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(2004/C 33 E/102)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1335/03

by Freddy Blak (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(2 April 2003)

Subject:   Danish packaging tax

A large proportion of beer and carbonated drink bottles on the Danish market arrive in Denmark by way of organised imports from Germany. Consumers and enterprising businesspeople collect hundreds of crates in Germany and sell them from drinks machines in Danish shops, because the deposit is higher in Denmark.

Thanks to these extensive ‘private’ imports, Danish breweries obtain bottles brought into Denmark without the intervention of the tax authorities. The breweries thus avoid paying the packaging tax which they would normally have to pay on empty bottles from Germany.

At the same time the breweries are refunded the packaging tax on the bottles they export.

The Danish Treasury estimates that this trade costs the Danish state some DKR 15 million per year, while the canning industry reckons it is losing some DKR 50 million per year.

In the Commission's view, does the Danish packaging tax constitute an indirect State aid to breweries and the cross-border trade? If so, what does the Commission propose to do to stop it?

Could the Commission also state its opinion of the fact that Danish nationals are not required to pay a deposit on cans purchased in Germany provided they sign a declaration that they are taking the cans with them to Denmark?

Joint answer

to Written Questions E-1252/03 and P-1335/03

given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(16 May 2003)

The Commission is aware of the introduction of, or plans to introduce, deposit and return systems for packaging in some Member States, such as Denmark, Germany and Sweden. It follows from Articles 5 and 15 of Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC of 20 December 1994 on packaging and packaging waste (1) as well as recital 32 that Member States are allowed to encourage environmentally friendly reuse systems and to adopt economic instruments, provided that the EC Treaty provisions are respected. If such national systems constitute technical regulations in terms of Directive 98/34/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations (2), the national draft legislation setting up such a system has to be notified to the Commission (see also Article 16 of Directive 94/62/EC). The Commission therefore has the opportunity to examine the national systems in question on their conformity with Community law prior to their formal adoption. If the Commission finds that such national systems constitute undue trade barriers or restrictions to competition, violating Community law, the Commission will tackle these problems with the Member State concerned.

Once formally adopted, the Commission will continuously monitor the application and functioning of these national systems and will in light of the available information take the appropriate measures with the Member States concerned to eliminate such obstacles to the internal market or competition to which the Honourable Member refers. There are, however, currently no intentions to propose legislative measures at Community level with a view to harmonise national deposit- and return systems.

On the basis of the information available to the Commission, the Danish packaging tax does not seem to constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty. The tax itself seems to be levied on both bottles produced in Denmark and on imported bottles on a non-discriminatory basis. Therefore, it does not seem to grant a selective advantage, which is one of the requirements in order to qualify a national measure as State aid under the Union rules.

For the moment, the Commission has insufficient information at its disposal in order to form a proper opinion on the alleged fact that Danish nationals would not be required to pay a deposit on cans purchased in Germany, if they sign a declaration that they import the cans into Denmark.

On the basis of the system outlined in this question, the Danish national tax system does not seem incompatible with the prohibiting of fiscal discrimination against products from other Member States to indirectly protect domestic products, within the meaning of article 90 of the EC Treaty.

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(1)OJ L 365, 31.12.1994.

(2)OJ L 204, 21.7.1998.

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