Preamble

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 of 27 July 1994 on Community plant variety rights (the basic Regulation) (1), and in particular Article 14 (3) thereof,

Whereas Article 14 of the basic Regulation provides for a derogation from Community plant variety right for the purposes of safeguarding agricultural production (agricultural exemption);

Whereas the conditions to give effect to this derogation and to safeguard the legitimate interests of the breeder and of the farmer shall be established in implementing rules, on the basis of criteria laid down in Article 14 (3) of the basic Regulation;

Whereas this Regulation establishes those conditions in specifying, in particular, the obligations of farmers, processors and holders resulting from the aforesaid criteria;

Whereas these obligations relate essentially to the payment, by farmers, of an equitable remuneration to the holder for the use made of the derogation, to the supply of information, to the safeguarding of the identity of the product of the harvest entered for processing with that resulting from processing as well as to the monitoring of compliance with the provisions on the derogation;

Whereas, also, the definition of 'small farmers` who shall not be required to pay a remuneration to the holder for the use made of the derogation, is completed in particular in respect of farmers growing certain fodder plants and potatoes;

Whereas the Commission will thoroughly monitor, throughout the Community, the effects which the definition of 'small farmers` as laid down in the basic Regulation and, in particular concerning the implications of set aside and - in the case of potatoes - the maximum size of the area, in this Regulation may produce with regard to the role of the remuneration as specified in Article 5 (3) of this Regulation, and where necessary, make the appropriate proposals or take the appropriate steps with a view to establishing Community-wide coherence in respect of the ratio between the use of licensed propagating material and that of the product of the harvest under the derogation provided for in Article 14 of the basic Regulation;

Whereas, however, it has not yet been possible to assess the extent to which use has been made of comparable derogations under the current legislations of Member States, in relation with the amounts currently charged for the licensed production of propagating material of varieties protected under the aforesaid legislations of Member States;

Whereas, therefore, the Commission can at present not properly define, within the scope of the discretion left to the Community legislator under Article 14 (3) of the basic Regulation, the level of the equitable remuneration which must be sensibly lower than the amount charged for the licensed production of propagating material;

Whereas, however, the initial level as well as the system for subsequent adaptations should be specified as soon as possible and not later than 1 July 1997;

Whereas, moreover, this Regulation aims at specifying the connection between the Community plant variety right and the rights which derive from the provisions of Article 14 of the basic Regulation, on one hand, and that between the authorization granted to the farmer and his holding, on the other hand;

Whereas, finally, the consequences of not fulfilling obligations which derive from the provisions concerned should be clarified;
Whereas the Administrative Council has been consulted;

Whereas the provisions provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plant Variety Rights,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

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(1) OJ No L 227, 1. 9. 1994, p. 1.