Brussels, 28/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has just adopted a proposal to deregulate pack sizes for a whole range of consumer products (detergents, pet food, ice cream, frozen food, low alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, cleaning products, paints, shampoo, toothpaste, etc.). The existing rules date back to the 1970s, when Member States' rules on pack sizes constituted barriers to trade, and Community rules were necessary to access markets. Except for a few sectors, the Commission proposes to abolish Community and national regulation of size in the light of well-established caselaw of the European Court of Justice. It considers this will make it easier to cater for ever more divergent consumer needs.
The proposal comes further to a recommendation by the panel on Simplification of Legislation on the Internal Market (SLIM) to make sizes mandatory only where necessary. The Commission has taken into account the fact that Community consumer protection legislation is much more comprehensive than it was at the time of introduction of the sizes legislation. Notably the introduction of unit pricing allows consumers to compare the price per liter/kilogram of products offered in different sizes. Furthermore, fixed sizes were not found to contribute to the environmental objectives of the Community.
In four sectors (wine, spirits, soluble coffee and white sugar), the impact assessment found cost elements that justify maintaining those sizes that are most sold to consumers. The proposal is to let the exemption last for 20 years, the average lifetime of packaging machinery, after which these sectors should also be subject to full competition.