Brussels, 18/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has not come out in favour of creating an independent voluntary European eco-label for fishing and aquaculture products, although MEPs have been making a strong appeal for it. The Commission has criticised this as an option.
In a report published on Wednesday 18 May, which analyses three options and launches a debate at a Council and European Parliament level, the Commission states that a European eco-label for fishery products "may bring positive effects in terms of credibility of eco-labels by creating incentives and an effective public control". It also said that the issue of the confusion on the content of environmental claims could also be improved "while it is not clear whether there would be any effect on the provision of other types of environmental information to consumers". In terms of costs for the certification, only "limited savings" could be achieved.
New legislation would need to be adopted to establish such Union-wide scheme. Given the differences in market penetration of eco-labelled products across member states, and the premature stage of implementation of national schemes, the Commission said "action at EU level could be contested from a subsidiarity viewpoint". The Commission also said that the impossibility to detect explicit market failures may raise questions as regards the added-value of EU action, and the proportionality of this choice and that the costs of this option are significant compared to the other two options. The European system would not put an end to the proliferation of eco-labels either and also increases the risk of making the system more complex by introducing another label onto the market. It could also have a detrimental effect on the organic logo.
The two options presented are: no legislative change and effective use of available tools (this option satisfies the criteria of added value, subsidiarity and proportionality, as it is based on already adopted legislation, explains the Commission), and the setting of minimum requirements on sustainability and certification process (this would address issues such as potential confusion and credibility and would imply extensive preparation and adoption of new legislation or a recommendation at EU level). The Commission said that similar objectives could, alternatively, be reached by supporting international standards that are being developed. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)