23. 7. 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 189/87 COMMISSION DECISION of 7 July 1994 asking the Hellenic Republic to postpone the adoption of its draft regulation on the labelling of foodstuffs containing sweeteners (Only the Greek text is authentic) (94/460/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Directive 79/112/EEC of 18 December 1978 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs for sale to the ultimate con- sumer ('), as last amended by Commission Directive 93/102/EEC (), and in particular Articles 16 and 17 thereof, Whereas, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 16 of Directive 79/112/EEC, the Greek authorities notified the Commission of their intention to adopt a draft technical regulation relating to the labelling of food- stuffs containing sweeteners ; Whereas the draft regulation introduces compulsory indi- cations on the labelling of foodstuffs containing sweet- eners, informing the consumer of the presence of these substances in the foodstuff and warning of possible laxa- tive effects of certain sweeteners ; Whereas the value of such information must be recog- nized, though a unilateral measure applied by Greece would inevitably hamper intra-Community trade ; Whereas this fact has led the Commission to deliver a negative opinion in accordance with the second subpara- graph of Article 16 (2) of Directive 79/112/EEC; Whereas the most satisfac.tory solution to the problem raised by the draft Greek regulation would be to adopt a Community provision on labelling ; () OJ No L 33, 8. 2. 1979, p. 1. () OJ No L 291, 25. 11. 1993, p. 14. Whereas, moreover, the Council’s common position on the proposal for a Directive on sweeteners gives the Commission a mandate to adopt such measures; Whereas any national initiative in this area should there- fore be postponed for an appropriate period ; Whereas the measures laid down in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Foodstuffs, HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION : Article 1 The Hellenic Republic is required to postpone for 12 months following the notification of this Decision the adoption of its draft regulation on labelling rules for food- stuffs containing sweeteners. Article 2 This Decision is addressed to the Hellenic Republic. Done at Brussels, 7 July 1994. For the Commission Martin BANGEMANN Member of the Commission