WRITTEN QUESTION E-2101/96 by Jan Mulder (ELDR) to the Commission (26 July 1996)

Subject: Implementation of budget line B1-381 (1995 budget); Commission study of the feasibility of a European quality label for agricultural products

On the initiative of the European Parliament part of the ECU 10 million in budget line B1-381 was allocated for developing a European quality label for agricultural products. Despite repeated requests by Parliament, the services of the Commission have proved unwilling to follow up Parliament's initiative.

In reply to a letter from the Committee on Agriculture, Commissioner Fischler gave an assurance in his letter of 5 October 1995 (reference SG(95)D/12447) that he supported Parliament's initiative.

In his letter Mr Fischler said that the suggestion of an inventory of labels would facilitate the Commission's task by furthering an understanding of practical experience in the Member States. Accordingly, he intended to give a positive response to this suggestion. The idea of looking into the feasibility of establishing a common European quality label for certain products with as many interested parties as possible was something which, he said, should be looked into at once.

Nine months have elapsed and it is still not clear what progress the services of the Commission have made in giving substance to this undertaking. Given that European consumers want more and more information in the wake of the BSE crisis, I should like to ask:

1. What, in general terms, has the Commission done since Mr Fischler made his undertaking on 5 October 1995?

2. What progress has the Commission made in establishing an inventory of the various agricultural quality labels in the Member States?

3. In the light of the BSE crisis, does the Commission intend in the near future to submit a quality label based on comparable standards for all the Member States of the Union? Can the Commission say what progress it has made in establishing this quality label?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (12 September 1996)

As the Honourable Member states, the Commission accepts the need to draw up an inventory of the quality marks existing in the Member States; the idea of a Community label would fall to be considered at a later stage.

The Commission has already given thought to the form the inventory is to take and has decided that it must serve two ends: to provide a detailed survey of the different labelling systems in the Member States and their recent development, and to identify the expectations of those involved in the agri-food business with regard to such systems.

As regards the consumer information aspect to which the Honourable Member rightly attaches importance, particular care will be taken in compiling the inventory to ensure that no confusion arises about the nature of the labels and the standards they incorporate which, with reference to the Honourable Member's query regarding the implications of the BSE crisis for the beef sector, do include production methods.

An invitation to tender for compilation of the inventory, setting out detailed specifications, was published in Official Journal No C 226, 3 August 1996.

The Commission is currently drafting regulations on the identification and registration of cattle and the labelling of beef and beef-based products which it expects to approve shortly for submission to the Council. These would ensure that cattle and their meat were traceable and thus provide a sound basis for presenting beef and beef-based products in a way which will command consumer confidence.