EN   EN 
 
 
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION   
Brussels, XXX  
[…](2018) XXX  draft  
 
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/...  
of XXX  
amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 as regards marketing standards 
in the fruit and vegetables sector    
EN 1  EN EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM  
1. CONTEXT  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT  
Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a 
common organisation of the markets in agricultural products (CMO Regulation) empowers 
the Commission to adopt delegated acts.  
The purpose of this delegated act is to lay down  rules amending the existing marketing 
standards in line with amendments done in t he quality standards of the United Nations 
Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE). In order to avoid unnecessary barriers to trade, 
the specific standards for apples, citrus fruit, kiwifruit, lettuces, curled -leaved and broad -
leaved endives, peaches and n ectarines, pears, strawberries, sweet peppers, table grapes and 
tomatoes  should be aligned with the UN/ECE standards.  
This delegated act is also modifying the requirements on mixes of fruit and vegetables to 
follow identical rules for packages containing d ifferent species of fruits and packages 
containing different species of vegetables . 
This delegated act amends Commission Implementing Regulation (E U) No 543/2011 of 7 
June 2011 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 
1234/2007 in respect of the fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetables sectors . 
The adoption of this delegated act does not entail financial implications.  
2. CONSULTATIONS  PRIOR  TO THE  ADOPTION  OF THE  ACT  
Consultations, involving experts from all the 28 Member States have been carried out within 
the Experts Group for Fruit and Vegetables  during the meeting held on 12 December  2017  
where a draft text was presented and agreed. The draft version of the present  act was 
transmitted to the European Parliament and to the Council when convening the Experts Group 
meetings.  
3. LEGAL  ELEMENTS  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT  
The act contains an article modifying article 7 and Annex I of Commission Implementing 
Regulation (E U) No 543/2011  with the aim to amend general and specific marketing 
standards for apples, citrus fruit, kiwifruit, lettuces, curled -leaved and broad -leaved endives, 
peaches and nectarines, pears, strawber ries, sweet peppers, table grapes and tomatoes . This 
act contains also an article establi shing a transitional provision for the code marks 
representing the packer or dispatcher that do not include the ISO 3166  (alpha) country/area 
code of the recognising country . 
EN 2  EN COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/...  
of XXX  
amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 as regards marketing standards 
in the fruit and vegetables sector  
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,  
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the Eu ropean Union , 
Having regard to  Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in 
agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC ) No 234/79, 
(EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/20071, and in particular Article 75(2)  thereof , 
Whereas:  
(1) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/20112 provide s for detailed rules 
on marketing standards for fruit and vegetables . 
(2) Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011  allows the marketing of packages of a 
net weight of 5 kg or less containing mixes of  different species of fruit and vegetables. 
To ensure fair trading and to respond to the demand from certain consumers for such 
mixes , identical rules should apply  to packages containing  different species of fruit 
and packages containing different species of vegetables.  
(3) From 2013 to 2017  the Working Party on Agricultural Quality Standards of the United 
Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) revised the UN/ECE standards  
for apples, citrus fruit, kiwifruit, lett uces, curled -leaved and broad -leaved endives, 
peaches and nectarines, pears, strawberries, sweet peppers, table grapes and tomatoes.  
In order to avoid unnecessary barriers to trade, the  general and specific marketing 
standards for those fruits and vegetabl es provided for in Implementing Regulation 
(EU) No 543/2011  should be aligned with the new UN/ECE standards.  
(4) In particular, the UN/ECE standards require the indication of the ISO 3166 (alpha) 
country/area code  in combination with the code mark representing  the packer or 
dispatcher when the packer or dispatcher has a physical address in a country different 
from the country of origin of the products. That requirement should be included in 
Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011.  
(5) Regulation (EU) No  543/2011 should therefore be amended accordingly . 
(6) In order to give operators sufficient time to adapt to the new requirement relating to 
the country code, they should be allowed to use existing officially issued or accepted 
code marks representing the pac ker or dispatcher until 31 December 2019 , 
                                                 
1 OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 671 . 
2 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 of 7 June 2011 laying down detailed rules for 
the application of Council Regulation (EC)  No 1234/2007 in respect of the fruit and vegetables and 
processed fruit and vegetables sectors  (OJ L 157, 15.6.2011, p. 1).  
EN 3  EN HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:  
Article 1  
Amendment of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011  
Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011  is amended as follows:  
(1) Article 7 is replaced by the following:  
"Article 7  
Mixes  
1. The marketing of packages of a net weight of 5 kg or less containing mixes of different 
species of fruits , of vegetables  or of fruits and vegetables shall be allowed, provided that:  
(a) the products are of uniform quality and each product concerned complies with the relevant 
specific marketing standard or, where no specific marketing standard exists for a particular 
product, the general marketing standard ; 
(b) the package is appropriately labelled, in accordance with this Chapter, and  
(c) the mix is not such as to mislead the consumer.  
2. The requirements of paragraph 1(a) shall not apply to products included in a mix which are 
not products of the fruit and vegetables s ector referred to in Article 1(2)(i) of Regulation (EU ) 
No 1308/2013 of t he European Parliament and of the Council* . 
3. If the products in a mix originate in more than one Member State or third country, the full 
names of the countries of origin may be replaced with one of the following, as appropriate:  
(a) ‘mix of EU fruit ’, ‘mix of EU vegetables ’ or ‘mix of EU fruit and vegetables’ ; 
(b) ‘mix of non -EU fruit’ , ‘mix of non -EU vegetables’  or ‘mix of non -EU fruit and 
vegetables ’; 
(c) ‘mix of EU and non -EU fruit’ , ‘mix of EU and non -EU vegetables’ or ‘mix of EU and 
non-EU fruit and vegetables’.  
* Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 
establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations 
(EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC ) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 
671.)" 
(2) Annex I is replaced by the text set out in the Annex to this Regulation.  
Article 2  
Transitional provision  
Officially issued or accepted code marks representing the  packer or dispatch er that do not 
include the ISO 3166 (alpha)  country/area code  may continue to be used on packages until 31 
December 2019.  
Article  3 
Entry in to force   
EN 4  EN This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh  day following that of its publication in 
the Official  Journal of the European Union . 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.  
Done at Brussels,  
 For the Commission  
 The President  
 Jean -Claude JUNCKER