Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1452/2003 maintaining the derogation provided for in article 6(3)(a) of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2092/91 with regard to certain species of seed and vegetative propagating material and laying down procedural rules and criteria relating to that derogation.

Article 6 (3) (a) of Regulation (EEC) No. 2092/91 provides for a derogation by which Member States may authorize, during a transitional period expiring on 31 December 2003, the use in organic production of seed and vegetative propagating material not produced by the organic production method, where the producers are unable to obtain propagating material from the organic production method. As established by article 1 of the present Regulation, that derogation is maintained after 31 December 2003 as regards species which are not listed in the Annex hereto. On the other hand, the species listed in the Annex are not covered by the derogation unless it is justified for use in research, test in small-scale field trials or for variety conservation purposes agreed by the competent authority of the Member State concerned. Procedural rules and criteria are set out in Chapters II and III for the application of the derogation with regard to seed or seed potatoes. In accordance with article 6, each Member State shall ensure that a computerized database is established for the listing of the varieties for which seed or seed potatoes obtained by the organic production method are available on its territory.