No C 303/26 Official Journal of the European Communities 25. 11. 85 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 73/404/EEC on the 
approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to detergents (l) 
(85/C 303/10) 
On 14 June 1985 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 
100 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the abovementioned 
proposal. 
The Section for Industry, Commerce, Crafts and Services was asked to prepare the Committee's 
work on the subject. The Economic and Social Committee then appointed Mr Ramaekers 
Rapporteur-General. 
At its 229th plenary session (meeting of 26 September 1985) the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following opinion unanimously: 
1. The Committee only accepts the Commission 
proposals to extend the derogation period until 31 
December 1990 in so far as they apply to industry. For the 
reasons set out below, it believes that such a derogation is 
not essential in the case of domestic dish-washing 
detergents. Non-ionic surfactants with a low level of 
biodegradability are still being used today in dish-washing 
products as well as in cleaning products for the food, 
beverage and metal-working industries. 
2. The Committee nevertheless regrets that it is 
necessary to prolong the derogation to the biodegradability 
requirements imposed on surfactants. In fact, since 1973 
when the first Directive was issued, little research has been 
brought to commercial utilization due to the low level of 
priority given to the matter by certain Member States. 
3. The Committee considers that an indefinite extension 
of the derogation will only discourage research. It therefore 
feels that this latest derogation must be the last one — and 
this for all Member States of the Community as of 31 
December 1990. 
4. The Committee would point out that the Com­
mission's arguments in favour of an extension of the 
derogation are acceptable in the case of industrial 
applications but less so when it comes to domestic use. 
(!) OJ No C 139, 7. 6. 1985, p. 4. 4.1. This is because substitution compounds are 
supposed to be already available for domestic dish­
washers, where the problem posed by foam is less crucial 
since the water pressure used in connection with domestic 
dish-washers is lower than in the case of industrial dish­
washers. 
4.2. Secondly, the domestic dish-washing detergents 
market is in process of expansion, so insufficiently 
biodegradable detergent effluents will increase if dero­
gations continue to be accepted. 
4.3. Finally, although it is conceivable that the com­
position of industrial detergents can be adjusted to the 
quality of local water, this line of argument seems to be less 
convincing in the case of household detergents. 
4.4. The Committee therefore considers that the 
derogation should no longer be applicable in the case of 
detergents used in domestic dish-washers, though there 
must be some short period of further derogation, say for 
one year, in order to give the industry in certain Member 
States time to adapt. 
5. The Committee assumes that the right to derogate 
will not be abused by Member States, thus jeopardizing the 
Commission's efforts to remove barriers to trade. 
Done at Brussels, 26 September 1985. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Gerd MUHR