COMMISSION DECISION
of 9 July 2009
establishing the ecological criteria for the award of the Community eco-label for tourist accommodation service
(notified under document number C(2009) 5619)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2009/578/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 on a revised Community eco-label award scheme (1), and in particular the second subparagraph of Article 6(1) thereof,
After consulting the European Union Eco-labelling Board,
Whereas:
(1)
Under Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000, the Community 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)
Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000 provides that specific eco-label criteria, drawn up on the basis of the criteria drafted by the European Union Eco-labelling Board, are to be established according to product groups.
(3)
It also provides that the review of the eco-label criteria, as well as of the assessment and verification requirements related to those criteria, is to take place in due time before the end of the period of validity of the criteria specified for the product group concerned.
(4)
Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000, a timely review has been carried out of the ecological criteria, as well as of the related assessment and verification requirements established by Commission Decision 2003/287/EC of 14 April 2003 establishing the ecological criteria for the award of the Community eco-label to tourist accommodation service (2). Those ecological criteria and the related assessment and verification requirements are valid until 31 October 2009.
(5)
In the light of that review, it is appropriate, in order to take account of scientific and market developments, to modify the definition of the product group and to establish new ecological criteria.
(6)
The ecological criteria, as well as the related assessment and verification requirements, should be valid for four years from the date of adoption of this Decision.
(7)
For tourist accommodation service, the ecological criteria should be divided into mandatory and optional criteria.
(8)
As regards the fees relating to applications for and use of the eco-label by micro enterprises, as defined by Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (3), it is appropriate, in order to take account of the limited resources of micro-enterprises and their particular importance within this product group, to provide for reductions additional to those provided for by Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000 and Articles 1 and 2 of Commission Decision 2000/728/EC of 10 November 2000 establishing the application and annual fees of the Community Eco-label (4), pursuant to Article 5 of Decision 2000/728/EC.
(9)
Decision 2003/287/EC should therefore be replaced.
(10)
A transitional period, should be allowed for service providers whose services have been awarded the eco-label for tourist accommodation service, based on the criteria contained in Decision 2003/287/EC, so that they have sufficient time to adapt their services to comply with the revised criteria and requirements. Service providers should also be allowed to submit applications set out under the criteria set in Decision 2003/287/EC or set out under the criteria set in this Decision, until the lapse of validity of Decision 2003/287/EC.
(11)
Measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
1. The product group ‘tourist accommodation service’ shall comprise the provision, for a fee, of sheltered overnight accommodation in appropriately equipped rooms, including at least a bed, offered as a main service to tourists, travellers and lodgers.
The provision of overnight sheltered accommodation may include the provision of food services, fitness and leisure activities and/or green areas.
2. For the purposes of this Decision, food services shall include breakfast; fitness and leisure activities/facilities shall include saunas, swimming pools and all other such facilities, which are within the accommodation grounds and green areas shall include parks and gardens, which are open to guests.
3. For the purposes of this Decision, micro-enterprises shall be as defined in Recommendation 2003/361/EC.
Article 2
1. In order to be awarded the Community eco-label for tourist accommodation service under Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000 (hereinafter ‘the eco-label’), a tourist accommodation service shall fulfil all of the following requirements:
(a)
it shall fall within the product group ‘tourist accommodation service’;
(b)
it shall comply with each of the criteria set out in Section A of the Annex to this Decision;
(c)
it shall comply with a sufficient number of the criteria set out in Section B of the Annex to this Decision, in order to acquire the requisite number of points as referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1(c), the tourist accommodation service shall acquire at least: 20 points for the main service.
3. The points referred to in paragraph 2 shall be increased by any of the following, if provided under the same management or ownership of the tourist accommodation service:
(a)
three points for food services;
(b)
three points for green/outside areas available to guests;
(c)
three points for leisure/fitness activities or five points if the leisure/fitness activity consists in a wellness centre.
Article 3
1. By way of derogation from Article 1(3) of Decision 2000/728/EC, where an application is made by a micro enterprise for award of the Eco-label, the application fee shall be reduced by 75 % with no other reduction possible.
2. By way of derogation from the first sentence of Article 2(5) of Decision 2000/728/EC, the minimum annual fee for a micro enterprise for use of the Eco-label shall be EUR 100.
3. The annual volume of sales for all tourist accommodation service shall be calculated by multiplying the delivery price by the number of overnight stays and reducing the resulting product by 50 %. The delivery price shall be considered as the average fee paid by the visitor for the overnight stay, including all the services which do not entail an extra charge.
4. The reductions to the minimum annual fee provided for in paragraphs 6 to 10 of Article 2 of Decision 2000/728/EC shall apply.
Article 4
The ecological criteria for the product group ‘tourist accommodation service’, as well as the related assessment and verification requirements, shall be valid for four years from the date of adoption of this Decision.
Article 5
For administrative purposes the code number assigned to the product group ‘tourist accommodation service’ shall be ‘025’.
Article 6
Decision 2003/287/EC is repealed.
Article 7
1. Applications for the eco-label falling within the product group ‘tourist accommodation service’ submitted before the date of adoption of this Decision shall be evaluated in accordance with the conditions laid down in Decision 2003/287/EC.
2. Applications for the eco-label falling within the product group ‘tourist accommodation service’ submitted from the date of adoption of this Decision but by 31 October 2009 at the latest may be based either on the criteria set out in Decision 2003/287/EC or on the criteria set out in this Decision.
Those applications shall be evaluated in accordance with the criteria on which they are based.
3. Where the eco-label is awarded on the basis of an application evaluated according to the criteria set out in Decision 2003/287/EC, that eco-label may be used for twelve months from the date of adoption of this Decision.
Article 8
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 9 July 2009.