L 9212 Official Journal of the European Union 30.3.2006 (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 establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 95(5) thereof, Whereas: *) e 0J 0 I. FACTS 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 2005 on foods (control and sale) (referred to as the ‘basic law’) imposing on supermarkets an obligation to place genetically modified foods in a specially designated place on their shelves separate from non-genetically modified foods, in derogation of the provisions of Regulations (EC) No 1829/2003 () and (EC) No 1830/2003 (3 of the European Parliament and of the Council. 1. Article 95(5) and (6) of the EC Treaty 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 L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 1. L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 24. State deems it necessary to introduce national provisions based on new scientific evidence 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.’ 2. National provisions notified The legislative bill is to be referred to as ‘the 2005 (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 and this bill is to be referred to as ‘the 1996 - 2005 (Article 2) laws on foods (control and sale)'.