The EU Council has approved a decision to grant Ukraine equivalence to EU requirements for sunflower, rapeseed, soybean, and sugar beet seeds produced and certified in Ukraine. The decision was made based on previous votes in the European Parliament in April-May 2025. Equivalence confirms that Ukraine's national procedures provide the same guarantees regarding seed characteristics and rules for testing, identification, and control as procedures applied to seeds harvested in the EU. According to this decision, seeds of these crops produced in Ukraine will be able to be supplied to the EU market. This means that companies with production in Ukraine will be able to diversify their seed production areas. The new rules will also help support the continuous supply of high-quality seed material to the EU. This decision is a technical implementation of existing requirements and amends Decision 2003/17/EC, which provides equivalence for certain non-EU countries regarding field inspections ...