Euroseeds welcomes the recent progress made by the Council, under the Danish presidency, on the EU Plant Reproductive Material (PRM) file. Following intensive work, the Council has now agreed its position on the new EU seed legislation, and trilogue discussions with the European Parliament and the Commission are expected to begin in early 2026.
Ensuring both high-quality seed production and a diverse supply of seed is essential to the sustainability and competitiveness of Europe’s seed sector. The current Council text appears to take a constructive approach, safeguarding a genuine internal market through common rules for operators and users, while preserving the flexibility needed to accommodate different crops, markets, and innovative plant-breeding practices, according to a press release.
Euroseeds now looks forward to continuing these discussions with the Council under the incoming Cypriot presidency, with the European Parliament led by rapporteur Herbert Dorfmann, and with the European Commission, to ensure the new PRM legislation delivers effectively on its objectives for both the seed sector and European agriculture as a whole.
“According to our preliminary assessment, it seems the Council specifically addressed a number of technical concerns the seed sector had with the Commission’s initial proposal, ensuring key safeguards for all operators regarding seed identity and quality,” Euroseeds Secretary General and CEO, Garlich von Essen, said.
“At the same time, there is flexibility in many provisions for specific species, products and markets. So , there is a balance in the pursuit of the two main objectives of the legislation: seed security and quality on the one hand and seed diversity on the other. We believe this provide s a good starting point for the further negotiations with the Commission and the Parliament.”
Euroseeds remains committed to working closely with EU institutions, Member States, industry partners, and other stakeholders to support a legislative outcome that strengthens innovation and competitiveness — reinforcing Europe’s leading international position in plant breeding — while continuing to safeguard seed quality and seed security for farmers and growers.
