THE COMMON MARKET is one ofthe cornerstones and success stories of the European Union. Clearly, this can equally be stated for the specific Common Market for Seed as established by the Seed Marketing Directives in the 1960s and later by the Common Catalogues for both agriculturaland vegetable species. Varieties authorized according to a common set of rules by any Member State may be freely marketed and used in the entire Union; as a result, more choice and higher quality is available to Europe's farmers than ever before. Any deterioration of this Common Market, any national deviations or misinterpretations and attempts to close of markets from competition from other Member States therefore gets alarm bells ringing, foremost in the EU Commission and Member States; but also in seed companies, farming groups and entire value chains in Europe and internationally. For the EU, the specific instrument of the TRIS, an obligatory notification procedure of internal market relevant national legislation, has been established to safeguardthe Common Market from such national attempts.
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