About the new EU rules on the production and marketing of forest reproductive material
Regulation (EU) 2026/1392 on the production and marketing of forest reproductive material (FRM Regulation) was formally adopted on 20 May 2026, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 26 June 2026 and will enter into force 20 days thereafter.
This follows a political agreement on the proposal reached by the European Parliament and the Council last 8 December 2025, followed by its formal adoption on 20 May 2026. This regulation concludes over two years of negotiations and constitutes a major step for the future of our forests.
Rules will start applying in 5 years, allowing the sector to adapt as the current rules date back to 1960s. Until then, the current Council Directive 1999/105/EC continues to apply.
The EU rules will:
- ensure the quality and availability of forest reproductive material, which are crucial for conserving and restoring forest ecosystems and play an important part in helping forests adapt to climate change;
- help maintain healthy forests across Europe and ensure that the right tree is planted at the right place for the right purpose;
- help build a sector for forest reproductive material that is sustainable, innovative, supports biodiversity and will help face future challenges;
- help guarantee the quality and health of forest reproductive material, in turn contributing to the economic value of the forestry sector.
What is forest reproductive material?
Forest reproductive material (FRM) is the collective term for the seeds, cones, fruits, cuttings, seedlings and young trees used to grow new forests or regenerate existing ones.
In other words, FRM is the "starting material" from which future forests are grown.
For the creation of a new forest, for replanting trees in an existing forest, restoration after a fire, or expansion to create new woodland, foresters need seeds or young trees. These seeds and young trees are called forest reproductive material.
The origin of this material is very important because trees are adapted to specific climates and environments. Using the right FRM helps forests to:
- grow well,
- resist pests and diseases,
- withstand droughts, storms and other climate-related stresses,
- support biodiversity,
- and continue providing wood, clean water, carbon storage and wildlife habitats.
The new Regulation replaces and revises the existing Directive concerning the marketing of forest reproductive material (FRM) thereby ensuring that rules apply directly in all Member States.
The Regulation maintains the principles of registration of 'parent trees' ('basic material') and certification before FRM can be placed on the market but introduces a number of changes.
It is based on two pillars: (i) the harvesting of FRM from approved parent trees (i.e. basic material) to ensure traceability and (ii) the certification of FRM to ensure high quality.
Benefits of the FRM Regulation
There are some important novelties which bring significant benefits to both the forestry sector and society more broadly:
- Increased quality requirements for parent trees and FRM. In addition to checks done for pests and diseases, FRM will need to be free from pests that could affect the quality of the material.
- Risk-based and harmonised official controls. While the rules are tailored to the specificities of the FRM sector the most relevant rules from the Official Controls Regulation will also apply to FRM, including the requirement regarding transparency of the official controls performed.
- Rules to facilitate the conservation of endangered forest genetic resources will enhance the genetic diversity of trees and contribute to biodiversity conservation. This includes lighter requirements for parent trees for the purpose of conserving forest genetic resources as well as a simplified procedure whereby Member States may authorise professional operators to themselves approve parent trees for this purpose.
- Member States may adopt national contingency plans which will help ensure sufficient supplies of FRM to reforest areas affected by extreme weather events, fires, pest outbreaks and other disasters.
- The assessment of sustainability characteristics of parent trees (basic material) has been strengthened. Parent trees intended for the production of tree seedlings and other FRM, must be registered nationally and checked for characteristics that contribute to more resilient and sustainable forests. For example, they must show tolerance to diseases, better adaptation to the local climatic and ecological conditions. Better adaptation means that trees grow well and do not display symptoms of stress.
- Information on the adaptation of parent trees to certain ecological and climatic conditions must be provided. This will allow foresters to know where each FRM should best be planted. This will ensure that the right tree is planted in the right place for the right purpose and will allow speeding up climate change adaptation of forests, thus ensuring their continued productivity in the future.
Key aspects of the legislation:
List of Union regulated tree species
With the addition and removal of genera and species from Directive 1999/105/EC, there are now 80 genera and species of trees regulated under the FRM Regulation.
These genera and species are regulated due to their economic importance to the Union in terms of production and marketing and allows setting common quality requirements for FRM of those genera and species. This ensures that foresters and the forestry industry, can plant trees that are suited to the conditions where they are planted and show some degree of stability, resistance to pests and diseases, adaptation to the local ecological and climatic conditions and show high productivity and diversity.
Approval of basic material by professional operators
FRM can only be produced from parent trees (known as basic material) which have been approved and listed in the national register by the relevant competent authorities. This two-step procedure ensures the quality of the basic material but is not the most adapted in certain cases. For that reason, the FRM Regulation allows Member States to authorise professional operators to approve themselves parent trees (basic material) in case the parent trees are located in remote areas subject to extreme weather and climate, and for the purpose of conserving forest genetic resources.
Forest genetic resources
The objectives of the FRM Regulation are to contribute to the maintenance and establishment of resilient forests, to the restoration of forest ecosystems and to forest biodiversity, to support forest ecosystem services and to establish other tree plantings. This is in line with the Union’s environmental and climate policy objectives, notably the EU Biodiversity Strategy and European Green Deal.
The conservation of forest genetic resources is considered essential to preserve biodiversity and resilience of tree species to current and future climatic and environmental conditions.
To that aim, the FRM Regulation provides additional flexibility as regards the requirements for parent trees, for example, the uniformity or isolation, and allows Member States to authorise professional operators to approve themselves parent trees (basic material) thereby reducing the overall burden for those operators.
National contingency plans
With climate change well under way, we are seeing an increasing number of extreme weather events, whether droughts, fires, pest outbreaks or other disasters. We are also seeing changes in our forests as trees and vegetation zones are moving northward to adapt to new and changing environmental conditions. To ensure we still have functional and resilient forests in the future, it is essential we ensure we have the necessary tree seedlings, in other words, FRM, to adapt and restore our forest ecosystems.
The FRM Regulation supports Member States to develop national contingency plans to ensure there are sufficient supplies of FRM to reforest areas affected by extreme weather events, fires, pest outbreaks and other disasters. Clear elements to consider in each plan as well as recommendations regarding updating, communication and cooperation are laid out to help Member States provide a coordinated and coherent approach across the Union, whilst considering the national differences and needs.
Imports
There are strict requirements for importing FRM into the Union. The FRM Regulation requires that only FRM which meets equivalent requirements to FRM produced and marketed in the Union may be imported. The procedure requires the non-EU country to submit a request for equivalence to the Commission. The decision on the import authorisation shall based on three elements:
- An examination by the Commission of the information and data provided,
- The satisfactory result of an audit carried out by the Commission where deemed necessary,
- Participation in the OECD Forest Seed and Plant Scheme.
A temporary derogation from the above-mentioned equivalence requirement may be allowed if there is a shortage of FRM of certain tree species in one or more Member States caused by extreme weather events, disasters or any other events that cannot be addressed by other Member States or third countries authorised to import FRM.
For further information, please contact SANTE-G1-PLANT-REPRODUCTIVE-MATERIAL
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (SANTE-G1-PLANT-REPRODUCTIVE-MATERIAL[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
Links to Union policy and objectives
The revision of Union legislation for FRM was launched in the context of the European Green Deal, the Biodiversity Strategy and the EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change and the new EU forest Strategy for 2030.
The Biodiversity Strategy states that Union law is to prioritise the preservation of species diversity and ensure high genetic diversity within species and lots of FRM in order to facilitate the supply of high-quality and genetically diverse FRM of proven identity that is adapted, or adaptable, to current and projected climatic conditions.
The EU Adaptation Strategy emphasises the need to make better use of genetic diversity and plant and forest genetic resources for adaptation to climate change, and to facilitate the broadening of the supply of suitable high-quality plant and forest reproductive material to support adaptation in agriculture, forestry, and land ecosystem management.
The EU Forest Strategy states that adapting forests to climate change and restoring forests following climate damage will require large quantities of appropriate FRM. Efforts are thus needed to increase the production and availability of such FRM, to provide better information on its suitability for the specific climatic and ecological conditions of the area where it is intended to be sown or planted and to enhance the collaborative production and transfer of such FRM across national borders within the Union.
Background information
Commission welcomes political agreement on Forest Reproductive Material – press release
New rules for forest reproductive material – fact sheet
Forestry in other EU activities
Background to the new regulation
On 5 July 2023, the Commission adopted two legislative proposals aiming to modernise the Union legislation on plant and forest reproductive material, replacing the existing directives with two regulations which would apply directly to all Member States.
- Legislative proposal on the production and marketing of plant reproductive material in the Union
- Legislative proposal on the production and marketing of forest reproductive material in the Union
The current EU legislation on plant and forest reproductive material has proven its success in guaranteeing the identity, performance, quality and health of all PRM and FRM. Moreover, it has contributed to fostering an internationally competitive PRM and FRM industry.
However, as Union legislation partly dates back to the 1960s, the Commission decided to revise the legislation, to improve and ensure equal conditions for operators across the EU, support innovation and competitiveness of the EU PRM and FRM industries and help to address sustainability, biodiversity and climate-related challenges.