Amended proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down rules on nominal quantities for pre-packed products, repealing Council Directives 75/106/EEC and 80/232/EEC, and amending Council Directive 76/211/EEC (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty)
Date: 2006-04-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU law, European standard, amendment of a law, packaging, repeal

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 12.4.2006 
COM(2006) 171 final 

2004/0248 (COD) 

Amended proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

laying down rules on nominal quantities for pre-packed products, repealing Council 
Directives 75/106/EEC and 80/232/EEC, and amending Council Directive 76/211/EEC 

(presented by the Commission pursuant to  
Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty) 

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2004/0248 (COD) 

Amended proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

laying down rules on nominal quantities for pre-packed products, repealing Council 
Directives 75/106/EEC and 80/232/EEC, and amending Council Directive 76/211/EEC 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

Adoption of the proposal- COM(2004) 708 final 

25 October 2004 

Transmission of the proposal to the Council and to the European Parliament 
- COM(2004) 708 final – 2004/0248 (COD) - 
in accordance with article 95 of the Treaty: 

25 October 2004 

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee: 

6 April 2005 

Opinion of the European Parliament – first reading: 

2 February 2006 

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMISSON PROPOSAL 

The  proposal  aims  to  simplify  the  current  EC  legislation  prescribing  nominal  quantities.  It 
will  deregulate  current  EC  and  national  legislation  in  this  area.  As  an  exception  fixed 
mandatory nominal quantities will remain only in the wine and spirits sectors, reflecting only 
those quantities most sold to consumers. 

3. 

OPINION  OF  THE  COMMISSION  ON  THE  AMENDMENTS  ADOPTED  BY 
THE PARLIAMENT 

3.1. 

Amendments accepted by the Commission: 1, 2, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16. 

The  Commission  can  accept  the  following  amendments  with  the  wording  proposed  by  the 
European Parliament. 

Amendment  1  states  as  a  fact  that  consumer  protection  has  improved  by  generic  directives 
which have been adopted after the fixed sizes came into being. 

Amendment 2 partly overlapping with recital 7, introduces a reference to the fact that some 
fixed mandatory nominal quantities are to be retained for the time being.  

Amendment 8 adds a recital which is currently standard for transposition of directives. 

Amendment  10  clarifies  that  the  rules  on  fixed  nominal  quantities  do  not  apply  to  sales  in 
duty-free shops. 

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Amendment 11 replaces the 20 year sunset clause for the fixed nominal quantities for certain 
sectors  by  way  of  derogation  by  a  clause  asking  the  Commission  to  review  the  need  for 
derogations (Amendment 16). 

Amendment  13  deletes  the  reference  to  article  4  as  the  mandatory  nominal  quantities  for 
aerosol dispensers will be abolished by the new article 4 (amendment 12)  

Amendment 14 deletes the request to Member States to prepare a table of correspondence and 
is the consequence of the new recital in Amendment 8. 

Amendment 16 introduces a review clause requiring regular reporting by the Commission and 
this new obligation is the consequence of abolishing the sunset clause by Amendment 11. 

3.2. 

Amendments accepted in principle by the Commission: 3, 6, 7, 12, 20. 

The Commission can accept in principle the following amendments. 

Amendment  3  introduces  a  new  recital  after  recital  5  stating  that  an  information  campaign 
should be launched about unit pricing. The Commission suggests a more open wording:  

“Implementation  of  the  Directive  should  be  accompanied  by  more  information  for 
consumers and industry to enhance understanding of unit pricing.” 

Amendment 6 changes recital 8 motivating a sunset clause on mandatory nominal quantities, 
and  introduces  instead  the  concept  of  a  review  clause.  The  Commission  agrees  with  the 
review  clause,  but  suggests  a  wording  more  consistent  with  the  basic  philosophy  of  the 
proposal  that  fixing  mandatory  nominal  quantities  is  a  derogation  to  the  principle  of 
deregulation; furthermore, the recital should clarify that for those sectors where nevertheless 
mandatory  nominal  quantities  are  fixed,  only  those  quantities  should  be  mentioned  that  are 
most sold to consumers.  

“Since  the  maintenance  of  mandatory  nominal  quantities  should  be  regarded  as  a 
derogation,  it  should  be  periodically  reassessed  in  the  light  of  experience  and  in  order  to 
meet  the  needs  of  consumers  and  producers.  For  these  sectors,  existing  Community 
legislation must be adapted, in particular to limit the fixed Community nominal quantities 
only to those most sold to consumers.” 

By  means  of  amendment  7  Parliament  adds  a  second  sentence  to  recital  9  expressing  its 
concern  on  the  quality  of  labelling  of  quantity,  shared  by  the  Commission,  relating  to  the 
implementation of Directive 76/211, Annex 1, point 3 on metrological requirements for pre-
packed  products.  However,  the  Commission  does  not  share  the  idea  expressed  by  the 
Parliament  in  its  amendment  that  fixed  nominal  quantities  protect  vulnerable  consumers. 
Furthermore,  the  need  to  enhance  more  readable  labelling  should  be  subject  of  a  separate 
recital 

Recital 9 “In order to promote transparency, all nominal quantities for pre-packed products 
should be set in a single legislative text, and Directives 75/106/EEC and 80/232/EEC should 
be repealed. 

Recital  9bis:  In  order  to  increase  protection  for  consumers,  in  particular  the  vulnerable 
consumers, such as the disabled and the elderly, proper attention should be paid to weight 

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and volume indications on consumer product labelling being more easily legible and visible 
on the prepackage in normal conditions of presentation.  

Amendment  12  intends  to  delete  fixed  nominal  quantities  for  products  sold  in  aerosol 
dispensers.  The  Commission  agrees,  but  the  wording  of  the  amendment  should  be  brought 
technically into line with the terms used in the Aerosols Dispenser Directive 75/324/EEC: 

“1.  The  aerosol  dispensers  shall  indicate  the  nominal  total  capacity  of  the  container.  The 
indication shall be such as not to create confusion with the nominal volume of the contents.

2.  By  way  of  derogation  from  Article  8  (1)  (e)  of  Council  Directive  75/324/EEC,  products 
which  are  sold  in  aerosol  dispensers  need  not  be  marked  with  the  nominal  weight  of  their 
contents.” 

Amendment 20 is to add 2 more sizes to the range for spirits, which has also been requested 
by  industry.  The  Commission  agrees.  However,  in  order  to  align  the  terminology  to  the 
Council  Regulation  on  Spirit  Drinks  (Reg.  1576/89),  the  term  “Spirits”  used  by  Parliament 
should be replaced by “Spirit drinks”. 

“Spirit drinks 

On the interval 100ml – 2000ml only the following 9 sizes: 

Ml: 100 — 200 — 350 — 500 — 700 — 1000 — 1500 — 1750 — 2000” 

3.3. 

Amendments not accepted by the Commission: 4, 5, 9, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 
25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33. 

The Commission does not accept amendment 4 which adds a new recital saying that a “study 
devoted  to  the  impact  of  the  directive”  shows  the  relevance  of  fixed  sizes  for  vulnerable 
consumers for the following reasons: 

•  The reference to “a study” is too vague.  
•  The  impact  study  by  EP  did  not  make  this  point  convincingly.  The  Commission  impact 

assessment does not support conclusions of the EP impact assessment.  

•  Vulnerable  consumers  do  not  become  less  vulnerable  by  mandatory  rules  on  pack-sizes. 
Seeing  a  package  in  itself  does  not  allow  to  know  the  actual  contents,  as  perception  is 
strongly  influenced  by  the  packing  material  (tetra-pack,  plastic,  glass),  the  type  of 
container  (one  time  use,  reusable)  and  the  form  of  the  pack  (round,  square).  Consumers 
must therefore read contents indications 

The Commission does not accept amendment 5 on the grounds that there is no evidence that 
liberalization gives rise to a proliferation of pack-sizes and market complications; in particular 
not in the sectors that Parliament wants to add. Nor is it established that there is an impact on 
the environment. 

Amendment 9 exempts a number of sectors from the scope in Article 1 of the Directive and 
states  that  for  these  sectors  national  legislation  shall  continue  to  apply.  The  Commission 
disagrees because there is no evidence for the need to regulate these sectors. Furthermore, the 
Directive  should  not  jeopardise  the  concept  of  the  Internal  Market  by  allowing  national 
derogations, that could in any case not be applied to products legally manufactured or placed 
on the market in another Member State. 

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Amendment  15  introduces  a  transitory  regime  for  those  products  for  which  Parliament 
proposes to introduce regulation regarding mandatory nominal quantities. As the Commission 
rejects  the  idea  of  regulating  new  sectors,  it  also  opposes  the  provision  for  a  transitional 
period. 

Amendment  17  introduces  mandatory  nominal  quantities  sizes  for  drinking  milk,  for  which 
currently  there  are  no  mandatory  sizes  fixed  at  the  EU  level.  Some  Member  States  have 
national ranges, either mandatory or voluntary for home producers. But national law is never 
applied to products legally manufactured or placed on the market in other Member States. No 
sound reasons have been forwarded justifying the need to introduce regulation at Community 
level concerning mandatory nominal quantities for milk products. 

Amendment  18  and  Amendment  19  reflect  UK  mandatory  nominal  quantities  reflecting  the 
pints for milk. As the Commission rejects amendment 17, also amendments 18 and 19 should 
be rejected. 

Amendments 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 ask to introduce mandatory sizes for five new sectors, for 
which currently there are no mandatory sizes fixed at the EU level. Some Member States have 
national ranges, either mandatory or voluntary for home producers. But national law is never 
applied to products legally manufactured or placed on the market in other Member States. No 
sound reasons have been forwarded justifying the need to introduce regulation at Community 
level concerning mandatory nominal quantities for these sectors. 

Amendments  26,  27,  28,  29  and  30  concern  the  definitions  of  the  five  new  sectors.  As  the 
Commission is opposed to fixing mandatory sizes for these sectors, there is no need to define 
them in the proposal. 

Amendment  31  corrects  the  definition  of  certain  cosmetic  products  mentioned  in  point  4  of 
the Annex that would be exempted from fixed nominal quantities if such products were sold 
in  aerosol  dispensers.  However,  Parliament  has  abolished  the  principle  of  fixed  nominal 
quantities  for  products  sold  in  aerosol  dispensers  (Amendments  8,  12  and  13).  As  a 
consequence, there is no basis to maintain point 4 in the Annex. 

Amendment  32 takes out butter and coffee from amendment 9, but retains the  other sectors 
mentioned in Amendment 9, which remains unacceptable for the Commission. 

Amendment 33 adds the two values of 300 and 330 ml, which are used in Sweden, into the 
range for drinking milk in Amendment 17, which remains unacceptable for the Commission. 

4. 

OTHER PROPOSALS 

In the framework of the regulatory review of the vertical harmonization directives on soluble 
coffee  and  white  sugar  at  the  end  of  the  1990-ies,  the  Commission  proposed  to  abolish 
existing ranges of nominal quantities, but Parliament was opposed. In conciliation, the vertical 
directives  were  finally  modified,  with  the  Commission  accepting  to  propose  nominal 
quantities for these products in the horizontal legislation on nominal quantities for prepacked 
products.  Consequently,  when  in  2004  the  Commission  introduced  its  current  proposal, 
proposing to abolish regulation of nominal quantities, it made an exception for these products. 

The commitment of the Commission concerned also the soluble chicory but in the meantime 
this sector has requested not to have mandatory nominal quantities. 

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A  survey  by  the  Commission  services  in  December  2005  shows  that  a  majority  of  Member 
States  no  longer  have  regulation  or  no  longer  enforce  existing  national  regulation  for  these 
sectors.  In  the  absence  of  strong  reasons  pleading  for  reintroduction  of  mandatory  nominal 
quantities for these products, and in line with the new policy emphasis on simplification and 
better  regulations,  the  Commission  proposes  to  eliminate  point  2  from  the  Annex  and  to 
suppress accordingly  the  definitions  of “white sugar” and “soluble coffee” in point 3 of the 
Annex. Consequently, point 3 of the Annex becomes the new point 2.  

5. 

AMENDED PROPOSAL 

Having  regard  to  Article  250(2)  of  the  EC  Treaty,  The  Commission  amends  its  proposal  as 
indicated above. 

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