Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-03-14-Speech-2-254"
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"en.20000314.11.2-254"2
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"Mr President, first of all, I wish, of course, to thank the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy, in particular the two rapporteurs, Mr Schnellhardt and Mr Poggiolini, for the very constructive work which has been carried out in reviewing the regulation on eco-labelling.
The proposal for a revised Community programme for awarding the eco-label is mainly aimed at making the programme more effective and more open and at improving the methods used. It ought to make the programme more attractive to manufacturers, distributors and consumers. In particular, the proposal accords greater responsibility to the bodies responsible for eco-labelling and to various interest groups when it comes to establishing ecological criteria. The Commission considers that these objectives will be fulfilled thanks to cooperation with, and interest on the part of, the European Parliament and the Council.
I believe that the relationship between the Community’s eco-labelling programme and the national eco-labelling programmes is better and more clearly defined in the current proposal. The proposal also reinforces the interested parties’ role and participation. This applies, in particular, to various interest groups and to the environmental bodies dedicated to eco-labelling. Their participation is crucial if the present voluntary instrument is to be favoured and made more widely available in the correct way. It is one of the few European instruments which will, in fact, be able to play a key role in supporting sustainable consumption.
With regard to the amendments tabled by the European Parliament, the Commission considers that these have helped improve the exposition of the regulation. With regard to Amendments Nos 1, 4 and 8, which propose active participation on the part of environmental and consumer organisations, the Commission shares the view that their support and participation is crucial if eco-labelling is to be balanced and credible. We are therefore able to accept these amendments.
With regard to Amendments Nos 2, 3 and 7, which relate to certain aspects of cooperation and coordination with national eco-labelling programmes, the Commission is convinced that common supporting activities are important, particularly with a view to making the Community’s eco-labelling better known. We are therefore able to approve these amendments, too. Amendment No 5 proposes four ways of making the fee structure more flexible and easier for those who apply to be accepted. The Commission supports this overarching objective. After all, eco-labelling is, of course, voluntary, and the fees ought not to be so high that those who make the most effort in the interests of the environment are prevented from applying for the eco-label. Amendment No 6 concerns fee reductions for small and medium-sized companies, as well as developing countries, and emphasises that these should be appreciable. The Commission is able to support this amendment, too. To summarise, the Commission is therefore able to approve all the amendments."@en1
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