Luxembourg, 17/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - The EU Council is due on Monday to adopt, without further debate, a Regulation offering an exemption from the requirement for eggs to be marked (EUROPE n°8956). The Regulation would allow an exemption for farms with less than 50 laying hens, provided the eggs are sold on a local public market located in the production region and the name of the address of the farm is specified at the sales outlet. These measures will help to take account of the difficulties faced by small producers, particularly in the new Member States, complying with Community rules. Germany, backed by France, has managed to see to it that sales of the unmarked eggs are restricted to the production region. Germany was primarily concerned that small Polish producers in border areas were taking advantage of their geographical situation to sell their eggs more cheaply in Germany.