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Food Safety

Future of EU rules on plant and forest reproductive material

26 June 2026 – Entry into force and publication of the new Regulation on Forest Reproductive Material

Following the political agreement between the European Parliament and the Council in December last year, the new Regulation on the production and marketing of forest reproductive material (FRM Regulation) has been published on the 26 June 2026 in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force 20 days after. Its adoption and publication conclude over two years of negotiations and constitute a major step for the future of our forests. The new regulation enters into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication, but the rules will only become applicable after a 5-year transitional period.

Forest reproductive material (FRM) refers to seeds, seedlings and young trees used to establish new forests. The new rules will:

  • ensure the quality and availability of FRM, 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 FRM that is sustainable, innovative, supports biodiversity and will help face future challenges
  • help guarantee the quality and health of FRM, in turn contributing to the economic value of the forestry sector.

More information

15 June 2026 – Commission welcomes political agreement on Plant Reproductive Material

The European Commission welcomes the political agreement reached by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament on the revision and simplification of EU rules for plant reproductive material (PRM).

The agreement modernises current rules, enabling producers and companies to benefit from the latest innovation, technology and digitalisation in this field. The revision also streamlines the various directives in force into a single Regulation, giving greater legal clarity and coherence to operators and public authorities.

Plant reproductive material is the seeds and other plant material used to produce new plants. They form the basis of agriculture, ensuring that farmers and agricultural industry have plants which meet their needs. Having the right plants can help increase plants and crops’ resilience, combatting resistance to certain pests and productivity. The new rules will provide assurances on the quality of these products and will strengthen this sector in Europe.

The revised Regulation maintains the system for placing plant reproductive products on the market, both with the assessment and registration of new varieties, as well as a certification to ensure its high quality. It also introduces new derogations from those rules to facilitate diverse types of producers to enter the market and increase the availability of more diverse products, in particular for non-professional users, for conservation purposes and for meeting specific local needs

The new rules will:

  • ensure the quality and availability of plant reproductive material, maintaining the current rules on the registration of varieties and certification of PRM, in turn contributing to the economic value of the agricultural sector
  • support investment and innovation in the sector through plant variety evaluation and registration, promoting the uptake of bio-molecular techniques and digital solutions, to transform PRM into a modern and forward-looking sector
  • improve official controls through harmonised risk-based controls thereby building trust in the certification system and ensuring the quality of PRM
  • promote genetic diversity of plant reproductive material by facilitating the exchange of material between organisations for the conservation of plant genetic resources, allowing the exchange in kind between farmers, facilitating the marketing and promotion of conservation and locally adapted varieties and allowing the marketing of preservation mixture.

These measures will in turn help build a sector for plant reproductive material that is resilient, innovative, supports the genetic diversity of cultivated crops and will help face future climatic and environmental challenges.

Commission welcomes political agreement on Plant Reproductive Material – press release

New rules for Plant Reproductive Material (PRM) – factsheet

Question and Answers

Why was it necessary to update the EU legislation on plant reproductive material?

Plant reproductive material (PRM) is plant material (for example seeds, cuttings, trees, roots and tubers, etc.) used for the reproduction of other plants. 

PRM are subject to strict EU rules on quality. 

However, rules on PRM having been in place since the late 1960s, they needed to be revised to keep pace with developments in science, innovation, technology, and digitalisation whilst ensuring at the same time high quality and improved varieties of plants and trees. 

The updated rules will guarantee stable yields by future-proofing new plant varieties that will be better adapted to the pressures of climate change, more resistant to pests and more drought tolerant. 

The revision will contribute to food security also by helping to preserve the genetic diversity of cultivated crops. 

The new legislation will also reduce administrative burden and will harmonise the activity on controls by competent authorities. By modernising the legal framework, it will also support the European seed sector which is the largest exporter in the global seed market (20% of the global market with an estimated value of €7-10 billion and 7,000 companies, mostly SMEs).

What is the political agreement bringing?

The agreement on the PRM Regulation maintains the basic principles of the current legislation that new varieties have to be registered and PRM to be certified before they can be put on the market. Registration refers to the listing of a new plant variety in a national catalogue after confirmation of its characteristics (e.g., that it is different from other varieties on the market). Registration also includes testing of new varieties for characteristics that can contribute to a more resilient agri-food production. Certification refers to inspections in the fields where PRM is produced and to testing of the PRM harvested from those fields to confirm it meets the quality requirements (e.g., sufficient germination) and can be marketed. Furthermore, the PRM proposal: increases the diversity of PRM on the market and of cultivated crops in the fields by offering a larger choice to all types of farmers and users and facilitates the conservation of this diverse PRM. This increase in cultivated agro-biodiversity is achieved through simplified rules for conservation varieties and locally adapted varieties. PRM produced and marketed by conservation organisations and networks, PRM exchange in kind of between farmers; and PRM intended for amateur gardeners will be exempted from the rules of registration and certification, facilitating the production and marketing of more diverse PRM. Finally, the PRM proposal introduces a greater emphasis on building resilience in the sector by creating the framework for the use of innovative production processes, digital tools, and bio-molecular techniques. 

How is the revised legislation adapted to technical and scientific developments?

The new legislation will enable the uptake of new scientific and technical developments. It creates the framework for the use of bio-molecular techniques for verifying the varietal identity and certification requirements of marketed seed. Labels with digital features (e.g., QR code) are introduced to prevent fraud. In the longer term the legislation will allow fully digitalising the registration and certification systems by recording all activities in an on-line platform. Finally, the possibility to adapt the requirements in the legislation to scientific and technical developments will ensure that the legislation remains up to date. 

What are the conditions for farmers to exchange PRM between them?

The new legislation sets for the first time a framework for the exchange of PRM between farmers, in small quantities that are produced on their own farm and at a local level. This is recognising an established practice that helps farmers renew the diversity of their crops but was in practice restricted under the previous legislation. Such exchanges should however fully respect the requirements of the legislation on plant health and on plant variety rights. 

How will amateur gardeners be affected by this reform?

Like farmers, amateur gardeners, may purchase PRM, certified or not, of different types of registered varieties, including conservation and locally adapted varieties. Moreover, amateur gardeners will have even more choice by also having access to PRM which are not certified and do not belong to registered varieties. In order to ensure consumer's protection and informed choices, such PRM intended to be used by amateur gardeners will have a special label, they will be contained in small packages, and they will be subject to basic quality requirements. Finally, amateur gardeners may sell or transfer PRM to each other, without applying the rules of this Regulation, as long as this is not done for commercial purposes.

What about organic varieties?

With the new text, the rules for registration of organic varieties are clarified. In particular, it will be required that such varieties will be tested under the rules of organic farming, while the procedure for the registration of organic varieties with reduced uniformity is established. These adjusted rules will facilitate the registration of more varieties suitable for organic farming and contribute to the objective of reaching 25% of agricultural land under organic farming.

Does this proposal impact Plant Variety Rights and patents?

The revised legislation on PRM will not have an impact on Plant Variety Rights and patents. 

Intellectual property rights are covered by the legislation on Community plant variety rights and the Legal protection of biotechnological inventions. The latter is currently in a process of evaluation.

What administrative obligations will professional operators face?

Professional operators will have to be registered in the national official register created under the Plant Health Regulation. This avoids duplication, as many operators are already registered there if they currently issue plant passports. Operators already registered under the previous PRM directives will be entered automatically in this register.

To avoid placing excessive burdens on small operators, the PRM Regulation provides exemptions from the registration and other obligations specific activities, such as production of PRM for the conservation of plant genetic resources, exchange of PRM in kind between farmers or selling PRM exclusively to non-professional users.

How will this regulation help conserve plant genetic resources and increase the availability of diverse PRM?

One key new element of this Regulation is that it introduces several new derogations from the main requirements for variety registration and certification of plant reproductive material. This will facilitate operators and conservation actors to bring to the market more diverse PRM. For example, it becomes possible to register newly bred varieties (for example, developed through dynamic conservation activities) that are adapted to the local agro-climatic conditions and farming systems of a specific region (locally adapted varieties). This was not possible under the previous PRM directives.

In addition, the new regulation abolishes the limitations under the previous directives on conservation varieties on the quantities of PRM that can be produced, as well as the geographical restrictions for their production and marketing. This will make it easier to cultivate these varieties across the Union.

Other new derogations from main requirements for variety registration and certification of plant reproductive material concern the operation of conservation networks, PRM intended for non-professional users (amateur gardeners) and the exchange in kind of PRM between farmers. Finally, the new regulation clarifies that PRM sold or transferred between non-professional users is not regulated. 

Thanks to these new derogations, both professional and non-professional users will have access to a wider range of PRM, helping to conserve plant genetic resources and increase the diversity in the fields and on our plates.

December 2025 – Commission welcomes political agreement on Forest Reproductive Material

The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have reached a political agreement on the proposal concerning forest reproductive material (FRM). The agreement concludes two years of negotiations and constitutes a major step for the future of our forests.

FRM are the seeds and seedlings used to establish new forests. The new rules will:

  • ensure the quality and availability of forest reproductive materials, 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 trees are planted in the right places
  • 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 FRM, in turn contributing to the economic value of the forestry sector.

Commission welcomes political agreement on Forest Reproductive Material – press release

New rules for Forest Reproductive Material (FRM)– factsheet

About the rules

On 5 July 2023, the Commission adopted a legislative proposal on the production and marketing of plant reproductive material in the Union ('Regulation on plant reproductive material') and a legislative proposal on the production and marketing of forest reproductive material in the Union ('Regulation on forest reproductive material').

Plant reproductive material (PRM) is plant material (for example seeds, cuttings, trees, roots, tubers, etc.) used for the reproduction of other plants. Forest reproductive material (FRM) refers to seeds, plants and parts of plants of tree species, that are used for the of new forests and for other types of tree planting.

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 it partly dates back to the '60s, the Commission has revised the legislation, with the aim to ensure a level playing field for operators across the EU, support innovation and competitiveness of the EU PRM/FRM industry and contribute to addressing sustainability, biodiversity and climate-related challenges.

The revision seeks to:

  1. increase clarity and coherence of the legal framework;
  2. enable the uptake of new scientific and technical developments and in particular, innovative production processes, bio-molecular techniques and digital solutions;
  3. ensure availability of PRM/FRM suitable for future challenges;
  4. support the conservation and sustainable use of plant and forest genetic resources;
  5. harmonise the framework for official controls on PRM/FRM;
  6. improve coherence of the PRM/FRM legislation with the plant health legislation.
Proposed Regulation on plant reproductive material

The proposed Regulation revises the legislation which applies to production and marketing of plant reproductive material (PRM) by replacing 10 marketing Directives with a single Regulation. The proposed Regulation maintains the basic principles of the current legislation that varieties have to be registered and PRM certified before that PRM can be placed on the market.

Registration refers to the listing of a plant variety in a national catalogue after confirmation of its characteristics (i.e. that it is distinct from other varieties on the market, uniform and stable). Registration also includes testing of varieties for characteristics that can contribute to a more sustainable agri-food production (value for sustainable cultivation and use). The registered varieties in any national catalogue can be accessed on the EU Plant Variety Portal.

Certification refers to inspection in the field where PRM is produced and sampling and testing of the PRM harvested from those fields to confirm that PRM can be marketed.

Furthermore, the proposed Regulation:

  • increases the diversity of PRM on the market and of cultivated crops in the fields by offering a larger choice to all types of farmers and other users (e.g. amateur gardeners) and facilitates the conservation of this diverse PRM. This increase in cultivated agro-biodiversity is achieved through simplified rules for conservation varieties see note 1 and heterogeneous material see note 2 and specific derogations for seed conservation networks and exchange in kind of seed between farmers;
  • supports organic production by adapted rules for testing of organic varieties see note 3.
  • provides more choice for amateur gardeners by lighter rules on market access.

Notes:

  1. Conservation varieties have been grown under local agro-ecological conditions and have thus become well-adapted to those conditions.
  2. Heterogeneous material has very diverse characteristics that allow it to evolve and adapt to variable growing conditions. It is not a variety.
  3. Organic varieties are varieties that are tailored to the needs of production under organic conditions (i.e. restricted use of fertilisers and pesticides).
Proposed Regulation on forest reproductive material

The proposed Regulation revises the legislation which applies to production and marketing of forest reproductive material (FRM) by replacing a marketing Directive with a Regulation. The proposed Regulation also maintains the principles of registration of 'parent trees' ('basic material') and certification before that FRM can be placed on the market.

It is based on two pillars: (i) the harvesting of forest reproductive material from registered parent trees (i.e. basic material) to ensure traceability and (ii) the certification of FRM to ensure high quality of seeds.

Under the proposed Regulation, the assessment of sustainability characteristics of parent trees is strengthened. Those trees are checked for characteristics that contribute to more resilient forests, e.g. 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. The information about the adaptation of parent trees provides users information about the suitability of FRM harvested from those parent trees for current and future projected climatic and ecological conditions in a certain area.

In other words information about the suitability of FRM lets foresters know where that FRM should best be planted. This will ensure that the right tree is planted in the right place and will allow speeding up climate change adaptation of forests, thus ensuring their continued productivity in the future.

Rules to facilitate the conservation of endangered forest genetic resources will enhance the genetic diversity of trees and contribute to biodiversity conservation.

National contingency plans will help ensure sufficient supply of forest reproductive material to reforest areas affected by extreme weather events, fires, pest outbreaks and other disasters.

Studies, consultations and impact assessments underpinning the revision of EU plant and forest reproductive material rules.

Impact assessment

To support the preparation of the revision of the PRM and FRM legislation, an impact assessment was carried out.

The impact assessment refined and detailed the policy options identified in the inception impact assessment to deal with the problems identified by the PRM study and meet the objectives set.

The Commission was supported by the external contractor ICF, who worked on gathering and assessing data on the impacts of different policy options.

Consultation activities and adoption proposals

Evidence to inform the proposal for the revision of the PRM and FRM legislation was collected by means of a public consultation as well as several other consultation activities that ICF carried out.

These included a mix of open consultations and targeted interviews with key stakeholders in order to engage with them and seek their opinion on main policy approaches and how they would be impacted by them (Table 1).

Table 1: Envisaged timeline

DatesActivityDescription of activities
November 2021Interviews with key stakeholdersThe external contractor conducted 6 exploratory interviews with key stakeholders; competent authorities, industry associations, farmers’ associations, civil society organisations and an EU level organisation representing non-forestry uses of FRM.
January – March 2022

Public Consultation

Deadline 27 March

The Commission will gather feedback from the public and stakeholders on the proposed revisions to the PRM legislation.

The feedback received is available on Have your say

March - April 2022Targeted surveys, interviews and focus groups

The external contractor will gather expert feedback through consultation of stakeholders.

The targeted survey was launched on 3 March and closed on 1 April. A validation survey by the contractor to assess the validity of key findings was initially planned for May 2022 but it has been cancelled.

5 July 2023Legal proposalsCommission has adopted its proposals for the revision of the PRM and FRM legislation. The proposals are accompanied by an impact assessment.

Inception impact assessment

The Commission informed stakeholders and the public about its plans to revise the legislation on plant and forest reproductive material through the publication of an inception impact assessment on Have your say.

The inception impact assessment identifies possible options for this revision. It was available for public feedback from 15 June until 13 July 2021 and 66 comments were received (Fig. 1).

Overview of replies received

Figure 1: Overview of replies received Sixty-six stakeholders from 13 Member States and one third country provided comments.

Comments received outside of "Have your say":

PRM study

The PRM study concluded that the current PRM legislation functions very well but that it is outdated. It confirmed the continued relevance of certain key problems identified in the previous evaluation of the PRM legislation that was carried out in 2007 – 2008.

The PRM study also identified new challenges. In the past decade, there have been numerous new technical developments in the breeding and seed production sector and the forest reproductive material sector, which can only be partially addressed or not addressed at all, with the tools of the existing PRM legislation.

This development has been accompanied by a growing demand for sustainability in agriculture and the increasing need to support conservation of agro-biodiversity and adaptation to climate change. It was concluded that the PRM legislation had to be aligned with the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy to ensure sustainable agri-food production, long-term food security and adaptation to changing climatic and environmental conditions.

The PRM study was published as a Staff Working Document. An Executive Summary is also available. The study was supported by an analysis carried out by an external contractor. EU Member States and EEA competent authorities, industry representatives and Farmers' organisations, civil society organisations, PRM experts, and the wider public were consulted for the preparation of the PRM study.

Based on the findings of the PRM study, the Commission decided to present legislative proposals for the revision of the PRM legislation by the end of 2022.

Council request

In 2019, the Council (Council Decision (EU) 2019/1905) requested the Commission under Article 241 TFEU to provide a study on the Union's options to update the existing legislation on the production and marketing of plant reproductive material ('PRM study').

Furthermore, the Council called on the Commission to prepare a legal proposal, if deemed appropriate in view of the outcome of the PRM study.

The Commission followed up on the request of the Council with the PRM study and a letter to the Council.