(fra kommisjonsdirektivet)

(1) Commission Directives 2003/90/EC (3) and 2003/91/EC (4) aim to ensure that the varieties of agricultural plant species and vegetable species that Member States include in their national catalogues comply with the protocols established by the Community Plant Variety Office (‘CPVO’). In particular, those Directives aim to ensure compliance with the rules concerning the characteristics to be covered as a minimum by the examination and the minimum conditions for examining certain varieties of agricultural plant and vegetable species. For the species not covered by the CPVO protocols, those Directives aim to ensure compliance with the guidelines of the International Union for Protection of New Varieties of Plants (‘UPOV’).

(2) The CPVO has established further protocols and has updated existing ones, in particular as regards red clover, swede rape, turnip rape, asparagus, chilli or pepper, industrial chicory, melon, cucumber and gherkin, marrow or courgette, and lettuce. Those updates should be reflected in Union law.

(3) Directives 2003/90/EC and 2003/91/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(4) The new rules should apply from 1 January 2026. However, in order not to disrupt official examinations, for varieties that are not yet accepted for inclusion in the Common Catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant or vegetable species, official examinations started but not finalised before 1 January 2026 should continue to be made in accordance with Directive 2003/90/EC or Directive 2003/91/EC as they stood before being amended by this Directive.

(5) The measures provided for in this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,