§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the(a) budget and (b) purpose of the Community Plant Variety Office. [138078]
§ Ms QuinThe purpose of the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) is to administer a system of intellectual property rights for plant varieties valid throughout the European Community and to evaluate and decide upon applications for community plant variety rights. The CPVO is self-financing and recovers its costs through fees charged to plant breeders. The CPVO sets a budget each year, which includes estimates of all the office's anticipated revenue and expenditure. The budget is subject to approval by the CPVO Administrative Council, which comprises representatives of all member states and the Commission.