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The Solanaceae Working Group (WG) of the European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR) has established six databases for the crops that form its mandate. These include three major crops (Eggplant, Pepper and Tomato) and three minor crops (Cyphomandra, Pepino and Physalis). The ad hoc meeting of the Solanaceae Database (DB) Managers took place on 14 February 2012, prior to the meeting of the whole Solanaceae WG from 15 to 17 February. Willem van Dooijeweert, Chair of the WG, welcomed the DB Managers and explained the objectives of the meeting. The idea of the ad hoc meeting of DB Managers was brought up at an ad hoc meeting of the Vegetables Network Coordinating Group (18 April 2008, Wageningen, The Netherlands), as a response to the requirement of the initiative for “A European Genebank Integrated System” (AEGIS) that each WG submit lists of accessions for inclusion in the European Collection. The meeting was seen as an opportunity for the five attending DB Managers to exchange knowledge and discuss problems related to the management of the databases and, in particular, to prepare for AEGIS. After the one-day meeting, the DB Managers would propose a common vision of the selection process of European Accessions at the WG meeting that was to follow. Ahead of their meeting, the DB Managers had compiled Excel working files containing all data of each crop, which were extracted from the European Plant Genetic Resources Catalogue (or European Internet Search Catalogue, EURISCO) and the Central Crop Databases (CCDBs).

The Second Meeting of the Vegetables Network (VEGNET) of the European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR) was held on 26-28 June 2007 in Olomouc, Czech Republic. The meeting was organized jointly with the Third Meeting of the ECPGR Working Group on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAP WG), which had been formally included in the VEGNET from January 2004 to September 2006. The local organization of the meetings was arranged by the Crop Research Institute, Prague-Ruzyne, Division of Plant Genetics, Breeding and Product Quality, and its local Department of Vegetables and Special Crops in Olomouc. The first introductory session was attended jointly by the VEGNET and MAP Working Groups.

In this paper the authors try to describe the current situation regarding the documentation of Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) maintained in ex situ collections in Europe. It will tackle the systems that are used to manage the information involved, the mechanisms and systems that exist to exchange this information, and we will discuss the developments and challenges in this area. Apart from this technical description, the authors also try to give a functional description of the changing role of these systems in the light of international, technical and legal developments.