If the basic materials defined in sections R.* 552-5 to R.* 552-8 are genetically modified organisms within the meaning of Article 2, Items 1 and 2 of Directive 2001/18/EC, these materials may only be admitted if they do not pose any danger to human health and the environment. The risk assessment is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Appendix II of Directive 2001/18/EC.
“Section 2
“Requirements to commercialization companies
of Reproductive Forest Materials
"Art. R.* 552-11. - Reproductive forest equipment suppliers are required to report their activities when the company is established to the prefect of the region under its head office. If the head office is located abroad, the statement is made to the prefect of the region whose place of production depends. A register of suppliers of breeding forest equipment is maintained by the regional prefect.
"Art. R.* 552-12. - 1. At all stages of production and marketing, each supplier of breeding forest equipment must establish and maintain a tracking file at any time allowing the identification of seed lots, plants or parts of plants that it holds and markets. The follow-up file must include a specific survey of the inputs and outputs of forest reproduction materials and their flows within the company. It must be available at any time by the agents mentioned in Article L. 555-1.
“2. Each supplier harvesting seed from recognized basic materials is required to provide the prefect of the harvest site, at least fifteen days before the start of the operations, with the information necessary to control the seed.
“3. Each bulk vegetative multiplication operation within the meaning of Article R.* 552-18 shall be declared, at least fifteen days before the start of the sampling operations, to the prefect of the region of the place of production.
“4. Each supplier performing a mixture under the conditions set out in section R.* 552-19 shall inform the prefect of the region of the place of production, at least fifteen days before the date of the operation, specifying the place and date of the operation and the nature of the mixture.
« 5. Each supplier that has exported a lot of breeding forest materials to another Member State of the European Community must send a copy of the supplier's document on this lot to the prefect of the region whose headquarters depends, within fifteen days of the date of marketing.
« 6. Each supplier annually submits to the regional prefect a list of vouchers containing the details of all the lots it holds and markets.
"Art. R.* 552-13. - Each batch of reproduction materials must be accurately identified within the tracking file. This identification includes indications relating, in particular, to the master certificate issued under the conditions defined in section R.* 552-16 and to the characteristics of the lot concerned, the list of which is determined by order of the Minister for Forests.
"Art. R.* 552-14. - When a supplier treats both materials subject to the provisions of this title and materials that are not subject to it, the latter materials (seeds, plants and parts of plants, nursery boards) must be clearly separated from the other lots at all stages of production. They must be accompanied by a labelling bearing the mention:
" - "non-forestation purposes, for materials intended for non-forestation purposes within the meaning of Article L. 551-1;
" - "export outside the EU, for materials intended for export or re-export to non-EU member states.
"Art. R.* 552-15. - The follow-up file and the copy of the master certificates issued under the conditions set out in section R.* 552-16 and the supplier documents defined in section R.* 552-22 shall be retained for ten years by suppliers.
“Section 3
« Commercialization of forest reproduction equipment
"Art. R.* 552-16. - Reproductive forest materials derived from recognized basic materials are subject to, after harvest, a master certificate issued by the agents mentioned in 1° and 2° of Article R.* 555-1. Where a vegetative multiplication of breeding forest materials derived from recognized basic materials is provided, under the conditions of section R.* 552-18, a new master certificate is issued. The same is true when a mixture is made under the conditions set out in article R.* 552-19.
"For all batches of breeding forest equipment, the master certificate shall be issued to the supplier as soon as it has complied with that of the three requirements set out in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of Article R.* 552-12 which corresponds to its situation.
"The marketing of breeding forest materials collected on basic materials allowed in the category "identified in ignorance of the rules relating to their harvest set by decree of the Minister for Forests may result in the removal of certificates and the seizure of lots of forest materials for their destruction, which will be carried out at the expense of the harvesting company.
"Art. R.* 552-17. - Only the commercialization of the following forest reproduction materials, listed in section R.* 551-1 and derived from the basic materials admitted or equivalence under section 19 of Directive 1999/105/EC, provided that these materials meet the quality standards defined by the decree of the Minister for Forests if they are produced in France or, at a minimum, the provisions of section 6.3/EC
" - materials, other than artificial hybrids, belonging to categories "identified, "selected, "qualified and "tested;
" - artificial hybrid materials belonging to the categories "selected, "qualified and "tested;
" - the materials reproduced by vegetative means, including artificial hybrids, belonging to the categories "qualified and "tested;
" - the material reproduced by vegetative means, including artificial hybrids, which have been the subject of a bulk vegetative multiplication from seed, belonging to the category "selected;
" - materials, including artificial hybrids, corresponding for all or part to genetically modified organisms referred to in article R.* 552-10, belonging to the category "tested.
"Art. R.* 552-18. - The marketing of reproductive forest materials obtained by bulk vegetative multiplication of seed materials is permitted, for materials derived from the same intake unit, if they belong to the categories "selected, "qualified or "tested. These materials must be kept separate and identified as such.
"A Minister for Forests order sets out the conditions under which this bulk vegetative multiplication can be achieved.
"Art. R.* 552-19. - The marketing of mixtures of breeding forest materials from different intake units or harvest years is permitted when it is carried out:
" - for reproduction materials from admission units belonging to the category "selected: within a given region of origin;
" - for seeds of different harvest years: within the same unit of admission.
"Art. R.* 552-20. - In addition to the cases provided for in article R.* 552-17, the marketing of breeding forest materials not derived from recognized basic materials and intended for experiments for scientific purposes, for selection or for genetic conservation purposes is permitted, where experimental devices, consistent with recognized practices, are conducted by scientific bodies on a list determined by a decree of the prefect of the region or by institutions working in liaison.
"Art. R.* 552-21. - Excluding the cases provided for in section R.* 552-17, the marketing of seed not derived from recognized and non-forested basic materials may be permitted, for an object and within quantitative limits determined by the Minister for Forests.
"The provisions of section R.* 552-22 do not apply to these seeds.
"Art. R.* 552-22. - Without prejudice to the provisions relating to genetically modified organisms referred to in Book II of the Consumer Code, the marketing of reproductive forest materials is permitted under the following conditions:
“1. Seed lots must be contained in packagings with a closure system such as when opening it becomes unusable.
“2. Reproduction forest equipment must be:
" - with a label indicating the reference number of the master certificate;
" - accompanied by a supplier document on which the information relating to the identity of the lot determined by the order set out in section R.* 552-13 shall be mentioned, as well as additional indications, the list of which shall be fixed by order of the Minister responsible for forests and related, in particular, to the consignee, supplier, quantity, origin and characteristics of the seed or seed constituting the lot.
“Chapter III
« None
“Chapter IV
“External trade
"Art. R.* 554-1. - Can be marketed in the national territory the reproduction materials produced in the European Community and derived from the basic materials registered by the member States on their national register of the basic materials allowed for the production of forest materials of reproduction.
"Art. R.* 554-2. - The marketing to the end-user of "identified" forest reproduction materials, derived from basic materials registered by the Member States on their national register of the basic materials allowed for the production of forest reproduction materials, may be prohibited in French territory for species not listed in article R.* 552-5. The list of these materials is set by order of the Minister for Forests.
"Art. R.* 554-3. - The Minister for Forests may authorize the commercialization in the French territory of reproductive forest materials produced in non-EU States.
“Chapter V
“Controls and sanctions
"Art. R.* 555-1. - are authorized to carry out the controls under Article L. 555-1:
« 1° Engineers, technicians and state agents responsible for forests, sworn and commissioned under the conditions laid down in articles L. 341-1 and L. 341-2;
« 2° For the control of seed crops and the issuance of master certificates the engineers, technicians and agents of the National Forestry Board, referred to in Article L. 122-6, sworn and commissioned by the Director General of the Office;
« 3° Sworn controllers of official inspection and certification services dependent on the interprofessional national seed, seed and seed grouping.
"For the purposes of these controls and to ensure the origin of batches of breeding forest materials, these agents can collect samples from harvest to commercialization.
"Art. R.* 555-2. - I. - Is punished by the fine provided for the 5th class contraventions:
" - commercialize reproduction forest materials without having made the declaration provided for in article R.* 552-11;
" - for the supplier or the owner of a marketing enterprise of forest reproduction equipment, not to make the communications and declarations provided for in Article R.* 552-12 or not to identify at all stages of production the lots of forest reproduction materials defined in Articles R.* 552-13 and R.* 552-14;
"-produce or market unharveed seeds from basic materials registered in the records provided for in sections R.* 552-2 and R.* 554-1, except for exemptions provided for in sections R.* 552-20 and R.* 552-21;
" - produce or market plants or parts of forest-end plants derived from seed not harvested from basic materials registered in the registers provided for in sections R.* 552-2 and R.* 554-1, except for exemptions provided for in article R.* 552-20;
" - commercialize breeding forest materials that do not comply with the provisions of Article R.* 552-17, as well as the packaging and identification conditions defined in Article R.* 552-22.
“II. - Legal persons may be held liable, under the conditions provided for in article 121-2 of the Criminal Code, for the offences provided for in paragraph I of this article. They are liable to fines, in accordance with the terms provided for in Article 131-41 of the Criminal Code.
"III. - The recidivism of the contraventions provided for in this article shall be punishable in accordance with sections 132-11 and 132-15 of the Criminal Code. »
Reproduction forest equipment marketing companies established prior to the date of publication of this Order are required to register within six months of that date in the Register provided for in Article R.* 552-11.
During a transitional period not exceeding ten years from the date of publication of this decree, basic materials for the production of materials belonging to the "tested" category of all the species referred to in Directive 1999/105/EC shall be allowed, after the results of genetic evaluation tests, even if they do not meet the requirements set out in article R.* 552-8, as soon as the decree began
Grain seedlings classified or controlled prior to the date of publication of this Order may be admitted as basic materials in the "selected" or "tested" categories, if they meet the conditions set out in Articles R.* 552-6 and R.* 552-8 and after advice from the Standing Technical Committee for the Selection of Plants.
Seed orchards classified or controlled and clones controlled before the same date may be admitted as basic materials in the "skilled" or "tested" categories, if they meet the conditions set out in R.* 552-7 and R.* 552-8 respectively and after advice from the Standing Technical Committee for the Selection of Plants.
All batches of reproductive forest materials present at the supplier on the date of publication of this Order must be registered in the company's tracking file and identified under the following conditions:
(a) For species subject to regulation before the date of publication of this Order: the identification of lots shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Order in Article R.* 552-13, the section of the Master Certificate bearing the mention of the number of the certificate of origin issued during the harvest of the materials or, for materials derived from seed certified in the European Community, the number of the last accompanying document. For materials imported from third countries, the master certificate entry will also refer to "28.3/1999/105/EC";
(b) For non-regulatory species before the same date: the identification of lots shall be in accordance with the provisions of the order provided for in article R.* 552-13, the entry of the master certificate bearing the only mention "28.3/1999/105/EC".
The mixture of lots of breeding forest materials:
- exclusively of seed not certified to harvest before the date of publication of this decree;
- or exclusively of seed certified to harvest before the same date,
is authorized, provided that the components and proportions of the mixture are mentioned on the supplier document.
The identification of batches from mixtures is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 5 of this Decree. In the case of materials subject to regulation before the date of publication of the latter, the numbers of all certificates of origin or, if not, of the last accompanying document are indicated.
The practical modalities and marketing deadlines, which may not exceed ten years from the date of publication of this decree, are defined by a decree of the Minister for Forests.
The Minister of Justice, the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry and the Minister of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Rural Affairs are responsible, each with respect to it, for the execution of this Order, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
Done in Paris on 10 October 2003.
Jean-Pierre Raffarin
By the Prime Minister:
Minister of Agriculture, Food,
and Rural Affairs,
Hervé Gaymard
The Seal Guard, Minister of Justice,
Dominica Perben
Minister of Economy,
finance and industry,
Francis Mer
