WRITTEN QUESTION E-3483/00 by Heidi Hautala (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Code of conduct on the use of menstrual tampons.
Date: 2000-11-10
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: common commercial policy, competence of the Member States, product safety, toiletries, transgenic plant

22.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 151 E/181

(2001/C 151 E/208)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3480/00

by Rosemarie M(cid:252)ller (PSE) to the Commission

(10 November 2000)

Subject: European Year of Languages (cid:129) deadlines for applications for project subsidies

On 8 September 2000 the (cid:145)Official Journal(cid:146) published details of the programme for the European Year of
Languages. Applications for subsidies for projects scheduled before 30 June 2001 had to be submitted by
2 October 2000. Fifteen working days remained therefore in which to request the application forms and
necessary information from the national coordinators, complete those forms submit them on time. Such a
short deadline is unacceptable in my view. Small organisations in particular operating with few and often
voluntary staff are clearly at a disadvantage here. Was the purpose of this short deadline to keep the
number of applications to a minimum? Does the Commission consider such a short deadline acceptable?
How can such short deadlines be explained to members of the public?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(12 December 2000)

The Commission would remind the Honourable Member that the Decision of the Parliament and the
Council on the European Year of Languages was adopted on 17 July 2000 and published in the (cid:145)Official
Journal(cid:146) on 14 September 2000 (1). The proposal for a Decision had been adopted by the Commission on
13 October 1999 (2).

The call for proposals was therefore published as quickly as possible. The Commission plans to fund a
total of 150 projects, and the deadlines set for submission of applications are 2 October 2000 and
15 February 2001.

Although the Commission was aware that the deadline of 2 October 2000 left relatively little time to
prepare projects, it nevertheless had to set this date to allow funding for projects beginning during the first
half of next year. Despite this tight time-frame, the Commission received 250 project proposals.

The Commission would also point out that a second deadline for submission of applications is planned for
15 February 2001 for projects beginning from 1 June 2001.

(1) Decision No 1934/2000/EC (OJ L 232, 14.9.2000).
(2) COM(1999) 485 final.

(2001/C 151 E/209)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3483/00

by Heidi Hautala (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

Subject: Code of conduct on the use of menstrual tampons

(10 November 2000)

In order to minimise the risk of the toxic shock syndrome related to the use of tampons, the European
the Commission should initiate either European
Parliament has on several occasions requested that
legislation or a voluntary code of practice. The original demand, presented by the European Parliament(cid:146)s
Petitions Committee as early as 1996, was reiterated in a resolution in 1999 on the state of health of
women in the European Union.

The European Commission and EDANA concluded a voluntary code of conduct on the use of menstrual
tampons in June 1999. Could the Commission (cid:129) in view of the adopted text and the content of the letter
by the responsible Director-General of 21 December 1999 (cid:129) clarify how the code will be enforced and
controlled? What legal actions are possible in case (non)-EDANA manufacturers and importers bring non-
conform products onto the internal market?

C 151 E/182

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

22.5.2001

Could the Commission explain the reasons that have led it to accept a transitional period of two years for
industry to implement the code which has been in force since 1 January 2000? Could the Commission
clarify whether this voluntary code of conduct also applies to tampons exported to third countries,
including the applicant countries of the European Union? If not, what steps does the Commission intend
to take to protect also women outside the borders of the European Union against toxic shock syndrome?

The main aim of the voluntary code of conduct is to inform and protect women against toxic shock
syndrome. Does the code provide for an obligation on the importer and/or the producer of tampons to
include a warning on the tampon package in case the tampons contain genetically modified cotton? If not,
will the Commission, in the interest of free choice for the consumer and as a precautionary measure, take
an initiative which would make such labelling compulsory?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(22 December 2000)

In response to the risks related to the toxic shock syndrome and the concerns raised by the Parliament, the
Commission has had repeated contacts with the manufacturers of tampons to explore the possibilities for
self-regulatory measures with regard to these problems. As a result,
in June 1999 the European
Disposables And Non-wovens Association (EDANA) adopted a voluntary code of conduct on the use of
menstrual tampons.

Under Council Directive 92/59/EEC of 29 June 1992 on general product safety (1), codes of good practice
form part of the criteria to be used to assess the conformity of a product to the general safety requirement,
in the absence of specific rules. The Commission has therefore presented this code to the Member States,
responsible for the enforcement of this Directive, as a standard for the assessment of safety aspects.

The different types of legal action that are at the disposal of the authorities are regulated in the national
legislation transposing the Directive, but these should be based on the examples given in Article 6 of the
Directive, such as product checking, product sampling, warning, temporary sales prohibition or even
product withdrawal.

The two-year transition period for the implementation of the code of practice is necessary to allow
manufacturers to complete the practical aspects of the Code. They have to start the labelling of the
tampon-packs and also to ensure a total replacement of non-labelled packs by labelled packs before the
end of the period. It is estimated that well over 90 % of all the tampons now sold in the Community fulfill
the requirements of the code.

The Community is not in a position to prescribe the conditions for the placing on the market of products
in third countries, as this is within the competence of these countries. Candidate countries are however
implementing Community legislation and hence the General Product Safety Directive. It is therefore likely
that in the long term the code of practice will also have an effect in those countries.

The issue of tampons containing genetically modified cotton is not related to the toxic shock syndrome
and was therefore not included in the discussions between the Commission and EDANA on the code of
practice. The Commission is aware of the concerns raised and is for the moment assessing the genetically
modified organisms (GMO) related issues in a more general way. Any further measures will have to await
the outcome of this assessment.

(1) OJ L 228, 11.8.1992.