Brussels, 01/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - Inter-institutional negotiation on the proposal relating to marketing standards is proving difficult. During the Special Agriculture Committee (SAC) on Monday 27 February, the Danish Presidency's compromise text on this issue was quite well received but many delegations expressed scrutiny reservation. Some countries, like Italy and Spain, stated their preference for the initial Commission proposal.
The proposal on marketing standards is part of the quality package, on which debates are also laborious (see EUROPE 10533) when it comes to the management of supply for PDO (protected designation of origin) and PGI (protected geographical indication) products.
The Commission proposal on marketing standards above all provides for the introduction of a legal base for compulsory labelling indicating the place of production for all sectors. Thus, the Commission proposes to adopt delegated acts concerning a possible labelling obligation to show the place of production or provenance at the appropriate geographical level, on the basis of relevant impact analyses and a case-by-case study, in order to meet consumers' expectations regarding information and transparency. One of the first sectors examined will be the dairy sector. In parallel, the Commission plans to maintain the labelling obligation concerning the place of production in sectors where such an obligation already exists.
After the Council/Parliament/Commission trialogue of 6 December 2011, the presidency of the EU Council of Ministers deemed it necessary to extend the partial negotiating brief. A date for the second trialogue has not yet been set. Two subjects remain pending. The first relates to the specific marketing standards that the presidency suggests keeping in the basic act. This would mean that any change or extension of those standards would be via ordinary legislative procedure (the presidency taking account of the fact that many member states refuse to entrust the Commission with the responsibility of amending norms by delegated act).
The second outstanding subject concerns the compulsory mention on labelling of the place of production or provenance. The Danish Presidency has given its assurance that there is no overlapping with the regulation on food information to consumers. Some countries, such as France and Finland, wish to extend the list of products subject to a compulsory mention on labelling, while others prefer to stick with the current provisions of Regulation 1234/2007 (including the meat sectors which are already subject to such labelling). The Danish Presidency trusts nonetheless that it will reach an agreement on the compromise proposed during the next SAC on Monday 12 March.
The difficulties encountered on these two texts of the quality package point to it being very difficult to reach agreement on this issue at first reading. (LC/transl.jl)