WRITTEN QUESTION E-0287/04 by Caroline Lucas (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Mislabelling of seal oil in the EU.
Date: 2004-02-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: animal oil, consumer information, foodstuffs legislation, labelling, product designation, seal

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/193

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(25 February 2004)

The investigations referred to in the Commission’s reply to written question P-3451/01 by Mr Bouwman
have been completed. The Italian authorities confirmed that, apart from the aid from the European Social
Fund (ESF) as part of the 1997-1998 Single programming document (SPD) for vocational training, to
which the reply to Mr Bouwman’s written question already refers, no State aid had been granted to
Wärtsilä and no agreement had been concluded with the company on its acquisition of the company
Grandi Motori di Trieste.

(2004/C 84 E/0234)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0287/04

by Caroline Lucas (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(6 February 2004)

Subject: Mislabelling of seal oil in the EU

Is the Commission aware of the fact that many Member States are currently placing on the EU market
products containing oil from Canadian harp and hooded seals and that this oil is mislabelled as ‘marine
oil’, ‘fish oil’ or ‘fat oil’?

Is the Commission aware of the fact that seal oil from Canadian harp and hooded seals is currently used by
some EU industries in several commonly consumed products such as pharmaceuticals, nutritional
supplements for human use, pet food and animal feed using the above-mentioned misleading terms on
their labels?

Given the existing stringent EU legislation on the labelling of products,
in particular of nutritional
supplements, as well as on consumer and health protection, is the Commission going to ensure that these
products do not stay on the EU market with the current misleading label? Furthermore, given that many
European citizens have ethical concerns about Canadian seal hunting, will the Commission ensure that this
seal oil is labelled with the term ‘Canadian Seal oil’ in order to safeguard consumer choice?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(15 March 2004)

General legislation on the labelling of foodstuffs (1) lays down labelling requirements in order to ensure that
consumers have information on the objective characteristics of products, such as the name under which
the product is sold, the ingredients, the quantity or durability.

With regard to the designation of ingredients on labels, Directive 2000/13/EC provides that ingredients
must be referred to by their specific name. Refined oils, however, may be included in the list of ingredients
under the category name ‘oil’, followed either by an indication of the type, i.e. ‘vegetable’ or ‘animal’, or by
an indication of the specific animal or vegetable origin.

In line with these provisions, the ingredient ‘seal oil’ must be referred to by the terms ‘animal oil’ or ‘seal
oil’.

The designations mentioned by the Honourable Member therefore do not comply with these provisions,
and it is up to the national monitoring authorities to take measures to rectify the situation. Member States
have in any case been reminded of these points.

C 84 E/194

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

Allowing for exceptions, it is compulsory to indicate the origin or provenance of foodstuffs only where
failure to give such particulars might mislead the consumer to a material degree as to the true origin or
provenance of the foodstuff.

(1) Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the approximation of the laws of the
Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs, OJ L 109, 6.5.2000 Directive last
amended by Directive 2003/89/EC, OJ L 301, 25.11.2003.

(2004/C 84 E/0235)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0294/04

by Herman Vermeer (ELDR) to the Commission

(2 February 2004)

Subject: Disclosure of the rate structure for the Central European Pipeline System

Is the Commission aware of the existence of the Central European Pipeline System (CEPS)? The system was
built up by the NATO allies between 1950 and 1989, during the Cold War, in order to transport fuel
during wartime. This military infrastructure is now being used on a commercial basis to cover a
proportion of the maintenance costs. The rates charged by NATO are anything but transparent for the
system’s various customers, however. Does the Commission believe that the CEPS’ maintenance costs
ought to be disclosed and linked to a transparent transport rating structure? In the final analysis, this
system is offering a service on the European internal transport market, and its rivals would willingly take a
look at the rates applied on the European transport market by what is a transport system funded by public
monies. Would the Commission be willing to make arrangements with NATO’s logistics arm in the near
future in order to establish a transparent system of rates? I myself would advocate a system of annual
reporting of the CEPS’ maintenance costs, with a minimum and a maximum rate to cover as large a
proportion of them as possible. In addition, not all routes within the system are equally commercially
attractive. Are the maintenance costs for those routes also charged for, however?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(4 March 2004)

The Commission is aware of the existence of the NATO Pipeline System (NPS). It consists of nine separate
military storage and distribution systems for fuels and lubricants. The largest of these networks, the Central
European Pipeline System (CEPS) covers Belgium, Germany, France, Luxemburg and the Netherlands.
The system links storage deposits, air bases, civil airports, pumping stations and entry points. It is designed
to ensure that NATO’s requirements for petroleum products and their distribution can be met at all times.
According to NATO figures, CEPS represents some 2 to 3 % of petroleum products transported in these
Member States.

The system serves primarily military purposes but is open in part to commercial transactions as well.
The tariffs are published as in France or negotiated on a case by case basis under the supervision of a
committee where all members of the system are represented.

There is no specific Community legislation regarding tariffs and third party access to oil pipelines.
The Commission does, therefore, not intend to enter into negotiations with NATO as an international
organisation in order to establish such rules for this specific case.

(2004/C 84 E/0236)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0295/04

by Proinsias De Rossa (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: Age discrimination in the provision of goods and services

(6 February 2004)

Employment Framework Directive 2000/78/EC (1) (due to have been transposed into Member State law,
2 December 2003) confirms that the European Union has committed itself to the fight against age