On July 5, the European Commission published its legislative proposal on production and marketing of plant reproductive material (PRM), presented as a simple update of European legislation in this area, which is still based on twelve directives that entered into force in the 1960s. This reform, awaited for more than ten years after a first attempt rejected by the European Parliament in 2013, represented for ECVC the hope of fully implementing farmers’ rights on seeds.
Unfortunately, the proposal fails to do so, despite the EU formal obligation to implement farmers’ rights on seeds. After an in-depth analysis of the proposal, ECVC considers that this new regulation would constitute a step backwards for peasants’ rights on seeds obtained in International Conventions and Treaties, in the United Nations and in several national laws thanks to the mobilization of peasant organizations.
Therefore, ECVC calls on the Member of European Parliament and Member States to reject this proposed regulation, which threatens the rights of farmers to use and exchange seeds from their harvests, will in practice strengthen the market domination of large seed companies and enable biopiracy.
In the sidebar you will find ECVC position and detailed analysis highlighting the reasons behind this call for rejection, as well as ECVC's recommendations to implement for farmers' rights on seeds.
Contact information
Cloé Mathurin
FR, EN, ES
ECVC Policy Officer
cloe@eurovia.org
+32 2 217 31 12
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