Commission Decision
of 4 May 2001
establishing the ecological criteria for the award of the Community eco-label to tissue-paper products
(notified under document number C(2001) 1175)
(2001/405/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000(1) on a revised Community eco-label award scheme, and in particular Articles 3, 4 and 6 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000 provides that the eco-label may be awarded to a product possessing characteristics which enable it to contribute significantly to improvements in relation to key environmental aspects.
(2) Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000 provides that specific eco-label criteria shall be established according to product groups.
(3) Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000 provides that the review of the eco-label criteria as well as of the assessment and verification requirements related to the criteria shall take place in due time before the end of the period of validity of the criteria specified for each product group and shall result in a proposal for prolongation, withdrawal or revision.
(4) By Decision 98/94/EC(2), the Commission established ecological criteria for the award of the Community eco-label to tissue-paper products, which, according to Article 3 thereof, as modified by Decision 2000/413/EC(3), expire 31 December 2001.
(5) It is appropriate to revise the definition of the product group and the ecological criteria that were established by Decision 98/94/EC in order to reflect the developments in the market.
(6) It is appropriate to adopt a new Commission Decision establishing the specific ecological criteria for this product group, which will be valid for a period of five years.
(7) It is appropriate that, for a limited period of not more than 12 months, both the new criteria established by this Decision and the criteria previously established by Decision 98/94/EC are valid concurrently in order to allow sufficient time for companies that have been awarded the eco-label for their products prior to the adoption of this new Decision to adapt these products to comply with the new criteria.
(8) The measures set out in this Decision have been developed and adopted under the procedures for the setting of eco-label criteria as laid down in Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000.
(9) The measures set out in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the committee set up under Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The product group "tissue-paper products" (hereinafter referred to as "the product group") shall mean:
Sheets or rolls of tissue paper fit for use for personal hygiene, absorption of liquids and/or cleaning of soiled surfaces. The tissue product normally consists of creped or embossed paper in one or several plies. The fibre content of the product shall be at least 90 %. Laminated tissue products and wet wipes are excluded from the product group.
Article 2
The environmental performance of the product group as defined in Article 1 shall be assessed by reference to the specific ecological criteria set out in the Annex.
Article 3
The product group definition and the criteria for the product group shall be valid for five years from the date on which this Decision takes effect.
The period of validity of the product group definition and the criteria established by Decision 98/94/EC, as modified by Decision 2000/413/EC, shall be extended to expire 12 months after the date on which this Decision takes effect.
Article 4
For administrative purposes the code number assigned to the product group shall be "004".
Article 5
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 4 May 2001.