The European Union became on the 29th June 2005 member of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) by depositing the instrument of accession at the General Secretariat of the UPOV in Geneva.

Having previously had the status as observers, accession to the UPOV Convention will allow the EU to fully benefit from the rights conferred by the Convention. The UPOV Convention aims to ensure a harmonised international system for the protection of plant varieties and encourage the development of new varieties of plants.

Since 1995, new varieties can be protected on Community level under Regulation 2100/94 on Community Plant Variety Rights. The Regulation is based on the UPOV Convention 1991.

The Community system is managed by the The Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) based in Angers, France.

For more information on the EU accession to UPOV, see www.upov.int/en/news/index.html