European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
plants
Plant health legislation: Protective measures against plant pests [EU Legislation in Progress]
Following an evaluation of the European Union’s plant health regime, on 6 May 2013 the European Commission proposed a new regulation on protective measures against plant pests. These include regulating pests on the basis of established criteria for risk assessment and prioritising those pests with the most serious consequences. Continue reading
Patents and plant breeders’ rights
Following the decision of the European Patents Office (EPO) to authorise patents on certain products derived from conventional selection methods, many citizens have called on Parliament, as well as the Commission, to take steps in order to clarify existing EU rules and protect plant breeders’ access to biological resources. Plant breeding is an innovative process … Continue reading
Tackling invasive alien species in Europe
Some non-native animals, plants and micro-organisms can pose a serious threat to European flora and fauna, and disrupt fragile ecosystems. These so-called invasive alien species are considered to be the biggest threat to global biological diversity after habitat loss, and a leading cause of species extinction. More than a quarter of European native species which … Continue reading
Seeds and other plant reproductive material: Towards new EU rules
The European Commission (EC) has proposed a Regulation aimed at simplifying and updating the existing body of EU legislation on the production and marketing of plant reproductive material (PRM), including seeds. It forms part of a wider legislative package on controls of plant and animal health. At present, in order to be sold in the … Continue reading
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