Strasbourg, 24/01/2000 (Agence Europe) - At a press conference in Strasbourg on the fringe of the plenary session, the Greens' Co-Chair Paul Lannoye answered questions on the chocolate directive, on which he is rapporteur. On 25 February, there will be a first debate in the Committee on the Environment and Consumers, and debate in plenary is scheduled for March, he said, noting that, this being second reading, there is limited room for manoeuvre after the Council Conclusions. "I was surprised that France voted in favour of the last compromise, with only Belgium and Luxembourg voting against it and Luxembourg abstaining", observed Mr Lannoye. In his opinion, the Council's position is not satisfactory on labelling, whereas what Parliament requested two years ago (a clear and legible statement on the front of the package indicating that the product contains vegetable oil) was transparent and clear for consumers. Before adopting the directive, there is a need for a serious evaluation of the impact on producer countries, said the Belgian MEP, mentioning the case of Côte d'Ivoire.