1. 10. 79 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 247/17 
Having regard to the report submitted by the rapporteur, 
Mrs Strobel, 
Having regard to the discussions at its 170th plenary 
session held on 17 and 18 July (meeting of 17 July 
1979), 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
unanimously: 
1. General comments 
1.1. The Committee has noted the results of the 
survey carried out by the Commission into the specific 
conditions of hygiene under which the process which 
complies with the conditions laid down in points 28 (a) 
and (b) of Chapter V of Annex 1 to Directive 
71/118/EEC may be applied to carcasses which are 
neither immediately frozen nor deep-frozen: it was found 
that when stored at 2°C there were no significant 
differences in keeping qualities or from the 
microbiological point of view between poultry carcasses 
chilled by the immersion process and those chilled by air. 
1.2. The Committee would, however, point out that 
all the existing regulations at national level and the draft Community Regulation on marketing standards mention 
a temperature of 4°C for fresh poultrymeat. The 
Committee, therefore, concludes that the survey 
conclusions would be unaffected by current practice in 
the trade. 
1.3. The Committee approves the Commission's 
proposal, subject to the inclusion in the Directive of a 
provision that the chilling process used has to be clearly 
indicated (i.e. 'chilled by air' or 'chilled by immersion in 
water'). 
1.4. In so far as Regulation (EEC) No 2967/76 does 
not lay down a maximum extraneous water content for 
fresh poultrymeat chilled by immersion in water, the 
Committee would like to see this fixed in this Directive. 
Furthermore, the consumer should be adequately 
informed of the true extraneous water content of such 
poultrymeat. 
1.5. These provisions are necessary in the interests 
both of competition in the poultry industry and to 
provide consumers with a guide as to the quality of the 
products. 
1.6. The Committee wonders whether the prescribed 
scalding temperature ceiling of 54 °C is necessary from a 
hygienic point of view and meaningful from a 
technological point of view. 
Done at Brussels, 17 July 1979. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Raffaele VANNI 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Decision adopting a second multiannual research and 
development programme for the European Economic Community in the field of textiles and 
clothing 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the European 
Communities No C 111 of 4 May 1979, page 2. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 18 April 1979 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the Economic and 
Social Committee in accordance with Article 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 170th 
plenary session held in Brussels on 17 and 18 July 1979. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
No C 247/18 Official Journal of the European Communities 1. 10. 79 
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 request made by the Council of the 
European Communities on 18 April 1979 for an 
opinion, 
Having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 
21 May 1979 instructing the Section for Industry, 
Commerce, Crafts and Services to draw up an opinion 
and a report on the matter, 
Having regard to its opinion of 28 November 1974 on 
the proposal for a Council Decision establishing a 
programme of technological research in the textile 
sector (1), 
Having regard to the opinion issued by the Section for 
Industry, Commerce, Crafts and Services at its meeting 
held on 4 July 1979, 
Having regard to the oral report submitted by the 
rapporteur, Mr Staratzke, 
Having regard to the discussions at its 170th plenary 
session held on 17 and 18 July 1979 (meeting of 17 July 
1979), 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
unanimously: 
The Committee approves the proposal for a Decision. It 
would however make the following comments: 
1. General comments 
1.1. The textile industry is of considerable importance 
to the economy of the Community; 10% of industrial 
workers in the Community are employed in the textile 
industry which also accounts for about 8 % of the added 
value deriving from manufacturing industries in the 
Community. 
1.2. The textile and clothing industries are 
concentrated to a high degree in particular areas which 
frequently have a relatively weak economic structure. 
This concentration often leads to situations in which 
areas are dependent on a single industry. Another point 
which is noticeable is the high percentage of women 
workers in the textile and clothing industries. 
1.3. The textile and clothing industries in the 
Community have been going through a period of 
adjustment for some time. This adjustment is necessary 
because of the severe international competition from 
(!) OJ No C 16, 23. 1. 1975, p. 10. countries in which products may be manufactured with 
extremely low labour costs. The European Community 
textile and clothing industries must use all the means at 
their disposal to increase production and thereby raise 
productivity in order to safeguard production and jobs. 
1.4. The productive capacity and therefore the 
competitiveness of the textile industry depends to a 
decisive degree on continuous technical progress and the 
rapid and thorough utilization of these developments 
in the manufacturing processes. The necessary 
encouragement will have to come, in particular, from the 
research and development sector. 
1.5. In view of the fact that European Community 
textile and clothing-manufacturing plants are 
predominantly of a small or medium size, textile research 
at Community level has emerged. The promotion of 
research at European Community level, taking into 
account existing links, will help bring about increased 
productive capacity and improved competitiveness in the 
textile and clothing industries, thereby having a 
beneficial effect on the whole economy of the 
Community. 
1.6. The practically-orientated second research and 
development programme is a follow-up to the first 
research and development programme which came to an 
end on 30 November 1978 and was also practically 
orientated. 
2. Specific comments 
2.1. The following comments may be made on the 
research and development programme set out in the 
Commission's proposal: 
2.1.1. The individual research projects set out in the 
proposed programme were determined after 
consultations with representatives of the European 
Community textile and clothing industries and research 
workers from the textile research institutes taking part in 
the programme. 
2.1.2. The Commission's proposal was submitted for 
discussion at Community level in a symposium on 
16 March 1978 in the presence of representatives of the 
European Community Commission responsible for this 
field. The contributions made by the representatives of 
industry, science and the Commission to the individual 
projects in the proposed programme were discussed and 
taken into consideration in the drafting of the final 
version of the proposal. The Commission's proposal was 
also discussed in talks with the Consumers' Consultative 
Committee on the General Guidelines for a Textiles and 
Clothing Industry Policy. 
2.1.3. In view of the fact that the proposed 
programme has been the subject of careful and critical 
consideration, the Committee endorses the selection of 
projects and the proposals for their implementation from 
a scientific, technological, economic and social point of 
view. 
1. 10. 79 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 247/19 
2.1.4. As the research institutes involved in the 
proposed programme are highly qualified, the proposed 
programme should not only lead to improvements in 
productive capacity and guarantee jobs for the workers 
in the industry, but should also benefit consumers in the 
Community by making available better products. The 
results of the research should also help to solve 
environmental problems and bring about a more efficient 
use of energy, raw materials and water. 
2.2. The Committee would point out that the 
proposed programme serves to complement the textile 
research programmes of the Member States but is at the 
same time closely linked to the latter programmes. The 
opportunity should therefore be taken to decentralize 
both in the monitoring of the programme and the 
distribution of the research findings in order to cut down 
on the administrative costs of the programme. 
2.3. The Committee notes that the funds earmarked 
for the management and coordination of the programme 
by the Commission are high in relation to the sums 
earmarked for the actual research work. The 
Commission is asked to examine this matter to see 
whether it would be possible to devote a greater 
proportion of the funds to expenditure on actual 
research work. 2.4. The Committee considers that workers should be 
adequately represented on the proposed management 
council. 
3. To sum up, the Committee approves the 
Commission's proposal, notwithstanding the 
aforementioned comments, for the following reasons: 
— the programme represents a specific attempt to 
achieve industrial cooperation at Community level in 
an important economic sector, 
— it is a programme which conforms with the 
Community's industrial policy for the sector and will 
not distort competition since the results of the 
research programme will be available to all firms in 
the participating countries, 
— close cooperation between the research institutes in 
the individual Member States will lead to a saving of 
resources, 
— the programme should make a real contribution 
towards carrying out adjustments in the textile and 
clothing industries and bringing about job security, 
consumer protection, protection of the environment 
and more efficient use of energy, raw materials and 
water. 
Done at Brussels, 17 July 1979. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Raffaele VANNI 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the 
Member States relating to noise emitted by lawn mowers 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the European 
Communities No C 86 of 2 April 1979, page 9. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 5 January 1979 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the Economic and 
Social Committee in accordance with Article 100 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 
170th plenary session held in Brussels on 17 and 18 July 1979. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: