WRITTEN QUESTION No. 361/98 by Mihail PAPAYANNAKIS to the Commission. Cosmetics
Date: 1998-02-24
Institutions: European Parliament, PAPAYANNAKIS
Subjects: EC Directive, application of EU law, cosmetic product, infringement of EU law, infringement procedure (EU), labelling, marketing standard, national implementing measure, packaging, product quality

21. 10. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 323/33

The legal protection of Community citizens in Russia falls under the competence of the Member States with the
assistance of their diplomatic representations in Russia.

On the other hand, the Commission is also concerned with this issue, especially in regard to the legal protection
of Community citizens working in Russia on technical assistance or humanitarian projects, and increasingly in
regard to economic operators.

Thus the Commission has raised the issue of the legal protection of Community nationals working in Russia at
Community  ›  Russia  joint  committee  meetings.  In  addition,  specific  questions  of  security  of  Community
transporters on Russian roads were raised during the Community › Russia trade facts working group in October
1997.

The Commission will continue to raise these issues in the appropriate fora.

(98/C 323/41)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0361/98

by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(24 February 1998)

Subject: Cosmetics

Council directive 76/768/EEC (1) lays down the composition characteristics to which the cosmetic products must
conform and prescribes rules for their labelling and packaging in all Member States.

Council directive 96/45/EEC (2) is concerned with methods of analysis necessary for checking the composition
of cosmetic products.

Can the Commission say how many and which Member States are infringing Council Directive 76/768/EEC and
its amendments and Directive 96/45/EEC and what measures will it take to ensure that the Member States take
the necessary measures to embody within their national law Community legislation concerning cosmetics and to
ensure that they implement the measures correctly?

(1)  OJ L 262, 27.9.1976, p. 169.
(2)  OJ L 213, 22.8.1996, p. 8.

Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1998)

The  rules  on  cosmetic  products  consist  of  a  set  of  texts  comprising  a  basic  Directive  ›  Council  Directive
76/768/EEC  of  27  July  1976  on  the  approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to  cosmetic
products (1) › which has been amended by the Council on six occasions, most recently by Council Directive
93/35/EEC  of  14  June  1993 (2), and clarified by the Commission on 23 occasions, including by Commission
Directive 96/45/EC of 2 July 1996 relating to methods of analysis necessary for checking the composition of
cosmetic products (3).

The Commission ensures that these rules are properly applied at the right time in all the Member States. To this
end it regularly organises visits to the national authorities to check on transpositions. These bilateral meetings are
generally effective and help avert many infringement cases. Nonetheless, several infringement proceedings are
currently under way, usually for failure to transpose directives, but sometimes for improper application of texts.
The procedure laid down in Article 169 of the EC Treaty has been applied in all of these cases.

With regard to Directive 96/45/EC, which had to be transposed by 30 September 1997, infringement proceedings
are under way against six Member States.

(1)  OJ L 262, 27.9.1976.
(2)  OJ L 151, 23.6.1993.
(3)  OJ L 213, 22.8.1996.