# EUR-Lex - 52011PC0475 - EN

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# 52011PC0475

**OPINION OF THE COMMISSIONpursuant to Article 294(7)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,on the European Parliament's amendment[s]to the Council's position regarding the proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCILon the provision of food information to consumers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1924/2006 and (EC) No 1925/2006 and repealing Directives 87/250/EEC, 90/496/EEC, 1999/10/EC, 2000/13/EC, 2002/67/EC, 2008/5/EC and Regulation (EC) No 608/2004 /* COM/2011/0475 final - 2008/0028 (COD) */**

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2008/0028 (COD)

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION
pursuant to Article 294(7)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union,
on the European Parliament's amendment[s]
to the Council's position regarding the
proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL
on the provision of food information to consumers, amending Regulations (EC) No
1924/2006 and (EC) No 1925/2006 and repealing Directives 87/250/EEC,
90/496/EEC, 1999/10/EC, 2000/13/EC, 2002/67/EC, 2008/5/EC and Regulation (EC)
No 608/2004

1.           Introduction

Article 294(7)(c) of the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union provides that the Commission is to deliver an
opinion on the amendments proposed by the European Parliament at second
reading. The Commission sets out its opinion below on the amendments proposed by the Parliament.

2.           Background

Date of transmission of the proposal to the EP and the Council (document COM(2008) 40 final – 2008/0028(COD)): || 1 February 2008

Date of the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee: || 18 September 2008

Date of the opinion of the European Parliament, first reading: || 16 June 2010

Date of transmission of the amended proposal: || none

Date of adoption of the Council position: || 21 February 2011

Date of the opinion of the European Parliament, second reading: || 6 July 2011

3.           Objective of the proposal
from the Commission

The proposal
consolidates and updates two important areas of labelling legislation, the
general food and nutrition labelling covered by Directives 2000/13/EC[1] and 90/496/EEC[2] respectively. The proposal
recasts also six other Directives concerning the labelling of certain
categories of foods. Some of the main objectives of the proposal were:

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The creation of a single instrument for
principles and requirements for horizontal labelling requirements regarding
general and nutrition labelling;

–
To include specific provisions on the
responsibilities along the food chain with respect to the presence and accuracy
of food information;

–
To establish measurable criteria for certain
aspect of legibility of food labelling;

–
To clarify the rules that apply with respect to
country of origin or place of provenance labelling;

–
To introduce mandatory nutrition labelling in
the principal field of vision for the majority of processed foods.

4.           Opinion of the Commission
on the amendments by the European Parliament

The European Parliament voted in second reading
a consolidated text which contains a number of amendments to the text of the
Council Position at first reading. The text is the result of negotiations
between the Parliament, the Council and the Commission. The Commission accepts
all the amendments voted by the Parliament, which are the result of
interinstitutional negotiations which allowed a second reading agreement.

[1]               Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 20 March 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the Member
States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs
(OJ L 109, 6.5.2000, p. 29).

[2]               Council Directive 90/496/EEC of 24 September 1990 on
nutrition labelling for foodstuffs (OJ L 276, 6.10.1990, p. 40).