Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ' Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive amending for the eighth time Council Directive 67/548/EEC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances'
Date: 1996-02-28
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: approximation of laws, classification, dangerous substance, labelling, packaging













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51996AC0244

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ' Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive amending for the eighth time Council Directive 67/548/EEC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances'  


Official Journal C 153 , 28/05/1996 P. 0001 





Opinion of the Economic and Social  Committee on the 'Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive amending for the eighth  time Council Directive 67/548/EEC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative  provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances'(96/C  153/01)On 1 February 1996, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social  Committee, under Article 100a of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the  above-mentioned proposal. The Committee asked the Section for Protection of the Environment, Public Health and Consumer  Affairs to prepare the ground on this issue. As work progressed, the Economic and Social Committee  appointed Mr Pricolo as Rapporteur-General (Rules 20 and 50 of the Rules of Procedure). At its 333rd Plenary Session on 28 February, the Economic and Social Committe unanimously adopted  the following Opinion. 1. Introduction1.1. The Commission proposal seeks to bring the outdated terminology used  in certain provisions of Directive 67/548 on the packaging and labelling of dangerous substances  into line with that found in the Treaty on European Union. 1.2. Basically, this means replacing the abbreviations 'CEE' and 'EEC', which still feature in the  said Directive, by 'CE' and 'EC', in line with Article G of the Treaty on European Union. 1.3. The Treaty of Maastricht of course no longer uses the expressions'European Economic  Communities', preferring the term 'European Community', used in the singular to make it clear that  the three original Communities - the European Economic Community (EEC), the European Coal and Steel  Community (ECSC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC) - have merged to form one single  institution, the European Community (EC). 2. Comments2.1. The Committee believes that, while this may appear to be a mere formal or token  Commission proposal regarding terminology, there are also compelling legal reasons behind it. 2.2. However, the Committee feels the Commission has dragged its feet on this issue, given that the  Treaty of Maastricht was signed as far back as 7 February 1992. 2.3. The Committe, while backing the plan to give operators a maximum of five years during which  they may continue to use the old 'EEC' label, therefore recommends that the Commission provide  adequate information services to optimize the pace of change-over and enhance understanding of the  objective. Done at Brussels, 28 February 1996. The Presidentof the Economic and Social CommitteeCarlos FERRER