2006/255/EC: Commission Decision of  14 March 2006  concerning national provisions imposing on supermarkets an obligation to place genetically modified foods on separate shelves from non-genetically modified foods, notified by Cyprus pursuant to Article 95(5) of the EC Treaty  (notified under document number C(2006) 797)
Date: 2006-03-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Cyprus, EU law - national law, consumer information, consumer protection, foodstuff, genetically modified organism, government bill, sale, supermarket

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Official Journal of the European Union

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II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 14 March 2006

concerning national provisions imposing on supermarkets an obligation to place genetically
modified foods on separate shelves from non-genetically modified foods, notified by Cyprus
pursuant to Article 95(5) of the EC Treaty

(notified under document number C(2006) 797)

(Only the Greek version is authentic)

(2006/255/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community, and in particular Article 95(5) thereof,

establishing the European

Whereas:

I. FACTS

(1)

By letter of 15 September 2005, the chairman of the
Cypriot House of Representatives Committee on the
Environment notified the European Union, pursuant to
Article 95(5) of the EC Treaty, of a 2005 legislative bill
(hereinafter ‘the bill’) amending the laws of 1996 to
(referred to as the
2005 on foods (control and sale)
‘basic law’) imposing on supermarkets an obligation to
place genetically modified foods in a specially designated
place on their shelves separate from non-genetically
the provisions of
in derogation of
modified foods,
(EC) No 1829/2003 (1)
and (EC) No
Regulations
1830/2003 (2) of the European Parliament and of the
Council.

evidence

State deems it necessary to introduce national provisions
based on new scientific
relating to the
protection of
the environment or the working envi-
ronment on grounds of a problem specific to that
Member State arising after the adoption of the harmoni-
sation measure,
it shall notify the Commission of the
envisaged provisions as well as the grounds for intro-
ducing them.

6.
The Commission shall, within six months of the
notification as referred to in paragraphs (…) 5, approve
or reject the national provisions involved after having
verified whether or not they are a means of arbitrary
discrimination or
a disguised restriction on trade
between Member States and whether or not they shall
constitute an obstacle to the functioning of the internal
market.

In the absence of a Decision by the Commission within
this period the national provisions referred to in para-
graphs (…) 5 shall be deemed to have been approved.’

1. Article 95(5) and (6) of the EC Treaty

(2)

Article 95(5) and (6) of the Treaty provides:

‘5.
(…) If, after the adoption by the Council or by the
Commission of a harmonisation measure, a Member

(1) OJ L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 24.

2. National provisions notified

(3)

is to be referred to as ‘the 2005
The legislative bill
(Amendment) Law (Article 2) on Foods (Control and
Sale)’ and is to be read in conjunction with the laws of
1996 to 2005 on foods (control and sale) (hereinafter
‘basic law’). The body of law comprising the basic law
is to be referred to as ‘the 1996 - 2005
and this bill
(Article 2) laws on foods (control and sale)’.

(4)

(5)

(6)

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is to amend the basic law by
The purpose of this bill
adding a new Article 22(1), which reads as follows: ‘in all
supermarkets, genetically modified foods shall be kept in
a specially designated place on shelves separate from
those holding non-genetically modified foods’.

notification pursuant to Article 95(5) of the EC Treaty
and that
the six-month period for examining the
provisions in question would run from 16 September
2005, i.e. the day following receipt of the notification.

Retailers who infringe the above provisions or fail to
comply with them are guilty of a criminal offence
punishable by a fine not exceeding 3 000 Cyprus
pounds or, for a repeat offence, 6 000 Cyprus pounds,
or imprisonment of up to six months, or both.

The bill defines ‘retailer’ as ‘any natural or legal person or
public or private law body with responsibility for or who
owns a supermarket, including the owner or main share-
holder, managing director, general manager or any other
person or persons supervising or managing a super-
market and having the authority to take decisions
concerning the operation of the supermarket.

(7)

The bill also specifies that the term ‘genetically modified
food’ shall have the meaning given to it by Regulation
(EC) No 1829/2003.

(8)

(9)

3. Justifications put forward by Cyprus

According to the Cypriot authorities, the purpose of the
bill
is to protect consumers. They take the view that
placing products containing GMOs on separate shelves
would enable consumers to recognise and distinguish
more easily between the various types of products and
make a clear choice as to which goods they want to buy.

II. PROCEDURE

By letter dated 15 September 2005, the Cypriot House of
Representatives informed the Commission, in accordance
with Article 95(5) of the Treaty, of the existence of a
legislative bill seeking to impose an obligation on super-
markets to place genetically modified foods in a place
specially designated for them on separate shelves from
the
non-genetically modified goods,
provisions of Regulations (EC) No 1829/2003 and (EC)
No 1830/2003 and in the light of Articles 37, 95 and
152(4)(b) of the EC Treaty, which constitutes the legal
base for the aforementioned Regulations.

in derogation of

(10)

In a letter dated 11 November 2005, the Commission
informed the Cypriot authorities that it had received their

(11)

the Commission
By letter of 20 December 2005,
informed the other Member States of
the request
submitted by the Republic of Cyprus. The Commission
also published a notification concerning the request in
the Official Journal of the European Union so as to inform
the other interested parties of the draft national measures
the Republic of Cyprus intended to adopt.

III. LEGAL ASSESSMENT

(12)

the Treaty is intended only for

The derogation procedure provided for in Article 95(5)
of
the adoption of
national provisions designed to achieve the objectives
listed. A notification from a Member State which does
not refer to one of these objectives must therefore be
declared inadmissible under that provision of the Treaty.

in a

(13) Under the legislative bill in question, supermarkets would
be under an obligation to place genetically modified
specially designated place on separate
foods
In the
shelves from non-genetically modified goods.
explanatory memorandum accompanying the bill,
the
Cypriot authorities considered that the content of the
bill could conflict with the provisions on labelling in
(EC) No
Regulations
1830/2003. They
the
that
purpose of the measure was to enable consumers to
distinguish more easily between genetically modified
and other foods,
thereby allowing them to make an
informed choice.

1829/2003
and
also indicated clearly

(EC) No

(14)

The notification from Cyprus does not make any
the objectives mentioned in
reference to either of
Article 95(5) of
the EC Treaty. Under those circum-
stances, the Commission is not in a position to carry
out the verification referred to in paragraph 6 of that
Article. The Commission does not take a view on the
matter if the notification concerns an area which has
been harmonised under Community legislation, nor
does it take a view on the compliance of the measure
with Community law or the rules of the WTO.

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IV. CONCLUSION

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

(15)

The Commission therefore considers that the notification
provided by the Cypriot authorities does not contain the
information which would allow the measure to be
examined under Article 95(5) and (6) of the EC Treaty.
The Commission therefore takes the view that the noti-
fication is not admissible.

(16)

the

to any

subsequent

examination by

compatibility of

In the light of the above considerations, and without
the
prejudice
Commission of
the national
measures notified with Community law, the Commission
is of the opinion that the notification from the Republic
of Cyprus concerning an obligation on supermarkets to
place genetically modified foods in a specially designated
place on separate shelves from non-genetically modified
goods, as
submitted on 15 September 2005 with
reference to Article 95(5) of the Treaty, is not admissible,

Article 1

The notification concerning a legislative bill seeking to impose
on supermarkets an obligation to place genetically modified
foods in a place specially designated for them on separate
shelves from non-genetically modified goods, submitted by
the Republic of Cyprus on 15 September 2005 on the basis
of Article 95(5) of the EC Treaty, is declared non-admissible.

Article 2

This decision is addressed to the Republic of Cyprus.

Done at Brussels, 14 March 2006.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU
Member of the Commission