EU official gazette on 10 June 2022 - On 9 June, the European Commission published Implementing Directive (EU) 2022/905, amending the agreements of Directives 2003/90/EC and 2003/91/EC on the testing of certain agricultural plant and vegetable varieties.  Major amendments include:

(1) Annexes I and II of Directive 2003/90/EC are replaced by the text of annex A of the Directive, adding inspection varieties of cannabis and a hybrid of wheat and rye in 2022 ;  
 
(2) The annex to Directive 2003/91/EC is replaced by the text in annex BTO the Directive, adding inspection varieties of turniprape in 2022;  
 
(3) Member states shall adopt and publish the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the Directive by 31 December 2022 at the latest;  The text of these provisions should be communicated to the Commission without delay;  Member states will apply these provisions from 1 January 2023;  When member states adopt these provisions, references to the directive shall be included or accompanied by such references at the time of its official publication.  
 
(4) Official inspections of varieties initiated before 1 January 2023 but not yet finalised shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of directives 2003/90/EC and 2003/91/EC prior to the revision;  
 
(5) The directive shall enter into force on the 20th day after its publication in the official Journal of the EU.  
 
According to the regulation, Commission directives 2003/90/EC (3) and 2003/91/EC (4) aim to ensure that the agricultural plant varieties and vegetable varieties included in the Member States' national lists comply with the agreements established by the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO),  these directives are designed to ensure compliance with the rules governing the examination of characteristics to be covered at the minimum level and with minimum conditions for the examination of certain agricultural plant and vegetable varieties;  CPVO has developed further agreements and updated existing ones, particularly on the inspection of varieties such as red clover, hemp, rye, clover, spinach beet or mustard, fennel, lettuce, tomato, spinach, etc.