On Friday 17 November, the Council of the European Union adopted its position on the proposal for a regulation on the digital labelling of fertiliser products in the EU.
The mandate agreed by the Member States clarifies the obligation to provide a physical label for products intended for end users, whether they are sold with or without packaging (see EUROPE 13130/11).
The requirements for digital labels have been streamlined to avoid an excessive administrative burden. For example, the quantity of the product, which changes frequently, has become a non-mandatory element of the digital label. Similarly, the production date of the product has been retained as a non-mandatory element of the digital label if it is already mentioned on the physical label.
The Council mandate adds information about the importer as a mandatory element of the digital label. It also specifies that the obligation on economic operators to provide, at the request of end-users, the information on the digital label by other means and free of charge applies independently of a purchase.
Member States are also planning to institute an obligation to display physical labels in a visible place at the point of sale in order to ensure that end-users and market surveillance authorities have access to the information that does not appear on the digital label. This would enable potential buyers to access the data they need to make an informed decision, regardless of their digital skills or Internet access, while offering distributors a simple way of complying with the obligation to provide this information to their customers.
The Council’s position guarantees that labels will continue to include information relevant to assessing the agronomic efficiency of the fertiliser and selecting the right product at the time of purchase (some elements which, in the proposal, had been moved to the digital label, have been returned to the physical format). These include the soluble nutrient content of fertilisers.
Link to the Council’s negotiating mandate: https://aeur.eu/f/9m9 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)