b'EU MUST STOP FRENCH INTERPRETATION OF MUTAGENESISIf decree adopted and published, varieties resulting from such form of random in vitro mutagenesis would be prohibited for marketing and cultivation in France. Petra Jorasch & Garlich von EssenEditors Note: Petra Jorasch is manager plant breeding innovation advocacy and Garlich von Essen is secretary-general, both at Euroseeds in Brussels.THE COMMON MARKETis one of the cornerstones and success sto-ries of the European Union. Clearly, this can equally be stated for the specific Common Market for Seed as estab-lished by the Seed Marketing Directives in the 1960s and later by the Common Catalogues for both agricultural and vegetable species. Varieties authorized according to a common set of rules by any Member State may be freely mar-keted and used in the entire Union; as a result, more choice and higher quality is available to Europes farmers than ever before. Any deterioration of this Common Market, any national deviations or mis-interpretations 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 internation-ally. For the EU, the specific instrument of the TRIS, an obligatory notification procedure of internal market relevant national legislation, has been established to safeguard the Common Market from such national attempts.As prescribed by this specific EU law, France notified the EU of its draft nationalPetra Jorasch is manager of plant breeding innovation advocacy for Euroseeds. 72/ SEEDWORLD.COMDECEMBER 2020'