Garlich von Essen
Secretary General

Dear friends and colleagues,

It is my pleasure to invite you to register and attend our Euroseeds 2020 Congress which is scheduled to take place in Malta from 11 to 13 October.

But I am well aware that this invitation now comes at a time when uncertainty and doubt accompany any planning, both for us at Euroseeds organising this gathering of the European and worldwide seed sector as well as for you personally when you need to decide whether or not to register and if this congress will in the end really take place. The on-going development of the corona virus pandemic is not only putting all of our private and working lives upside down at this very moment; it has already led to many postponements and cancellations of meetings and events, including the World Seed Congress in Cape Town, and even well into the second half of the year 2020.

At Euroseeds, we have discussed at length if we should continue our preparations for Malta or not. While it is today impossible to predict with certainty if and under what circumstances our congress may take place, we also felt that a cancellation at this point in time would be premature. Also the seed sector is impacted hard by the corona crisis – and we feel that we need to try as much as we can to allow industry representatives to meet to help that collaboration and cooperation in plant breeding, production and marketing of seed can pick up again as quickly as possible.

We will do our utmost to assure that the Euroseeds2020 Congress once again lives up to both our high standards and your expectations. But we will take no risks as regards the safety of all of you. We will therefore work closely with the relevant authorities in Malta, at EU and national levels to continuously assess the situation, to determine possible conditions and consider restrictions. We will work with venues, service providers and the many others that are needed for a successful congress to be as well prepared as we can be. And rest assured that we will communicate with all of you as we move forward and the picture becomes more clear and hopefully brighter.

As stated above, we are well aware of our responsibilities to you, our guests, our colleagues, our friends. Let me assure you that we do not take this responsibility lightly and that your well-being will always be the decisive consideration in our further preparation.

Still, I sincerely hope that we will see each other again in good health and spirit at the Euroseeds 2020 Congress in Malta.

Until then, stay well and safe, yours

Garlich von Essen – Secretary General

Please note that specific Euroseeds Working Groups may hold internal meetings on October 14; these are part of the Euroseeds 2020 Congress and require registration!

Euroseeds Malta: reserve your spot now!

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