No C 105/26 Official Journal of the European Communities 26. 4. 79 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 75/726/EEC on the 
approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning fruit juices and certain similar 
products 
(Doc. COM(78) 332 final) 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the European 
Communities No C 184 of 2 August 1978, page 5. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 2 August 1978 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the Economic and 
Social Committee in accordance with Articles 47 and 198 of the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 163rd 
plenary session held in Brussels on 29,, and 30 November 1978. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Articles 47 and 
198 thereof, 
Having regard to the request made by the Council of the 
European Communities on 2 August 1978 for an 
opinion, 
Having regard to the decision taken by its chairman on 
21 November 1978 to invoke Article 46 of the Rules 
of Procedure and appoint Mr De Grave as 
rapporteur-general responsible for preparing an opinion 
on the matter, 
Having regard to the oral report submitted by the 
rapporteur-general, Mr De Grave, 
Having regard to the discussions at its 163 rd plenary 
session held on 29 and 30 November 1978 (meeting of 
31 November), 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
by 53 votes to nil with 10 abstentions: 1. Subject to the comments made below the 
Committee approves the proposed Directive. 
1.1. Article 1 (2) (waiver allowing the United 
Kingdom to add lactic acid to the products in 
question) 
The Committee wonders whether the waiver should not 
apply only to the 1-isomer, which is much less toxic than 
the d-isomer, especially for children. It would point out 
that the Directive already makes this distinction with 
respect to both ascorbic and malic acid. 
1.2. Article 1 (3) (date Directive comes into force) 
Instead of allowing a general postponement of Directive 
75/726/EEC the Committee thinks that the amending 
Directive should permit a postponement only in those 
Member States that have not been able to incorporate the 
Directive into their national laws in good time. The 
Committee would not like delays in certain Member 
States to hold up the adoption of new provisions in the 
other, especially as the Directive is more than three years 
old. 
2. At times the provisions of Directive 75/726/EEC 
applying to fruit juices and nectars are very exact. The 
Directive states, for instance, that the fruit juice content 
26. 4. 79 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 105/27 
of nectars must be printed on the label 'in immediate 
proximity to the description' and must be at least 25 to 
50% depending on the fruit involved. It would be 
illogical for drinks that contained less than this amount 
of fruit juice (or none at all) to be subject to national 
provisions that were much less strict than those of the 
Community and thus enabled a confusion to arise 
between such drinks and fruit juices. 
Done at Brussels, 30 November 1978. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 198 
thereof, 
Having regard to the resolution of 22 March 1971 of the 
Council and the representatives of the Governments of 
the Member States concerning the realization, by stages, 
of economic and monetary union in the Community, 
Having regard to the Council Decision of 18 February 
1974 on the attainment of a high degree of convergence 
of the economic policies of the Member States of the 
European Community, 
Having regard to the request made by the Council of the 
European Communities on 31 October 1978 for an 
opinion on the Commission's annual report on the 
economic situation in the Community in 1977, The Committee therefore calls upon the Commission and 
the Council to start work again immediately on 
preparing and adopting the Directive on refreshing 
non-alcoholic drinks. 
It would also like the Commission to get to work on 
finding a lasting solution to the problem of bringing 
tomato juice once again within the scope of the Directive. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Fabrizia BADUEL GLORIOSO 
Having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 
30 May 1978 instructing the Section for Economic and 
Financial Questions to draw up an opinion on the 
Commission's annual report on the economic situation 
in the Community, in anticipation of a Council referral, 
Having regard to the verbal report made by the 
rapporteur, Mr Goris, and to the opinion adopted by the 
Section on 22 November 1978, 
Having regard to the discussions at its 163rd plenary 
session held on 29 and 30 November 1978 (meeting of 
30 November), 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
by 35 votes to 27 with 12 abstentions: Opinion on the annual report on the economic situation in the Community in 1978 with an 
Annex dealing with the economic situation in the Federal Republic of Germany 
The text referred to the Committee has not yet been published in the Official Journal of the 
European Communities. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
The Council Decision of 18 February 1974 on the attainment of a high degree of convergence 
of the economic policies of the Member States of the European Economic Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 163rd 
plenary session held in Brussels on 29 and 30 November 1978.