WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3072/97 by Amedeo AMADEO to the Commission. Environmental agreements
C 117/146 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 16. 4. 98 (98/C 117/195) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3064/97 by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission (2 October 1997) Subject: Marking of packaging The Commission has submitted a proposal for a European Parliament and Council directive on marking of packaging and on the establishment of a conformity assessment procedure for packaging (COM(96) 191 final › 96/0123 COD) (1). A European mark indicating whether a product can be reused or recycled should: › be based on existing and widely recognized marks; › enjoy international recognition; even if this involves a certain delay in introducing such a mark. It is more important for the Member States to introduce adequate mechanisms for re-use, recycling and, where appropriate, recovery, together with consumer information campaigns. Will the Commission take steps to accelerate the drawing up of European standards for the marking of packaging and speed up the conformity assessment procedure? (1) OJ C 382, 18. 12. 1996, p. 10. Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (6 November 1997) The Commission proposal on marking of packaging was adopted on 25 November 1996. This proposal completes the Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste (1) by introducing the marking symbols which should be used, and the assessment procedure for the compliance of the packaging with the essential requirements of the Directive. As the Honourable Member underlines, the development of international standards in the area of marking of packaging is important. Therefore, the Commission proposal provides that such international developments, once adopted, shall be examined in view of a possible future adaptation of the future Community directive. There are at present discussions at international level (International organisation for standardisation) concerning symbols for recyclable packaging. The final outcome of these discussions is not yet known. The Commission has given a mandate to the European centre for standardisation to develop harmonised standards on packaging to ensure compliance with the essential requirements of the packaging directive. As regards the marking of packaging the Commission has not foreseen to initiate specific European standards. (1) OJ L 365, 31. 12. 1994. (98/C 117/196) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3072/97 by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission (2 October 1997) Subject: Environmental agreements The main objective of the Commissionís communication on environmental agreements (COM(96) 561 final) is to promote and facilitate the use of effective and acceptable environmental agreements. These agreements are instruments for the integration or implementation of environment law in the Community. The communication should be seen in the light of the strategy outlined in the fifth action programme to extend the range of environment policy instruments and put into practice the concept of áshared responsibilityí