On Tuesday, 11 March, there was a vote in the EU Parliament, the first of only 2 so-called ‘readings’, on whether to return the current seed law legislative proposal to the EU Commission. This vote passed, meaning it will ultimately be returned to the Commission.
The seed industry is also claiming success! They pointed out the vote was procedurally flawed, meaning it’s not valid.
The reality is that regardless of if the vote was procedurally flawed, it’s a political decision of the Parliament. In order for the legislation to be passed, the Parliament and Council both have to agree, and the Council is now unlikely to continue working on the proposal knowing it’s virtually impossible for the Parliament to now agree.
If after the elections the Parliament begins working on the proposal, they now only have one more vote (‘reading’) remaining to pass it, and this is all but impossible to achieve.
The widely shared view among NGOs in Europe now, is that it’s politically dead, and can’t come back to life. Even though it may technically remain in the Parliament and Council for some time, it will ultimately end up back at the Commission for redrafting. Now what we hope is that this time they will start from the beginning with a proposal that takes into account the wishes and needs of consumers and the environment and not just industry!
