SEEDING EUROPE (ERASMUS+ project)
This guide explains the EU policy and legal framework that affects seeds, cultivated biodiversity and seed-related activities. Developed within the SEEDING EUROPE (ERASMUS+) project, it aims to raise awareness and build the capacity of small-scale organisations, seed savers and citizens so they can better understand, monitor and engage with EU law and policy. Part 1 outlines European institutions, instruments of EU law and the EU policy‑making procedure. Part 2 reviews the law of the seed, organised around three themes: environmental preservation (biodiversity conservation and sustainable use), risk prevention (food safety/GMO rules and plant health), and market tools (intellectual property rights and seed marketing rules). The guide also includes a glossary of terms, explains international instruments (CBD, ITPGRFA, Nagoya Protocol), and describes derogations and experiments in EU seed marketing (e.g. conservation, amateur and organic varietal regimes). It is published with funding from the European Union and includes references to expected policy developments referenced in the text (for example work on new genomic techniques and seed marketing reform).
Key topics: EU seed law, seed marketing, plant health, GMOs, plant variety protection, agrobiodiversity, access and benefit-sharing, community seed systems
