Sorry, one more note. I think it would be useful to share the exact info that Joyce sent to me regarding the situation. It's below. It gives a bit more detail on how the communications on this issue could work within the EU: She says we need the country "national plant protection organization" representatives to contact the EU and tell them about the need for the exception. It sounds like input from non-EU countries is also relevant, so if you're outside the EU but worried about the impact of this on plant societies and suppliers, it's a good idea to have your country regulators ping the EU about it. Also, note that it's the US plant regulators who flagged this issue for the EU and notified Joyce. This is a direct result of the work Joyce and others have been doing to create a working relationship with the US federal regulators. That's been a long, unknown, and pretty much thankless task for Joyce; if you ever get a chance to chat with her, please tell her thanks. ===== I just spoke with our representative from APHIS-PPQ who had discussions with the European Commission earlier this month. He brought up the subject of the new requirement for a phytosanitary certificates to accompany all seeds entering any country within the European Union, and requested some kind of exemption for small lots of seed. Apparently this was news to the EC, as they had not heard from anyone else that the regulation (to take effect on December 14) would produce any sort of hardships. So, if you have been contacting your country's national plant protection organization (NPPO), it would seem that your NPPO representative has not made any contact with the Commission. Since the Commission said that they would consider a derogation for small lots of seed if they also heard from other countries (especially those within the EU), it is time to light a fire under your NPPO representatives. Please contact them (again, if necessary) and let them know that it is crucial for them to make their wishes for a modification of the regulation known to the Commission... soon. Very soon. APHIS-PPQ is about to send a formal letter (as requested by the EC) stating the facts around the need for this exemption. I will be helping by sending every bit of information I can muster: who would be harmed by the requirement for PCs, what further effects would be felt in agriculture, horticulture, environment; how the same results can be obtained through a permit, rather than a PC; additional benefits to the NPPO from the data gathered via permits. _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…