Brussels, 14/09/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 13 September, the EU Council of Ministers confirmed by qualified majority its political agreement on a draft regulation aimed at reviewing the EU system for the labelling of textile products. Its position at first reading will be forwarded to the European Parliament for a second reading.
The new regulation aims to update existing rules on the use of standard descriptions for textile fibres, labelling, markings and determination of the fibre composition of textile products, with a view to improving the functioning of the internal market and to providing accurate information to consumers. Under the terms of the agreement, the future regulation should also contain provisions to improve the system in order to: - further harmonise the names of textile fibres and the indications appearing on labels, markings and documents which accompany textile products at the various stages of their production, processing and distribution; - ensure that correct information is made available to customers throughout the Union - the regulation will not prevent economic operators from indicating, in addition to compulsory rules on composition labelling and marking, the presence of small quantities of fibres requiring particular attention to keep the original quality of the textile products; - reduce the administrative burden for national authorities, by allowing a faster adoption of new fibre names to be applied at the same time across the EU; - lay down methods for the sampling and analysis of textile products that can be turned into European standards; - and reinforce legal clarity, by replacing the three existing relevant directives (73/44/EEC, 96/73/EC and 2008/121/EC) by a single legal instrument. The new act will explicitly state the responsibility of manufacturers and importers in ensuring the supply of the label or marking and the accuracy of the information contained therein when placing a textile product on the market.
On 25 May 2010, the Council took note of the Parliament's opinion at first reading on 18 May 2010 on the original proposal tabled in 2009 by the Commission (see EUROPE 10142 and 10146). (E.H./transl.jl)