ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(75)576
Vol.1975/0218

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(75)576final
Brussels,12november1975
Proposalfora
REGULATION(EEC)OPTHECOUNCIL .
I
amendingRegulation (EEC)n°1411/71inrespectofthefatcontentof
full-cream milk.
(submitted ,totheCouncilbytheCommission)
COK(75)576final.

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
Article2(2;ofCouncilRegulation(EEC)No1411/71of29June1971,
whichsetsupacommonpolicyfortheproductsfallingwithinheading
No04.01oftheCommonCustomsTariff,describestheobjectiveswhich
theCommunityproposestoattain,mainlyTiy:
-fixingcertainCommunityfatlevelsforthedifferentcategoriesef
drinkingmilk;
-layingdowngeneralrulesconcerningthequalityandmarketingof
drinkingmilk.
Thesegeneralrulesproposed "bytheCommissiontotheCouncilon
16September1971andalreadyadaptedtothesituationintheCommunity
ofNinefollowinglongdiscussionsatthedifferentCouncillevels,may'
beconsideredasoneofthemostsuitablemeansofeliminating themany
nationalmeasureswhichstillconstitutebarrierstothefreemovement
ofdrinkingmilk. \
ThesecondindentofArticle3(l)(b)ofthesaidRegulationlaysdowna
minimumfatcontent,whethernaturalorobtainedbytheadditionor
removalofmilkfat,of3.50%fullcreammilkintendedfordirect
consumption.Article6(2)ofthatRegulationauthorizedMemberStates
tomaintainforatransitional periodtheprovisionsconcerningthefat
contentoffullcreammilkapplicablewithintheirterritoriesatthe
dateofentryintoforceoftheRegulation.Thefinaldateoftheperiod
inquestionwasoriginallysetat31December1973,butwaslastdeferred
•until31December1975^7CouncilRegulation(EEC)NO155^/74
18June1974.

-2-
3«Atthediscussionsantheproposalsfirextendingthetransitional
period,theCommissionwasinvitedtoreexaminetheproblemasa
whole.Tothatend,whileexcludingthepossibilityofafurther
defermentefthefinaldate,theCommissionundertookadetailed
studywithaveryopenmind.
AnadhocGroup,madeupefseveralhighlyqualifiedexpertsinvited
inapersonalcapacity,examinedthedifferentsourcesandahuge
volumeefscientificandtechnicaldocumentatien ,andthenprepared
areport.Thetrade,consultedthroughtheAdvisoryCommittee,gave
4*Followingthisdetailedexamination ,theCommissionremainsconvinced
thatthefixingofasingleCommunityfatcontent,whateveritslevel
onthis,(seeparagraph7lselow),would "bethe"bestsolutionfor
achievingthefreemovementoffullcreamdrinkingmilk"betweenMember
States.AlldairiesintheMemberStateswouldthusstandardizetheir
productonthe"basisoftheminimumlevellaiddown,forobvious
reasonsofcompetition.Althoughitmi^itappearverysimpleand
clear,thesystemisnot,however,acceptablewithoutreservations
followingtheentryintoforceoftheAccessionTreaty,sincenew
factorshave "beenintroduced.
Thisappliesinparticulartothedrinkingmilkmarketinmajorregions
©fthenewMemberStates,themainfeaturesofwhichcomprises
-verydifferentconsumerhabitsfromthoseontheContinent,since
onlymilkwithahighfatcontentandwithoutanychangeinits
essentialcompositionisappreciated "bytheconsumer;
-processinganddistribution systemsinwhichthetransparentglass
bottleisessentialforassessingthecreamline,whiledoor-to-door
deliveryearlyeachmorningmaintainsfortheconsumertheimageof
afreshandnaturalproductandguaranteesfairlystable,andeven
increasing,demand.itsreplyon13June1975(RequestforOpinionNo22).
•••/•••

-3-
TheCommission therefore considers that theintroduction into those
regions ofastandardized full cream drinking milk ,wether gradual
orabrupt ,could have anunfavourable effect ondemand ,particularly
inthelong term .Italso entails therisk ofthecreation of
further large stocks of "butter .
5.TheCommission hasconcluded that ,inthepresent situation ,Member
States should beallowed tochoose oneoftwosolutions .Thefirst
isthemarketing offull cream milk with afixed fatcontent ,
obtained bystandardization .
Theother solution isthemarketing ofafull cream milk whose
natural fatcontent would notbealtered bytheaddition orremoval
offat ,orbymixture with milk whose natural fatcontent hasbeen
I
altered . j
Thedesignation "full cream milk "applied tothemilk inquestion
byvirtue ofArticle 3(2)ofRegulation (EEC)No1411/71would be
qualified byaterm which will provide consumers with afair
description .
6.Freedom ofmovement must beaffected asleast aspossible intrade
infull cream milk between Member States which have chosen the
solution ofstandardized full cream milk and those who have chosen
that ofnon-standardized full cream milk .For this purpose ,itis
provided that each dairy maymanufacture full milk aspermitted in
theregion provided foritssale totheconsumer .Inthelight of
experience acquired themarketing conditions forstandardized full
cream milk originating inother Member States inregions ofthe
EECwhere standardization isnotpermitted shall have tobeestablished
atalater moment .

-4-
preventfreedomefmovementfrombeinghindered.Onthebasisof
theinformationsuppliedenseveraloccasions,forEnglandandWales
thelevelinquestionisabout3.5%(a»averageweighted "bythe
monthsinwhichthemilkhasalowerfatcontent)andthiswould
constituteafairsolutionfortheUnitedKingdom.Irelandappears
tohaveobtainedthesameresult*
7»Asregardsthefixingofthefatcontentofstandardizedfullcream
milk,itisamatteroffindingareasonable "balancebetweentwo
fundamental requirements.Ontheonehand,theexistenceofa
Communitysurplusrequiresthatallpossibleoutletsshouldbesought
forthedisposalofbutterfats,includingfullcreammilk.Onthe
otherhand,anymajorincreaseinfatcontentwouldbefollowedbyan
inevitableincreaseintheconsumerprice,and,aboveacertainprice
level,agradualmovetowardssemi-skimmed milk.However,withinthe
rangeoffatcontentoffull-creammilkatissue,theeffectsupon
nutritionalvalue,digestibility ,tasteandaromaareimperceptible ,
•ratleastcompletelyinsignificant .Whatismuchmoreimportantis
theeffectofexternalfactorswhicharelikelytofalsifythe
consumer'sviewoftheseproblems.
8*Havingtakenintoaccountthepresentrangeoffatcontentoffullcream
drinkingmilkintheMemberStates,andhavingcarefullyassessedthe
fairlylimitedeffectofthesedifferences uponconsumerprices,the
Commissionconsidersthatacontentof3.5$isafairsolution.Afat
contentfairlyclosetothatofthenaturalproductcouldthusbe
guaranteed,without,ontheonehand,causingtoogreatanincreasein
butterstocksandwithout,ontheother,jeopardizing demandbyan
excessivepriceincrease.
9*Forthereasonssetoutabove,inordertosetupaCommunitypolicy
whichwillencouragedemandfordrinkingmilkand
freedomofmovement,theCommissionconsidersitnecessarytoinvite
theCounciltoadopttheattachedregulation.
Forthesamereasons,italsourgestheCounciltoadoptatthesame
timetheregulationproposedtotheCouncilon16September1971
containinggeneralrulesrelatingtothequalityandmarketingof
drinkingmilk.

?; Proposalfora
HECKJLÍTI05(EBC)No./7507THSCO02TCIL
of
mmsMnsEsgulatisn(EEC)He1411/71inrespectofthefatcontentef
fttll-crasaBilk
f^3COUNCILOP&BEDHOPEASCCMUMTIES,
Esri»£regardtothe?r«atyestablishingtheEuropeanEceneaioCesmranity,
CS&lapsrfJietsl&rArliclos42and43thoresfj
,KSMt&g'rag&rdt®ih®proposalfr©atheCcBaiesion|
W®rt&&Bd@®pdtotheOpinioneftheEuropeanParliamentj
t^&vsasaccordingtothesecondindentofArticla3(1)("b)endArticle6(l)
*efC^aacillagolfttien(ESC)Ho141l/7^of291971layingdownadditional
raids©atb#es®xsaerggaisationofthemarkatinsilkandsilkpreducts
p2-e£aei«fallingwithintariffheadingHo04*01faalastasendodty
Ea^alatisn(ESC)So1556/74^tonlymilkwithafatoentent«fatleast
)«5$shallVasoldintheCossanityasfallcroostdrinkingBilkjwhereas
«-'
gas*®as23ttoArticle6(2)ofthatRegulationKoaVarStatesosyaaintain
tz&til31Be©Maker1975thoprovisionsapplicablewithintheirterritories
Ctt&edateofentryintoforesofthesaidregulation f
1&*reascsrisinnewtEssberStateshaveencountereddifficalties in
Introducing ontheirterritoriesprovisionslaiddownbeforetheiraccession
t*tkeCesss&itysinceprocessinganddistribution aethedsaredifferent
tadoe&fftsaersareunaccustomed tothepurchaseofstandardisedfalloreaa
tilk|whereasthesystemappliedintheseoeuntriosonthewholeensures
t&atthefatcontenteffalloreaaBilksoldtoconetoaersisequaltothat
leiddotma&dev&nexceedsitt
II)OJë»L143of3»7.1971,p.4(g)ÖJBeL167«f22.6.1974,P.3
•••/•••

-2-
whereas ,therefore ,theprovisions designed fortheCommunity asa
whole should not "beimposed ontheMember States inquestion aslong
astrade "between Member States isasleast aspossible impeded ;
whereas thesystem established should bereviewed ,within acertain time–limit ,
particularly with aview toestablish theconditions under which standardized milk
originating from other Member States maybemarketed ontheterritory oftheMember
States having chosen thesolution ofnon-standardized full cream milk ;
HASADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
Article 1
With effect from 1January 1976 ,thesecond indent ofArticle 3(l)(b )of
Regulation (EEC)No1411/71isreplaced bythefollowing :
"full-cream milk !milk which hasbeen subject toatleast oneheat
treatment oraaauthorized treatment ofequivalent effect byamilk
processor ,andwith respect tefatcontent meets oneofthefollowing
requirements : !"
Standardized full cream milk :
Milk with afatcontent ofatleast 3»5<$ *
Non-standardized full cream milk :
Milk with afatcontent that hasnotbeen altered since themilking stage neither
"bytheaddition orseparation ofmilk fats nor bymixture with milk
thenatural fat content ofwhich has been altered ."
Article 2
With effect from 1January 197& »paragraph 4ofArticle 3ofRegulation
(EEC)No1411/71isreplaced bythefollowing paragraphs 4to71
"4*Notwithstanding theprovisions ofthesecond indent ofparagraph l(b)
with regard tothefatcontent laid down fornon-standardized full cream
milk ,ifthefatcontent laid down fordrinking milk isnotpresent
naturally ,itmaybeobtained only byadding orseparating milk orcream
orbyadding skimmed orsemi-skimmed milk .Noother alteration inthe
composition ofdrinking milk shall beauthorized *
•••/•••

-3-
5»With regard ,tofull cream milk ,Member States shall apply ontheir territories
taking effeot from 1January I976 oneofthetwofermular setforth
inthesecond indent -ofparagraph 1(b).They shall inform theCommission
oftheformula selected forapplication intheir territory "before that
date •
6.AMember State that opts fortheformula ofnon-standardized
full cream milk shall notprohibit ,without prejudice torequirements for
theprotection ofpublic health :
/
(a;thepreparation onits territory ofstandardized full cream milk for
sale ontheterritory ofanother Member State that hasopted forthat
formula ; /
(b)themarketing onits territory ofnonstandardized full cream milk
originating from another Member State that complies with theconditions
illquestion setforth inthesecond indent ofparagraph l(b);
7.Before 1January 19?8 »theCommission shall report totheEuropean Parliament
andtheCouncil ontheconditions ofapplication ofparagraphs 5and 6above
andpropose inparticular theconditions under which ,from 1January 178 ,the
standardized milk originating from other Member States maybemarketed onthe
territory oftheMember States specified inparagraph 6."
Article 3
With effect from 1January 1976 ,inArticle 6©fRegulation (EEC)No1411/71*
-theprovisions setforth inparagraph 2isdeleted andthepresent paragraph la
"becomes paragraph 2}
-thewords "full cream milk "wherever they appear inparagraph 3arereplaced
bythewords "standardized full cream milk ".
•••/•••

-4-
Article 4
This Regulation shall enter into force onthethird ,dayfollowing
itspublication intheOffioial Journal oftheEuropean Communities .
This Regulation shali bebinding initsentirety anddirectly
applicable inallMember States .
Done atBrussels , FortheCouncil ,
\