Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-02-01-Speech-3-221"
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"en.20060201.20.3-221"2
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".
Mr President, the proposed directive on pre-packaging seems to be a very technical dossier. However, in reality, it is part of the major policy initiative strongly supported by our institutions on better regulation and simplification.
There is Community legislation on pre-packaging, but the current legal situation is neither satisfactory nor clear. In the European Union, we have a stable legal framework for wine and spirits, where, throughout the Community, products are sold in agreed quantities. For around 70 other products, current legislation has introduced voluntary harmonisation to which Member States have adopted different approaches. Member States such as Belgium or the Netherlands have deregulated package sizes altogether. In other countries, for instance Sweden, Community legislation on package sizes has been made optional for manufacturers. Other Member States have made regulation mandatory but only for home producers. Some national rules are entirely based on the existing optional Community directives, but in other countries, such as Germany, national rules are different from Community provisions. From a legal point of view, the situation is therefore quite confusing, to put it mildly.
At the same time, products freely move from one country to another and consumers find a wealth of products on the market. Until now, no consumer has ever complained that there was an excess of choice. The proposal of the Commission intends to simplify the legal situation whilst leaving the benefit of free choice to consumers. The Commission is proposing a single legal framework to be implemented throughout the Union by all Member States. In substance, the Commission proposes to leave the free choice that consumers currently enjoy and to regulate package sizes only for a very limited number of sectors, in particular wines and spirits.
The Commission notes that the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection endorses this approach in principle. However, we have different views on the number of sectors that should become subject to the Community regulation fixing nominal quantities.
As far as the Commission is concerned, and based on a wide consultation of consumers in all Member States and European Trade Federations, only the wine and spirits sectors should be regulated. However, on the basis of a prior commitment to Parliament, the Commission has also included in its proposal the regulation for soluble coffee and white sugar.
Whilst supporting the overall approach, the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection suggests that additional sectors should become subject to regulation, including drinking milk, butter, roasted coffee, dried pasta, rice and brown sugar. The Commission questions the justification for regulation in these sectors. European industry, with the exception of the coffee sector, is not in favour and consumers have not requested regulation that limits their choice. The proposed amendment would imply that a number of products that are placed on the market today would disappear. Furthermore, it would also mean that Member States that never had regulation or had abolished it would have to re-introduce regulation on package sizes. This is contrary to the political aims of better regulation and simplification and does not protect consumers. The Commission appreciates that the Parliament has carried out an impact assessment of these amendments. This initiative reflects the Commission’s common concern for better regulation and simplification.
To conclude, in the Commission’s opinion, consumer protection today should not be based on limiting consumer choice, but should concentrate on providing correct information to consumers and on the prohibition of misleading practices, allowing consumers to make a well-informed and deliberate choice.
It is fair to say that the Commission, as well as the European Court of Justice, takes as the benchmark the average consumer, reasonably well-informed and reasonably observant and circumspect. Vulnerable consumers do not become less vulnerable with rules on nominal quantities, but by better implemented existing Community law on consumer protection, such as labelling and the prohibition of deceptive packaging. The Commission is working with national authorities towards the better implementation of these Community rules in order to effectively improve the protection of vulnerable consumers."@en1
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