COMMON POSITION (EC) No 62/98 adopted by the Council on 13 October 1998 with a view to adoptions European Parliament and Council Directive 98/ /EC of . . . amending Council Directive 76/116/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to fertilisers, as regards the marketing in Austria, Finland and in Sweden of fertilisers containing cadmium (98/C 388/01)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the Treaty (3),

Whereas Article 69 and point 4 of Annex VIII, Article 84 and point 2 of Annex X and Article 112 and point 4 of Annex XII of the 1994 Act of Accession, concerning respectively Austria, Finland and Sweden, provide that Article 7 of Directive 76/116/EEC (4), in so far as it concerns the cadmium content of fertilisers, shall not apply to those Member States before 1 January 1999 and that the said provisions of the Act of Accession will be reviewed in accordance with Community procedures before 31 December 1998;

Whereas the said review cannot be completed by 31 December 1998 because of the absence in many Member States of the exposure data needed to evaluate the risks to health and the environment of cadmium in fertilisers; whereas the review needs to be continued by performing further work after this date;

Whereas the further work should evaluate the risks in Member States from cadmium in fertilisers in particular to the health of vulnerable population groups and to the environment; whereas this can only be accomplished after several years;

Whereas a risk assessment of cadmium within the framework of Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 of 23 March 1993 on the evaluation and control of the risks of existing substances (5) has been launched; whereas the results will become available only after several years;

Whereas, apart from the obligation to review laid down in the 1994 Act of Accession, a review of Community legislation in force can always be decided according to Community procedures; whereas Community legislation may provide for derogations for limited periods for certain Member States because of the specificity of their situations,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

In Article 7 of Directive 76/116/EEC, the following two paragraphs shall be added:

'However, Austria, Finland and Sweden may prohibit the marketing on their territory of fertilisers containing cadmium at concentrations in excess of those which were fixed nationally at the date of Accession. The derogation shall apply for the period from 1 January 1999 until 31 December 2001.

The Commission shall, in consultation with Member States and interested parties, review by 31 December 2001 the need for establishing provisions at Community level concerning the cadmium content of fertilisers`.

Article 2

The Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden shall adopt and publish the provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 31 December 1998 at the latest.

When the Member States referred to in the first paragraph adopt these measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by the Member States.

Article 3

This Directive is addressed to the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden.

Done at . . .

For the European Parliament

The President

For the Council

The President

(1) OJ C 108, 7.4.1998, p. 83.

(2) OJ C 214, 10.7.1998, p. 15.

(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 16 July 1998 (OJ C 292, 21.9.1998), Council Common Position of 13 October 1998 and Decision of the European Parliament of . . . (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(4) OJ L 24, 30.1.1976, p. 21. Directive as last amended by Council Directive 97/63/EC (OJ L 335, 6.12.1997, p. 15).

(5) OJ L 84, 5.4.1993, p. 1.

STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL'S REASONS

I. INTRODUCTION

1. On 12 February 1998 the Commission submitted to the Council a proposal for a Directive based on Article 100a of the EC Treaty amending Directive 76/116/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to fertilisers, as regards the marketing in Austria, Finland and in Sweden of fertilisers containing cadmium.

2. The Economic and Social Committee delivered its opinion on 29 April 1998.

The European Parliament delivered its opinion on 16 July 1998.

3. The Council adopted its Common Position in accordance with Article 189b of the Treaty on 1 October 1998.

II. OBJECTIVES

The aim of the Commission proposal is to extend until 31 December 2001 as regards Austria, Finland and Sweden the possibility of restricting the marketing in their territory of fertilisers containing cadmium.

Article 7 of Directive 76/116/EEC stipulates that Member States may not on grounds of composition, identification, labelling or packaging prohibit, restrict or hinder the marketing of fertilisers marked 'EC-fertiliser` which comply with the provisions of the Directive and the Annexes thereto.

Austria, Finland and Sweden, which for several years have restricted the marketing in their territories of fertilisers containing cadmium, negotiated derogations from Article 7 when they acceded to the European Union.

Under the Accession Treaties, Article 7, in so far as it concerns cadmium, will not apply to Austria, Finland and Sweden for four years from the date of accession, i.e. until 1 January 1999. The Accession Treaties further provide that Article 7, in so far as it concerns cadmium, will be reviewed within this period according to EC procedures.

Since the Commission has not yet sufficient data on the exposure of risk groups and on environmental conditions in Member States to judge whether or not cadmium in fertilisers presents an unacceptable risk, further work is needed. That means the review will not be completed in the four years as planned but will probably continue until 31 December 2001.

As a result, for the three Member States in question the derogation from Article 7, in so far as it concerns cadmium, should be supplemented by a further derogation from 1 January 1999 until the new date estimated for completing the review of that Article, namely 31 December 2001.

III. ANALYSIS OF THE COMMON POSITION

The European Parliament proposed only one amendment, namely specifying in Article 1 of the proposal that any change to the Directive needed as a result of the Commission's review should be adopted before 31 December 2001. The Commission did not accept that amendment.

The Council did not see the need to adopt the European Parliament's amendment and approved the Commission proposal without amendment.