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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(77)455
Vol.1977/0145

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yCOMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
V\.. , , COM(77)455 final .\
s Brussels .30September 1977
Proposal for aCouncil Directive
amending Directive 75/106/EEC
onthe .approximation ofthe laws oftheMember States
relating to
the MAKING-UP BYVOLUME OFCERTAIN PREPACKAGED LIQUIDS
(presented bytheCommission totheCouncil ). V
J
COM(77 )455final .

■ EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
I •k ^" '•* '
This directive isprepared fripursuance ofArticle 100 o"ftheTreaty
establishing theEuropean Economic Community .Itfollows onfrom Council '•!
Directive 71/316/EECof26July 1971 onthe approximation ofthe laws ofth$
Member States relating tocommon provisions forboth measuring instruments ■
1andmethods ofmetrological control .
Atthetime oftheadoption ofDirective 75/106/EECof19December 1974
ontheapproximation ofthe laws oftheMember States relating tothe
2making-up byvolume ofcertain prepackaged liquids the Council felt that,.'
although themain aimofthedirective was toremove technical barriers ..
tointra-Community trade existing atthetime inthe field ofprepackaged
liquid foodstuffs ,while ensuring consumer protection ,fairess of
competition andknowledge ofthemarket ,the list ofnominal volumes
inAnnex IIIwasstill toolong .
This opinion was infact included inthe Council minutes ,inwhich itwas
stated that : _
-the Council invited the Commission topresent ,before 31December 1980 ,
anewproposal for "the list ofnominal volumes given inAnnex IIItothe
Directive with the specific aim ofreducing thenumber ofpermitted
nominal volumes inorder toimprove consumer protection .Inparticular ,
wherever thepresent list included ,forthe same category ofliquids >
values which were tooclose tooneanother ,theCommission should
endeavour ,taking into account developments ininternational trade ,to
adopt only one ofthese values initsproposal . *
The Commission hasanticipated thedeadline fixed bytheCouncil for
■presenting such aproposal ,inthe form ofthis directive ,forseveral
reasons : .
*
First ,itwas clear that Council Directive 75/106/EEC was notwholly
satisfactory because inseveral cases the retention ofseveral similar values
could lead toconfusion with harmful consequences .
10JoftheEuropean Communities ,L202of 6September 1971 ,p1
2OJoftheEuropean Communities ,L42of15February 1975 ,p1

-2-
Sinceallparties concerned wereawareoftheneedtomakefurtherreduction
V
inthenumber -ofpermitted volumes (asfarbacKas1975,someMemberStates
requested theCommission totakestepstothiseffect)itwasfeltthat
theproposal shouldbepresented assoonasastudyofdevelopments in
commercial practices hadbeencarriedoutwhichwouldprovide asuitable
indication ofthechoices tobemade.
Thishasnowbeenachieved toalargeextent.BothintheCommunity andin-
non-member countries,particularly inthoseatpresent movingtowardsthe
SIsystemofinternational units,thesituation asregardsseveralliquids
"ismuchclearer andthetrendsfarmoredistinct thantheywerethreeyears
ago.
Thisisespecially thecasewithwines,onwhichtherehasbeenanagreement
betweenthewineproducers andgovernments fortheelimination ofthe70cl
and35clbottlesoverthelongtermandtheirreplacement by75cland
37.5clbottles .
Specifically inthecaseofwines,itisinteresting toaddthat,infact,
thetrendintheCommunity istowards complete harmonization .Adecision to
thiseffectwastakenbytheManagement .Committee forWineandadopted' by
theCommission initsRegulation (EEC)N°1054/77of13May1977amending
Regulation (EEC)1608/76layingdowndetailed rulesforthedescription and
1presentation ofwinesandgrapemusts.
Althoughthischoiceisabinding one,itwillbeattenuated byafairlylong
periodoftransition -whichwillenableproducers tocontinue tosell
products previously putupinvolumesof70cland35cl.Inthisway
themarketinthesequantities willnotbedisturbed andtherewillbe
agradualtransition to75cl.
Itwasmoredifficult tosolvetheproblemofspirits.Afewyearsago,
someproducers changed from75centilitres to70centilitres sincethis
wasthetraditional quantity forotherproducts and,inviewofthehigh
priceoftheproducts inquestion,suchproducers arenaturally most
reluctant togiveupthisnominal volume.
•••
"ï
OJoftheEuropean Communities ,L130of25.5.1977 ,p1

Somegovernmentexpertssharethisopinion.However,itmustbesaidthat
farlargerquantitiesofspiritsontheCommunitymarketareputupin
75centilitres thanin70centilitres,andthatthissituationiseven
morepronouncedontheworldmarket..Bywayofexample,onemightquote
thedecisiontakenbytheUnitedStates,aspartofthemovetowardsthe
SIsystem,ofunits,.toadopt75centilitresforspiritsratherthan70
centilitres .Thisistobecompulsorily appliedintheUnitedStatesover
thenextfewyears.
Inviewofthismarkettrenditwasdifficulttoabolishthe75clnominal
volumeinfavourof.70cl.Itwasevenlessrationaltoallowthetwo
valuestoremainonthemarketindefinitely asthiswouldperpetuatethe
existingconfusion.Itwouldalsohavebeenverycomplicatedtotrytomake
adistinction betweenproductssoldin75clamountsandthosein70cl
amountsbecausethenominalvolumesgenerallyputonthemarketat
presentreflectlocalhabitswhichmayvaryfromoneMemberStateto
anotherforverysimilarproducts.Moreover,allspiritsaredirectly
competitive withoneanotheranditwouldnotseemlogicaltoseparate
themarbitrarily intotwocategories.■
Hereagain,theCommissionhasproposedthat75centilitres shouldbe
thenominalvolumefinallyadoptedalthoughproductsputupin70centilitres
shouldnevertheless ,havethebenefitofalongtransitional periodinorder
thatproducersshouldnotbetakenunawaresbythesuddendisappearance of
apopularlyemployedquantity.
Theevidenceisthatthisoptioncorrespondstothegeneraltrendin
international tradeandthatanyotherdecisionwouldhaveengendered
seriousdifficulties forEuropeanproducersofproductsputupin70
centilitres,whowouldhavefoundthemselvesatvariancewiththerest
oftheworld.
Finally,almostallthegovernmentexpertsregrettedtheCouncildecision
takenin1974duringtheclosingstagesoftheworkonthisproposal,
topermitmineralwatersandnon-alcoholic beveragestobeputupinvalues
below20or25centilitres.Intheiropinion,thisproliferation ofquantities
iscontrarytoconsumerinterestsanditwouldbeillogicaltoargueinfavour
oftheirretentionatEuropeanlevel,attheriskofeopardizing oneofthe
mainaimsofthisdirective.

IntheopinionoftnsssexpertsandoftheCommission ,,-ifaMemberState
wishedtomaintainthesevaluesonitsterritory,forreasonsofnational
interestorbecauseofconsumerpreferences,theoptionalnatureofthe
directivewouldenableitsotodo.As'intheprecedingcases,however,
aperiodoftransition wouldhavetobearrangedinordertoenablestocks
ofbottles -tobedisposedofandtocoverdepreciation ofthebottle
fillingplant.
Thusgenerallyspeaking,,thedirectivedoesnotaltertheprinciples
adoptedbytheCouncilin1974ssregardspacking(The"average 1''
principle,tolerablenegativeerror)andchecking(statistical checking)
asdescribedinAnnexesIandIItoDirective 7S/1C6/EECbutrather
reducesthenumberofnominalvolumeswhichsnsynotberefusedwithin
trieCoiftxun "!ty»
Asinthecaseoftheprecedingdirective ,-theCof.-ivpssioasoughtthe
ofthemostauthoritative scurcsswhenpreparirigtheneulegistation,it
consultedmostoftheindustries concernedthroughtheEuropeantrade
associations,committeesorgroups.TheCommissiondepartmentsresponsible
forconsumerprotection werecloselyassociatedwithfhework,aswere
thevariousbodies'which;represeotconsumerinterests.
Inviewoftheimportanceoftheproductsconcerned,thenumberof
prepackages coveredbythedirective,amountingtoseveralthousand
millionsofbottles,thecustomsandpracticesofproducers,tradersand
consumers,itisclearthatthisdirectivedidnotsecuretheunanimous
agreementofthepartiesconcerned.
However,alargemajorityagreedinprincipleoneachoftheitems
proposediThisisbecausetheCommissionwhileretainingtheoptional
characterinthisproposalfor.adirective,feltitnecessarytoextend
thetransitional ,periodallowedforinDirective75/106/EECbyafurther
periodtoendin1982.

These transitional periods cover both theprepackages already listed in
column IIofAnnex IIItotheCouncil Directive of1974 andthose which ,
since they aretooclose toother nominal volumes ,should beabolished
by1982 ,this date being extended to1988 insome special cases .
Inthis way,theessential aims ofthis directive -wi11have been achieved .
without anymajor upheavals being caused intheindustries concerned .
While aware of what isbeing demanded ofthem ,theCommission feels
.that this directive should afford knowledge ofthemarket which will ,benefit
both producers and consumers .
Thereduction innominal volumes asrequired bytheCounci I,,should help
toreduce production costs' and should facilitate the consumers' choice of
products offered onthe market .
**************

PROPOSAL FOR ACOUNCIL' DIRECTIVE
s -
amending Directive 75/106/EEC
ontheapproximation ofthe Laws oftheMember States
relating totheMAKING-UP BYVOLUME OFCERTAIN PREPACKAGED LIQUIDS
(presented bytheCommission tothe Council )
THE COUNCIL OFTHE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard totheTreaty establishing theEuropean Economic Community ,
and inparticular Article 100thereof ,
Having regard totheproposal from theCommission ,
1Having regard totheopinion oftheEuropean Parliament ,
2Having regard totheopinion ofthe Economic andSocial Committee ,
Whereas the field ofapplication ofCouncil Directive 76/211/EECof
20January 1976 ontheapproximation ofthe laws oftheMember States
relating tothemaking-up byweight orbyvolume ofcertain prepackaged
productQ^is different fromthatofCouncil Directive 75/106/EECof .
19December 1974 ontheapproximation ofthe laws oftheMember States
relating tothemaking-up byvolume ofcertain prepackaged liquids ;(4)
Whereas ,therefore ,thefield ofapplication ofthetwoDirectives should
bealigned asregards thevolumes oftheprepackages towhich they
relate ;
*
*0JN° 'C
240JN°C
3,OJN®L46,21.2.1976 ,p.1.
4.OJ L42,15.2.1975 ,p.l .

WhereasatthetimeoftheadoptionofDirective 75/106/EEConthemaking-up
byvolumeofcertainprepackaged LiquidstheCouncil,withaviewtoproviding
betterprotection fortheconsumer,requestedtheCommission topresentbefore
31December 1980anewproposalreducingthelistofnominalvolumesin
AnnexIIIbyeliminating valuesthatweretooclosetooneanother;
WhereasCouncilDirective 71/354/EECof18October 1971relating tothe
approximation ofthelawsoftheMemberStatesonunitsofmeasurement (5)has
beenamended byCouncilDirective 76/770/EECof27July1976(6);
WhereaspursuanttoArticle7(2)oftheCouncilDirective of19December 1974
Belgium,Ireland,theNetherlands andtheUnitedKingdomhavefiveyears
inwhichtoimplement thatDirective andwhereasthisDirective should
therefore takeaccountofthattime-factor ;
WhereascertainMemberStateswillfinditdifficulttoreducethenumber
ofnominalvolumes;whereas,therefore,provision shouldbemadefora
transitional periodfortheseMemberStateswhichdoesnot,however,impede
intra-Community tradeinthe.productsinquestionorjeopardizeimplementation
ofthisDirective intheotherMemberStates,
HASADOPTED THISDIRECTIVE :
Article 1
Article 1ofDirective 75/106/EECisreplacedbythefollowingtext:
"Article 1
ThisDirectiverelatestoprepackages containing theliquidproducts
listed'inAnnexIIImeasuredbyvolumeforthepurposeofsaleinindividual
quantitiesofbetween0.05litreand10litresinclusive."
(5)OJNo.(seep#j)
(6)OJN°

Article 2
AnnexIIItoDirective 75/106/EECisreplaced bytheAnnexto
thisDirective .
Article 3
1.Article 4(3)ofDirective 75/106/EECisreplaced bythefollowing
text:
"3.UntiltheexpiryoftheperiodslaiddowninCouncilDirective
71/354/EECof18October 1971ontheapproximation ofthelawsof
1theMember .Statesrelating tounitsofmeasurement .,aslastamended
byCouncilDirective 76/770/EECof27July19762,theindicationof
thenominal volumeexpressed inSIunitsofmeasurement inaccordance
withsubsection 3.1.ofAnnexItothisDirective shall,ifthe
UnitedKingdomorIreland sodesire,andontheirnationalterritories
beaccompanied byanindication ofthenominal ,volumeexpressed .
intheequivalent imperialunitsofmeasurement ,iftheyaregiven
inAnnexItothisDirective ."
2.The'"second paragraph ofsubsection 3.1.ofAnnexItoDirective 75/106/EEC
is replaced bythefollowing text:
"UntiltheexpiryoftheperiodslaiddowninCouncilDirective
71/354/EECof18October 1971,aslastamended byCouncilDirective
76/770/EECof27July1976,theindication ofthenominal volume
ofthecontents expressed inSIunitsinaccordance withthe
preceding paragraph maybeaccompanied bythatoftheequivalent
valueinimperial (UK)unitsofmeasurement ,calculated onthe
basisofthefollowing ,conversion factors :
onemillilitre=0.0352fluidounces
onelitre =1.760pintsor0.220gallons."
0JN°L243,29.10.1971,' p29
20JN°L262,27.09.1976,p204

Article 4
Article 5ofDirective 75/106/EEC isreplaced bythe following text :
'Article 5
1.Member •States maynotrefuse ,prohibit orrestrict theplacing onthe
market ofprepackages which satisfy therequirements andtests laid
down inthis Directive forreasons concerning thevolume ofthecontents ,
thedetermination ofsuch volume orthe methods bywhich ithas
been checked .
2.However :
a)with respect toprepackages with thenominal volumes listed in
Anne x:III,column II,thefirst paragraph ofthis Article shall
apply only tothose countries which allowed such prepackages on
31December 1973 and only until 31December 19^0 ,with theexception
ofthe 'volumes specified inSection 8(a),forwhich this period
isextended until 31December 1988 .
b)forprepackages with thenominal volumes listed inAnnex III,
column III,the first paragraph ofthis Article shall apply only
tothose countries which allowed such prepackages on31December 1973 and -
only' until 31December 1982 ,with theexception ofthevolumes specified in
Section 8<a),foruntil this period isextended until 31December 1988 .
c)with respect tothe liquids specified inSections 1(a),1(b)and
4ofAnnex III, paragraph 1ofthis Article shall apply only
when such liquids arepresented inpackages having oneofthe
nominal volumes listed ihthe corresponding columns ofthat Annex '
,andcomplying with the ;rules ortrade practices oftheMember
'State oforigin ofthe liquid ,regardless ofwhether filling took
place intheMember State oforigin orinanother State ."

Article 5
1.Member States shall adopt andpublish before 1January 1981 the laws ,
regulations andadministrative provisions needed tocomply with this Directive and
these shall enter into force on 1January 1981 .
2.However ,ifBelgium ,Ireland ,theNetherlands ortheUnited Kingdom
implement theprovisions ofCouncil Directive 7.5/106/EECof19December 1974
after thedate fixed inthepreceding paragraph ,theprovisions ofthis
■Directive shall take effect atthe same time asthose provisions .
3.Following notification ofthis Directive ,Member States shall ensure that
theCommission -isinformed ,ingood time for ittopresent its
comments ,ofany laws ,regulations oradministrative provisions that they
propose toadopt inthe field covered bytheDirective .
Article 6
This Directive isaddressed tothe Member States .
*********

ANNEX
Nominal volumeofcontents inlitres
LiquidsI
definitively *
allowedII
teaporari ly
allowedIII
temporari ly
allowed
1.a)Wineoffresh
grapes;grapemust
withfermentation
arrested bythe
addition of
alcohol (CCT
subheading
22.05C)except
forliqueur wines0.10 .
0.375
0.75
1.5
5-0.25
-0.50-
-1
-20.20
0.475
0.68
0.95
1.88-0.36
-0.60
-0.72
-1.750.35-0.70
j
b).Otherfermented
non-spark ling'
beverages (for
example,
cider,perryand
mead)(CCT
subheading "
22.07BII)0.10
0.375
0.75
1.5
5-0.25
-0.50
-1
-2
éI0.20
0.36-0.33
-0.720.35-0.70
c)Vermouths and'
otherflavoured
wipesoffresh
grapes(CCT
heading
n°22.06);
liqueur wines
(CCTsubheading
22.05 C).0.05
0.375
0.75
1.5-0.10
-0.50
-1•Ό.20
0.36
0.70-0.35
-0.68
-0.72
I
2.a)-Sparkling wines
(CCTsubheading
22.05A)
-Otherwines0.10
0.375
1.5-0.20
-0.75
-30.57-0.77 0.125
bottled under
pressure (CCT
subheading
22.05 B)
b)Otherfermented
sparkling
beverages (for
example,
cider,p£rryand
mead)(CCT
subheading
22.07B1)0.10
Ό.375
1
3-0.20
-0.75
-1.50.57
ι-0.77 0.125

Annex~page2
V
NcmïnaLvolumeofcontents inLitres
iLiquids I ï II
definitively .temporan ly temporarily!_laIlowedallowed jallowed
3„Beermadefrommaltj0.25-0.33-0.18(incans
(CCTheading I0.50-0.75-only)-0.20«
N°22.03) 1-2-3- 0.30 '-G.35
4-5 (incansonly)
0.45-0.66-
3.8
-acidbeers. 0.375
gueuze
4,Spirituous 0.05-0.10-0.25-0.36-0.35-0.701
beverages (CCT I0.20-0.375-0.60-0.72
subheading I0.50-0.75-
22.09 C) 1-1.5 ,-
2-2.5-!
35
"J
J5.Vinegarand *.I0.25-0.50-■0.35-0.70-1
substitutes for 0.75-1 1.5-2.5
vinegar (CCT |2-5
IheadingN°22.10)
6.EdibleoiIs(CCT 0.10-Q.25-0.375-0.625-
subheadings 0=50-1 0.75-1.5-
j15.07Aand 2-3 2.5
15.07 DII) 5
ι
î7.MiIkandmiIk- 0.10-0.25-0.22-0.33-•χ–––––––
I0.20
basedbeverages 0.50-0.75»O.oO
soldbyvolume 1-2i
!
(CCTheading 3-4
n°04.01
\excluding yoghurt
•1andképhir,CCT \
subheading \
22.02 B) I
!
,f -,-M,

Annex-page3
Nominalvolumeofcontentsinlitres
LiquidsI III
definitively temporarilytemporarily I
aIlowed.allowed allowed
8.a)Waters,inclu-0.125"0.25-0.35-0.45-allvolumes
dingspawaters 0.33"0.50-0.47-0.90-below I
andaerated 0.75-10.94. 0.20-0.20-
waters(CCT 1.5"2 0.70
headingn°.22.01)
b)Lemonade,fla-0.125"0.25~0.35-0.45"-allvolumes
vouredspa 0.33"0.50"0.47-0.60-below0.20-
watersand 0.75"10.90-0.94 0.20~0.70
flavoured 1.5"2
aeratedwaters ■3-4
andothernon-5
aIcoholic
beverages
contamina
neithermiIknor
miIkfats,
excludingfruit
andvegetable Ί
juices(CCT
subheading
22.02A) ! "*
9.Non-concentrated 0.125-0.25-0.18-0.35-allvolumes
fruitjuicesand 0.33-0.50r(incansonly) jbelow0.125-
vegetablejuices.0.75-1i0.20-0.70
whetherornot 1.5-2I ]
I I
containingadded 3-4
sugar,butunfer-5
mentedandnotι
ι
!contaimngspiritι
(CCTsubheading!
i
n°20.07)
ι