b'PLANS OF THE HUNGARIAN PRESIDENCY FOR SEED RELATED LEGISLATIONSBY: GABOR POLGART he Hungarian EU Presidency began its work on July 1, 2024, when Hungary took over the baton from Spain. In the past year intensive negotiations took place during two presidential cycles on the coordination of the Regulation for Plant Reproductive Material (PRM) and the new legislation for New Genomic Techniques (NGTs).PLANT REPRODUCTIVE MATERIALThe publication of the draft PRM Regulation was preceded by several years of preparatory work, and the Commission held many professional consultations on its ideas even before the official pub-lication, therefore the sector was not unprepared for the novelty of its content. In the previous year, the Hungarian ministerial offi-cials actively participated in the work of the standing committee, since the production of seed and propagating material and the cer-tification and registration of varieties are of utmost importance in Hungary. During the Belgian and Spanish Presidencies, the chap-ters of general provisions and requirements of certifications were discussed. In relation to the PRM, the Hungarian Presidency has under-taken the lead of the committee on the discussion of Chapter 4 (from paragraphs 44 to 74) about the registration of varieties. Fewer professional debates are expected than in the propagating material certification section. However, there might be critical points, such as the introduction of Value for Sustainable Cultivation and Use Gabor Polgar, Managing Director at the Hungarian Seed Association (VSCU) in vegetable plant species. The position of some Member States, the European seed sector and breeders are far from the 44ISEED WORLD EUROPEISEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPE'