52 Amendments of Stanislav POLČÁK related to 2023/0228(COD)
Amendment 37 #
Proposal for a regulation
Citation 1
Citation 1
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Articles 43(2) and 192(1) thereof,
Amendment 38 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) Forests cover some 45% of the land area in the Union and fulfil a multifunctional role that comprises social, economic, environmental, ecological and cultural functions. ForestHealthy forest ecosystems have a premordial function as a carbon sink in the climate mitigation policy. They are also crucial to preserving biodiversity. High-quality, climate-adaptedfriendly and diverse FRM is essential to cover these needs.
Amendment 40 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) The aim of the OECD Forest Seed and Plant Scheme is to encourage the production and use of seeds, parts of plants and plants that have been collected, processed and marketed in a manner that ensures a high quality and availability of FRM. Due to the length of forest cycles and the cost of plantations and long-term forest investment, it is essential that foresters get fully reliable information on the origin and on the genetic characteristics of the FRM they use in plantation. The OECD Forest Seed and Plant Scheme meets that need by means of certification and traceability. It has a major role in helping the world’s forests adapt to changing climatic conditions. Emphasis is placed on preserving species diversity and ensuring high genetic diversity within species and seed lots thereby enhancing the adaptive potential of FRM for the future replanting of an area with trees (‘reforestation’) and the creation of new forests (‘afforestation’). Reforestation may be required when parts of an existing forest have been affected by extreme weather events, wildfires, outbreaks of disease and pest outbreaks, or other disasters, as well as when unsustainable forest management methods based on clear- cutting are still prevalent.
Amendment 44 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) The new EU Forest Strategy for 2030 has as its key objectives effective afforestation, and forest preservation and restoration in the Union, to help increase the absorption of CO2, reduce the incidence and extent of forest fires, and promote the bio-economy, in full respect of ecological principles favourable to biodiversity. Ensuring forest restoration and reinforced sustainable forest management are essential for climate adaptation and forest resilience. In this regard, the new EU Forest Strategy states that adapting forests to climate change and restoring forests following climate damagedamages caused by its effects will require large quantities of appropriate FRM. This implies efforts to secure and sustainably use the forest genetic resources on which a more climate-proof forestry depends. Efforts are also needed to increase the production and availability of such FRM, to provide better information on its suitability for climatic and ecological conditions and to enhance its collaborative production and transfer across national borders within the Union. Professional operators should thus be required to provide beforehand information to the users about the suitability of FRM for climatic and ecological conditions.
Amendment 46 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 aims to put Union biodiversity on the path to recovery by 2030. Within the framework of that strategy, Union legislation is to place emphasis on the preservation of species diversity and ensure high genetic diversity within species and seed lots. This aims to facilitate the supply of high-quality and genetically diverse FRM that is adapted to current and projected future climatic conditions. The conservation and improvement of biodiversity of forests, including the genetic diversity of the trees, are essential to sustainable forest management and for supporting forests’ adaptation to climate change. On the contrary, an inappropriate choice of forest species composition may cause or accelerate forest calamities, turning forests that would act as carbon sinks if properly managed into a source of additional CO2 emissions. Tree species and artificial hybrids under this Regulation should be genetically suited to the local conditions, taking full account of climatic changes that have already occurred, and be of high quality.
Amendment 51 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) To ensure that certified FRM will be adapted to the climatic and ecological conditions of the area where it is planted, the competent authorities should assess the sustainability characteristics of basic material during the procedure for approving that basic material. Those sustainability characteristics should concern the adaptation of that basic material to the climatic and ecological conditions and the freedom of trees from pests and their symptoms.
Amendment 55 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) Basic material that is intended for the production of FRM of the tested category should be subject to the most stringent possible requirements. Determining the superiority of FRM should be made by comparing it with one or preferably several approved or pre-chosen standards. The professional operator selects those standards on the basis of the purpose for which the FRM of the tested category will be used. In this regard, if the purpose of that FRM will be climate adaptation to climate change, then the FRM will be compared with standards having a good performance as regards adaptation to the local climatic and ecological conditions (e.g. practical freedom from pests and their symptoms). Following the selection of the components of basic material, the professional operator should demonstrate the superiority of the FRM by comparative testing or estimate its superiority by evaluating the genetic components of that basic material. The competent authority should be involved in each step of this process. It should approve the experimental design and tests for the aproval of the basic material, verify the records provided by the professional operator and approve either the results of the tests concerning the superiority of the FRM or the genetic evaluation as appropriate. This is necessary, in order to align with the applicable international standards pursuant to the OECD Forest Seed and Plant Scheme and other applicable international standards, and to take into account the experience gained from Directive 1999/105/EC.
Amendment 57 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) The assessment of basic material intended for the production of FRM of the tested category takes on average 10 years. In order to ensure faster market access of FRM of the tested category, while the assessment of the source of the basic material is still ongoing, Member States should have the possibility to temporarily approve such basic material, for a maximum period of 10 years, in all or part of their territory. That approval should be granted only if the provisional results of the genetic evaluation or comparative tests indicate that that basic material will satisfy the requirements of this Regulation when the tests will be completed. This early assessmentprovisional approval should be re- examined at a maximum interval of ten years.
Amendment 61 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 31
Recital 31
(31) Professional operators should be authorised by the competent authority to print the official label under official supervision for certain species and categories of FRM. This will give more flexbility to the professional operators in relation to the subsequent marketing of that FRM. However, professional operators can only start printing the label once competent authority has certified the FRM concerned. That authorisation is necessary due to the official character of the official label and to guarantee the highest possible quality standards for the users of FRM. Rules should be set out for the withdrawal or modification of that authorisation.Does not affect the English version.)
Amendment 62 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 33
Recital 33
(33) The professional operators under the scope of this Regulation are to a big extent covered by the scope of the official register of professional operators under Regulation (EU) 2016/2031[30]. In order to ensure transparency and more effective controls on the production and marketing of FRM, professional operators should be registered in the registers established by Member States pursuant to this Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council30. Such registration reduces the administrative burden for those professional operators. It is necessary for the efficacy of the official register of professional and to avoid double registration. The professional operators under the scope of this Regulation are to a big extent covered by the scope of the official register of professional operators under Regulation (EU) 2016/2031. _________________ 30 Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on protective measures against pests of plants, amending Regulations (EU) No 228/2013, (EU) No 652/2014 and (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 69/464/EEC, 74/647/EEC, 93/85/EEC, 98/57/EC, 2000/29/EC, 2006/91/EC and 2007/33/EC (OJ L 317, 23.11.2016, p. 4), ensure the existence of an official register of professional operators and prevent double registration.
Amendment 64 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 37
Recital 37
(37) For the same reason, the Commission should publish in electronic format a Union list of approved basic material for the production of FRM, on the basis of the national lists provided by each Member State. TBased on information from national lists, that Union list should contain, inter alia, information on basic material that contains or consists of a genetically modified organism or that has been produced by certain new genomic techniques.
Amendment 66 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 40
Recital 40
(40) Seeds should be marketed only if they conform to certain quality standards. They should be labelled and marketed only in sealed packages, in order to enable their appropriate identification, quality and traceability, and to avoid fraud and contamination.
Amendment 68 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1
This Regulation sets out rules concerning the production and marketing of forest reproductive material (‘FRM’) and in particular, including requirements for the approval of basic material intended for the production of FRM, the origin and traceability of that basic material, FRM categories, requirements for FRM identity and quality, certification, labelling, packaging, imports, professional operators, the registration of basic material and the national contingency plans.
Amendment 69 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. The objectives of this Regulation are the following:
Amendment 72 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) help create resilient forests, conserve biodiversity and restore forest ecosystems;Does not affect the English version.)
Amendment 74 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Article 2 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 26, amending the list set out in Annex I as specified in paragraph 3, taking into account:
Amendment 75 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Article 2 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point b
(b) any relevant developments of technical or scientific knowledge.
Amendment 78 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2 – point c
Article 2 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2 – point c
(c) are considered important for their contribution to adaptation to climate change, andor
Amendment 80 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 3
Article 2 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 3
The delegated acts referred to in the first subparagraph shall remove species and artificial hybrids from the list in Annex, I if they no longer fulfil any of the elements set out in the firstsecond subparagraph.
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 4 – point c
Article 2 – paragraph 4 – point c
Amendment 86 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point b
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point b
(b) biodiversity conservatDoes not affect the English version;.)
Amendment 92 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 3
(3) ‘reforestation’ means re- establishment of forest through planting and/or deliberate seeding on land classified as forest37; _________________ 37 FAO (2020) Global Forest Resources Assessment Terms and definitions. https://www.fao.org/3/I8661EN/i8661en.p df.Does not affect the English version.)
Amendment 95 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 11
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 11
(11) ‘parents of family(ies)’ means trees used as parents to obtain progeny by controlled or open pollination of one identified parent used as a female (‘mother tree’), with the pollen of one ‘father tree’, full sibling) or a number of identified or unidentified ‘father trees’ (half-sibling);Does not affect the English version.)
Amendment 96 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 25 – point e
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 25 – point e
(e) for a clone, the origin is the place, where the ortet is or was initially located or selected;
Amendment 97 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 25 – point f
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 25 – point f
(f) for a clonal mixture, the origins are the places, where the ortets are or were initially located or selected;
Amendment 102 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 40
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 40
(40) ‘NGT plant’ means a plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques as defined in Article 3, point 2 of Regulation (EU) [Office of Publications, please insert reference to Regulation on plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques and their food and feed] of the European Parliament and of the Council38; _________________ 38 Regulation (EU) .../... of the European Parliament and of the Council on plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques and their food and feed, and amending Directives 68/193/EEC, 1999/105/EC, 2002/53/EC, 2002/55/EC, and Regulation (EU) 2017/625 (OJ ...).
Amendment 105 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 5
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 5
The assessment of the requirements laid down in Annexes II to V for the approval of basic material, may include besides visual inspection, documentary checks, tests and analyses or other complementary methods, also the use of bio-molecular techniques, if they are considered more appropriate for the purpose of that approval.
Amendment 112 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) FRM of the species listed in Annex I may only be marketed, if it is of the categories ‘source-identified’, ‘selected’, ‘qualified’ or ‘tested’, and it has been derived from basic material that has been approved pursuant to Article 4 and if that basic material meets the requirements of Annexes II, III, IV andor V, respectively;
Amendment 114 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) FRM of the artificial hybrids listed in Annex I may only be marketed, if it is of the ‘selected’, ‘qualified’ or ‘tested’ categories, and it has been derived from basic material that has been approved pursuant to Article 4 and if that basic material meets the requirements of Annexes III, IV andor V, respectively;
Amendment 115 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c – point ii
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c – point ii
(ii) it has been derived from basic material which has been approved pursuant to Article 4 and which meets the requirements of Annexes III, IV andor V, respectively;
Amendment 125 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) FRM shall be of origin which is naturally adapted to the local and regional conditions; and
Amendment 130 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 2
Article 9 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall, at an appropriate stage, consult all relevant stakeholders in the process of drawing up and keeping up to date such contingency plans, including environmental NGOs whose activities are concerned with the protection of the environment.
Amendment 132 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Member States shall establish a national register of climatically and ecologically suitable tree species and artificial hybrids that:
Amendment 134 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 – point b
(b) takes account of the projected future distribution of those tree species and artificial hybrids thereof.
Amendment 135 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2
Within 4 years from the date of establishment of their national registers, Member States shall establish contingency plans for the species and artificial hybrids included in their registers of climatically and ecologically suitable tree species and artificial hybrids.
Amendment 139 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 2
Article 10 – paragraph 2
2. Professional operators shall make available to the users of their FRM all necessary information concerning its suitability for current and projected future climatic and ecological conditions. That information shall, prior to the transfer of the FRM concerned, be provided to the potential purchasacquirer through websites, planters’ guides and other appropriate means.
Amendment 143 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Each Member State shall establish, publish and keep regularly updated, in electronic format, a national register of the basic material of the various species approved on its territory pursuant to Articles 4 and 19 and notified pursuant to Article 18.
Amendment 144 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2
Article 12 – paragraph 2
2. Each Member State shall establish, publish and keep updatedregularly updated, in electronic format, a national list of basic material, which shall be presented as a summary of the national register. It shall make that list available in electronic format to the Commission and the other Member States through FOREMATIS.
Amendment 148 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2 – point i – point i
Article 12 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2 – point i – point i
(i) genetically modified organism or containing a genetically modified organism; or
Amendment 149 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2 – point i – point ii
Article 12 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2 – point i – point ii
(ii) an NGT plant or containing an NGT plant;
Amendment 152 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 13 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
On the basis of the national lists provided by each Member State and established in accordance with Article 12, the Commission shall publish a list entitled ‘Union List of Approved Basic Material for the Production of Forest Reproductive Material’.
Amendment 153 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 2
Article 13 – paragraph 2
2. That list shall reflect the details given in the national lists referred to in Article 12(13) and show the area of utilisation.
Amendment 162 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point k – point i
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point k – point i
(i) consisting of or containing genetically modified organisms;
Amendment 163 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point k – point ii
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point k – point ii
(ii) anconsisting of or containing NGT plants.
Amendment 165 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2
Article 15 – paragraph 2
2. Without prejudice to paragraph 1 of this Article and to Article 5(1), point (c), Member States shall keep separately FRM, which is subject to subsequent vegetative propagation and shall identify it as such. Such FRM shall have been harvested from a single unit of approval in the ‘selected’, ‘qualified’ andor ‘tested’ categories. In such cases, the produced FRM shall assume the same category as the original FRM.
Amendment 167 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 2
Article 16 – paragraph 2
2. Competent authorities shall authorise the professional operator to print the official label after the competent authority has attested compliance of thate FRM with the requirements referred to in Article 5. The professional operator is authorised to print thate official label, if, on the basis of an audit, the competent authority has concluded that the operator possesses the infrastructure and resources to print the official label.
Amendment 171 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 1
Article 18 – paragraph 1
1. By way of derogation from Article 4(1) and (2), the registration of basic material intended for the purpose of conserving forest genetic resources in the national register shall not be subject toof sources of reproductive material shall not require approval by the competent authorities.
Amendment 174 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 2
Article 18 – paragraph 2
2. Any professional operator regisentering a basic material in the national register for the purpose of conserving forest genetic resources used in forestry, shall notify that basic material to the competent authority of the Member State concerned.
Amendment 182 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 23 – paragraph 3 – point a – point ii
Article 23 – paragraph 3 – point a – point ii
(ii) the protection of the environment: adaptation to climate change or the contribuservation tof the protection of biodiversity, or the restoration of forest ecosystems;
Amendment 185 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 28 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 28 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) quantities of certified FRM per year, broken down by species of trees and artificial hybrids listed in Annex I and by type, species and category of reproductive material;
Amendment 186 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 28 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 28 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) number and scope of websites and/or national planters’ guides containing information on where to best plant FRMthe use of FRM, including information on where to best plant FRM, and which species of trees and artificial hybrids listed in Annex I are suitable for each area;
Amendment 187 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 2
Article 29 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall ensure that financial penalties for violations of this Regulation, perpetrated through fraudulent or deceptive practices, reflect, in accordance with national law, at least either the economic advantage derived therefrom for the professional operator or, as appropriate, a percentage of the professional operator’s turnover.